The Role of Person and Situation in Moral Judgment

The present paper studies the role of the variation among individuals in terms of moral judgment, using a survey-analytical approach. Two research projects were conducted. In the first, 225 university students answered the trolley problem and completed the international personality item pool and religious orientation scale. In the second research, 164 university students answered another version of trolley problem and completed HEXACO personality questionnaire, a questionnaire on curiosity and exploration 2, and spirituality self-assessment scale. The results of these two research projects generally indicate that gender, age, religious and personality variables have no relationship with moral judgment. Furthermore, they indicate that there is a less possibility of disagreement with harming someone if the effect is saving several people than with the case in which harming someone leads to saving several people. Therefore, the moral judgment on trolley problem is not sensitive to the variation among individuals, but a doer’s intention and situation are crucial constituents regarding making moral judgment about other's behavior.