Baldwin, C. R., et al. (2024).
Journal of Experimental Psychology:
General, 153(9), 2345–2358.
Abstract
Moral norms balance the needs of the group versus individuals, and societies across the globe vary in terms of the norms they prioritize. Extant research indicates that people from Western cultures consistently choose to protect (vs. punish) close others who commit crimes. Might this differ in cultural contexts that prioritize the self less? Prior research presents two compelling alternatives. On the one hand, collectivists may feel more intertwined with and tied to those close to them, thus protecting close others more. On the other hand, they may prioritize society over individuals and thus protect close others less. Four studies (N = 2,688) performed in the United States and Japan provide self-report, narrative, and experimental evidence supporting the latter hypothesis. These findings highlight how personal relationships and culture dynamically interact to shape how we think about important moral decisions.
Impact Statement
Public Significance Statement—Modern civilization is built on rules about how to behave. Yet, in Western cultures, when these rules are violated by people we know and love, people consistently dismiss them. Here, we demonstrate that this propensity to protect close others is powerfully influenced by culture. In four studies, we provide evidence (N = 2,688) that people from Japan—a culture in which individual interests are prioritized less than in the United States—are less likely to protect close others who transgress out of concern for the impact on society. We also demonstrate that this cultural difference disappears when people from Japan are themselves the victims, a scenario in which societal interests are muted and personal interests are focal. This work highlights how personal relationships and culture dynamically interact to shape how we think about important moral decisions.
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Here are some thoughts:
Cultural differences in moral decision-making regarding close others who commit crimes have been observed between Western and Eastern societies. Four studies conducted in the United States and Japan (N = 2,688) reveal that Japanese participants are less inclined to protect close others who transgress compared to Americans. This difference stems from Japanese prioritizing societal concerns over individual relationships. The research employed various methods, including self-report, narrative, and experimental designs, consistently demonstrating this cultural divergence. Importantly, the influence of close relationships on moral reasoning was evident across all samples, but its strength was attenuated among Japanese participants and Americans primed with social norms emphasizing society over individuals. When the societal implications of a crime were minimized, the cultural difference disappeared, highlighting the mechanism driving this effect. These findings illustrate how culture modulates the impact of close relationships on moral reasoning through superordinate goals (e.g., protecting the self vs. society). The results challenge the common assumption that collectivistic societies prioritize close social relationships more than individualistic ones. Instead, they suggest that Japanese interdependence is defined more in terms of societal obligations rather than specific relationships. This research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how culture and personal relationships dynamically interact to shape important moral decisions, and it emphasizes the need for studying moral decision-making in diverse cultural contexts
