Week 3 Group Exercise: Investigating the Difference in Moral Reasoning between Men
and Women
Objectives
1. To determine if men and women resolve moral/ethical problems differently.
2. To determine if males and females use justice and care perspectives, respectively, to
solve moral/ethical problems.
3. To improve your understanding about the moral reasoning used by men and women.
Introduction
Men and women may view moral problems and situations dissimilarly. This is one reason men
and women sometimes solve identical moral or ethical problems differently. Some researchers
believe that men rely on a justice perspective to solve moral problems whereas women are
expected to use a care perspective. This exercise presents two scenarios that possess a moral/ethical
issue. You will solve each problem and discuss the logic behind your decision. The exercise
provides you with the opportunity to hear the thought processes used by men and women to solve
moral/ethical problems.
Instructions
You will work on this in your groups. (An interesting option is to use gender-based groups). Each
group leader should first read the scenario alone and then make a decision about what to do. Once
this is done, use the space provided to outline the rationale for your decision to this scenario. Next,
read the second scenario and follow the same procedure: decide and explain your rationale. Once
all the members have completed their analyses for both scenarios, meet as a group to discuss the
results. One at a time, each group member should present his or her final decision and the
associated reasoning for the first scenario. Someone should keep a running tally of the decisions
so that a summary can be turned in to the professor at the end of your discussion. Follow the same
procedure for the second scenario.
SCENARIO I
You are the manager of a local toy store. The hottest Christmas toy of the year is the new “Peter
Panda” stuffed animal. The toy is in great demand and almost impossible to find, you have received
your one and only shipment of 12, and they are all promised to people who previously stopped in
to place a deposit and reserve one. A woman comes by the store and pleads with you, saying that
her six-year-old daughter is in the hospital very ill and that “Peter Panda” is the one toy her heart
is set on. Would you sell her one, knowing that you will have to break your promise and refund
the deposit to one of the other customers? (There is no way you will be able to get an extra toy in
time).
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Your decision:______
Would Sell
Men
Women
Would not sell
Unsure
Provide a Rationale for your decision:
SCENARIO II
You sell corporate financial products, such as pension plans and group health insurance. You are
currently negotiating with Paul Scott, treasurer of a Fortune 500 firm, for a sale that could be in
the millions of dollars. You feel you are in a strong position to make the sale, but two competitors
are also negotiating with Scott, and it could go either way. You have become friendly with Scott,
and over lunch one day he confided in you that he has recently been under treatment for manic
depression. It so happens in your office that there is a staff psychologist who does employee
counselling. The thought has occurred to you that such a trained professional might be able to
coach you on how to act with and relate to a personality such as Scott’s, so as to persuade and
influence him most effectively. Would you consult the psychologist?
Your decision:______
Would Sell
Men
Women
Would not sell
Unsure
Provide a Rationale for your decision:
Questions for Discussion
1. Did males and females make different decisions in response to both scenarios? (use any
Comparative norms you can find).
2. What was the moral reasoning used by men and women to solve the two scenarios?
3. To what extent did males and females use justice and care perspectives, respectively?
4. What useful lessons did you learn from this exercise?
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