Effects of Perceived Sexual Orientation on Moral Reasoning

Kohlberg’s theory of moral development claims that moral reasoning remains consistent across situations. Contrary to Kohlberg’s ideas, recent research has suggested that individuals’ levels of moral reasoning may vary across situations. This study explored the impact of varying a character’s sexual orientation in a scenario to assess whether or not level of moral reasoning is influenced by this factor. In addition, participants’ belief in a “just world” (Rubin & Peplau, 1975) and attitudes toward gays and lesbians were measured to examine possible correlations with moral reasoning. Participants were randomly assigned to conditions, one in which they read a moral dilemma involving a gay or lesbian individual and the other in which they read a moral dilemma involving a straight individual. Participants were 78 introductory psychology students at the University of WisconsinLa Crosse. Contrary to what was expected, individuals who rated dilemmas with gay characters used significantly higher levels of moral reasoning than individuals who rated dilemmas with straight characters. There were no significant correlations between belief in a just world or attitudes towards gays and lesbians and moral reasoning scores.