Jiang Yingying, Zhang Weiwei, Wan Yingjia, Gummerum Michaela, Zhu Liqi
CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Psych J. 2025 Apr;14(2):179-190. doi: 10.1002/pchj.821. Epub 2024 Dec 26.
This study explores how peers influence the moral decisions of Chinese adolescents (12- to 16-year-olds, M = 14.32, n = 84) and young adults (18- to 26-year-olds, M = 20.92, n = 99) in moral dilemmas. Participants were asked to make moral decisions individually and then collectively within groups of three to reach a consensus in Trolly dilemma and Footbridge dilemma. They were also required to evaluate the degree to which they felt their decisions were moral. Results showed that adolescents tended to choose "action" (pull the lever in Trolly dilemma, or push the man in Footbridge dilemma) more than adults, and evaluate their "no action" choice as more immoral than young adults across both individual and group settings. Adolescents showed consistent decision-making patterns regardless of whether decisions were made individually or collectively, while adults were more likely to choose "no action" in group decision-making. Our results suggest that adolescents are more utilitarian than young adults when making decisions in moral dilemmas, compared to young adults. Young adults are less likely to make utilitarian choices when they are in groups than when they make decisions individually.
本研究探讨了同龄人如何在道德困境中影响中国青少年（12至16岁，M = 14.32，n = 84）和青年成年人（18至26岁，M = 20.92，n = 99）的道德决策。参与者被要求先单独做出道德决策，然后在三人小组中集体做出决策，以在电车困境和人行天桥困境中达成共识。他们还被要求评估自己认为自己的决策符合道德的程度。结果表明，在个人和小组环境中，青少年比成年人更倾向于选择“行动”（在电车困境中拉动操纵杆，或在人行天桥困境中推人），并认为自己的“不行动”选择比青年成年人更不道德。无论决策是单独做出还是集体做出，青少年都表现出一致的决策模式，而成年人在小组决策中更倾向于选择“不行动”。我们的结果表明，与青年成年人相比，青少年在道德困境中做决策时更具功利性。青年成年人在小组中做决策时比单独做决策时更不太可能做出功利性选择。
