Sex Differences in Adult Moral Orientations

Abstract

GiUigan's (1982) hypotheses regarding sex differences m moral reasoning onentation were investigated m two samples of adults In Study 1, adults ages 18 to 75 were interviewed about both hypothetical and personal moral dilemmas Women were more likely than men overall to show Gilligan's care onentation as expected, particularly m personal reasoning However, these sex differences were not as pervasive as Gilhgan argues, and were influenced by subject age, subject stage level on Kohlberg's measure of moral reasoning, and the type of real-life dilemma content recalled by subjects for discussion Study 2 focused on the role of adult parental status as mediator of personal moral onentation differences in mid-life Consistent with the theonzing of Gutmann (1985), adult parents were shown to be sex-role differentiated in both selfconcept and moral onentation, whereas mamed nonparents were not Furthermore, sex differences m reasoning onentations were again found to be linked to differences m the dilemma content presented by men and women These studiesThe authors thank Tom Barrett, Sheree Bradford, Frances Flmn, Chnsta Webster, and Garth Wickens for their help with data collection and analysis, the participants of these studies for their thoughtful reflection and cooperation, and Dan Me Adams and several anonymous reviewers for their advice and comments

A social-cognitive approach to understanding gender differences in negotiator ethics: The role of moral identity

“…By this account, women exhibit an ethic of care, whereas men exhibit an ethic of justice, meaning that women resolve ethical dilemmas by considering others' needs whereas men resolve them by considering individuals' rights. Gilligan's proposition inspired much research spanning several decades (e.g., Ford & Lowery, 1986;Pratt, Golding, Hunter, & Sampson, 1982;Skoe, Cumberland, Eisenberg, Hansen, & Perry, 2002;Tangney & Dearing, 2002). Jaffee and Hyde's (2000) metaanalysis found that women do rely more on care-based reasoning and less on justice-based reasoning than men, but concluded that the gender differences were too small to justify treating women and men as different types.…”

The Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Measure of Moral Orientation

“…Pratt, Golding, Hunter, and Sampson (1988) found significant sex differences in an adult sample, but only for those individuals in middle adulthood (as compared to younger and older adults). More recent studies suggest there is no correlation between moral orientation and age (Glover, 2001).…”

Victims' Responses to traumatic life events: An unjust world or an uncaring world?

“…Although some support for Gilligan's claims have been found Lyons, 1983;Pratt, Golding, Hunter, and Sampson, 1988), the weight of the evidence is not with Gilligan. Numerous studies have failed to find the proposed gender difference (e.g., Boldizar et aL, 1989;Ford and Lowery, 1986;Galotti, 1989;Galotti and Kozberg, 1987;Gibbs 9One might, then, appropriately ask why there appears to be an assumption that men's moral reasoning is superior to women's in Kohlberg's scheme.…”

“…Hypothetical dilemmas are most apt to elicit more objective, detached reasoning and a justice orientation based on principles of equality and reciprocity. On the other hand, self-generated dilemmas, particularly personally important moral conflicts, are most apt to elicit contextual thought processes and a care orientation (see, e.g., Ford and Lowcry, 1986;Galotti, 1989;Pratt, Golding, Hunter, and Sampson, 1988;Walker et aL, 1987).…”