The Relations between Ethical Reasoning and Moral Intuitions among Engineering Students in China

Abstract Empirical research in engineering ethics has tended to assess the ethical reasoning abilities of students in predominately WEIRD (Western Educated Industrialized Rich Democratic) countries. However, it is not clear that ethical judgments are only or primarily the result of ethical reasoning, or that conclusions based on WEIRD samples are applicable across cultures. To address these shortcomings, ongoing research has been examined the 1. relation between ethical reasoning and moral foundations among engineering students in China, and 2. effects of ethics education on ethical reasoning and moral foundations. To do so, engineering students at a US-Chinese educational institute in Shanghai, China completed the ESIT (Engineering and Science Issues Test) and MFQ (Moral Foundations Questionnaire) before and after a course on engineering ethics, to measure ethical reasoning and moral foundations, respectively. The ESIT uses two measures of ethical reasoning: P scores assess the prevalence of postconventional reasoning, while N2 scores measure the prevalence of postconventional reasoning relative to preconventional reasoning. The MFQ assesses moral foundations through the importance participants place on care, fairness, authority, loyalty, and sanctity in answering questions about right and wrong, and their levels of agreement with numerous statements. Results indicate that 1. Ethical reasoning is positively related to an emphasis on care and fairness 2. ethics education results in higher levels of ethical reasoning, as well as a greater concern with fairness and loyalty. The educational implications of these results are discussed, as well as shortcomings of the current study and directions for future work.