The Spectrum of Close Relationships Pattern Based on Gender in Moral Judgment

The aim of this study is to explain the influence of close relationships pattern in moral judgments and identifying components affected by gender. In this study used a qualitative approach based on the constructivist grounded theory model that examine judgments based on relationships. The population of this study was young and middle-aged men and women living in Tehran and the sampling was purposeful. The moral dilemmas were presented to participants, and information was collected with semi-structured interviews. The results of the study showed that people are willing to violate the principle of equality for their relatives, friends, colleagues, compatriots, religion and ethnicity, respectively, which was similar in both genders in terms of breadth and order. In general, the impact of personal relationships (relative, self, friend, and colleague) is related to human evolutionary characteristics, and the impact of social relationships (countryman, coreligionist, and ethnicity) is related to common goals within the group and loyalty to the group. In their decisions, both Men and women consider relationships equally in different situations, although based on the severity of the situation, their intervention is difference. The difference depends on their evolutionary characteristics rather than their ability to understanding and observing equality.