A Cross-Cultural Study of the Effect of Empathy on the Moral Judgment of Equity

• In Event: Reducing Uncertainty in an Uncertain World

Abstract

This research proposes empathy as a possible mechanism to explain cultural differences in the conflict between the ethics of care and justice as reflected in the use of the equity principle. Results showed that for both Chinese and U.S. Americans, larger bonuses were distributed to employees with greater competence, and to employees with whom the distributor empathized than employees with whom the distributor did not empathize. Interpretations of results, limitations and future directions are provided.

Authors

• Bing Han, University of South Carolina, Aiken

• Deborah Cai, University of Maryland