Analysis of the psychological laws and key influencing factors of the development of ethical cognition among college students

Abstract Background The development of ethical cognition among college students is related to the effectiveness of moral education and the construction of social morality. The existing research lacks empirical analysis that combines Chinese social culture, systematically explores its psychological development patterns, and multidimensional influencing factors, which is particularly urgent in the current context of diverse values. Therefore, the study aims to reveal the dynamic psychological laws of college students' ethical cognition through empirical methods, and quantitatively analyze its key influencing factors, in order to provide scientific basis for moral education work in universities. Methods Adopting a mixed research design with quantification as the main approach and qualitative as the auxiliary approach, three experiments were conducted in sequence. Experiment 1: Through stratified cluster sampling, a questionnaire survey was conducted on 1200 undergraduate students from six universities in the eastern, central, and western regions of China. The tools used included the "College Students' Ethical Cognition Level Scale," "Family Education Style Questionnaire," "Campus Ethical Atmosphere Scale," and demographic variable questionnaires. Relevant analysis and multiple regression were used to preliminarily screen for influencing factors. Experiment2: Based on the results of Experiment 1, 60 individuals from each of the high and low ethical cognition groups were selected. Event related potential technology was used to record EEG data while completing the classic ethical dilemma judgment task. The differences in amplitude and latency between N400 and P300 components were analyzed to explore their cognitive neural mechanisms. Experiment 3: Select 24 respondents for semi-structured interviews. Results Descriptive statistics show that the total score of ethical cognition among college students follows a normal distribution (M = 78.32, SD = 12.46), and there are significant differences in grade and subject category (F = 5.67, p.01). Regression analysis shows that the frequency of rational exploration in family interactions (β = 0.32, p.001), perception of campus justice atmosphere (β = 0.28, p.001), participation in social practice (β = 0.19, p.01), and empathy ability (β = 0.24, p.001) are key positive factors predicting ethical cognition level, explaining a total of 47% of the variance. The ERP results showed that the N400 wave amplitude induced by the high group was greater than that of the low group when facing complex ethical conflicts (t = 3.21, p.01), while the P300 latency was shorter (t = 2.89, p.05). Qualitative analysis shows that the development of ethical cognition is essentially a dynamic process of accepting external norms and constructing internal principles, manifested in three core themes: "value internalization tension," "situational balancing strategy," and "role model imitation and criticism.". Discussion Through empirical methods, the study identified key modifiable factors such as rational family interaction, campus fair atmosphere, empathy ability, and practical participation, providing a specific path for the collaborative education of "family school society." The results indicate that the ethical cognition of college students follows the development law of "external perception conflict handling principle internalization," which is the result of the joint action of multiple systems. This provides a basis for enhancing the scientificity and effectiveness of moral education work, and further longitudinal tracking and curriculum intervention research can be carried out in the future.