INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 11 Program Schedule 02/17/2024 10:45 am - 12:00 pm Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120) Poster Session 11: Cultural Neuropsychology \| Education/Training \| Professional Practice Issues Final Abstract #83 Navigating Moral Crossroads: Cultural Perspectives on Moral Decision-Making Between Chinese Americans and Taiwanese Individuals James Qian, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Ta-Fu Chen, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan Yu-Chen Chuang, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan Stephanie Kwan, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Katherine Rankin, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Isabel Elaine Allen, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Winston Chiong, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Elena Tsoy, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Rea Antoniou, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Sherry Chen, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Yu-Ling Chang, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Patrick Callahan, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Marilu Gorno Tempini, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Anson Wong, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Xin Wen, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Boon Lead Tee, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Category: Social Cognition Keyword 1: social cognition Keyword 2: diversity Keyword 3: cross-cultural issues Objective: Moral decision-making is a multidimensional process influenced by cognitive functions, cultural values, and socio-emotional elements. Cultural and societal values vary across populations and can guide disparate choices when facing moral predicaments. Utilitarian reasoning, which prioritizes actions yielding optimal overall outcomes, often manifest when navigating moral dilemmas involving the relinquishment of personal rights, the decision-maker's interests, or those of their close associates. Prior evidence provides support for contrasting moral decision patterns between Western individualist and Eastern collectivist societies, however, the relationship between cultural identity and moral reasoning remains understudied, particularly among individuals immersed in multiple cultures. This study empirically examined moral decision-making patterns of Chinese Americans (CA) in the United States and Taiwanese (T) individuals in Taiwan. We aimed to explore whether residence in distinct socio-geographical environments was associated with moral decision-making patterns among individuals of shared ethnic heritage. Participants and Methods: This study included twenty-eight Chinese American participants (22 females; M_age= 68.8 +/- 7.5 years; M_edu = 16.6+/-2.6 years) enrolled at the University of California, San Francisco and 52 Taiwanese participants (34 females; M_age= 70.7+/-7.2; M_edu = 13.2+/-3.3 years) at the National Taiwan University. Participants exhibited no signs of cognitive or functional impairment as determined by neurological and neuropsychological assessments. We trans-adapted a moral reasoning battery comprising 7 hypothetical moral dilemmas. These dilemmas focused on three moral categories: (1) Special Obligation (SO) dilemmas, involving choices demanding the sacrifice of benefits for close individuals such as family and friends; (2) Personal Rights (PR) dilemmas, entailing actions that infringe upon personal rights to achieve optimal outcomes; and (3) Agent-centered Prerogative (AP) dilemmas, involving decisions that prioritize overall best outcomes while disregarding the decision-maker’s personal interests. Participants viewed 7 animated videos depicting these moral dilemmas, presented with Mandarin voiceover and Chinese text. They then ranked the likelihood of choosing utilitarian actions for each dilemma. Utilitarian scores were assigned on a 4-point Likert scale (range = 0-3, higher scores indicating stronger utilitarian leanings). Sub-scores for SO, PR, AP, and Total Scores were aggregated. Analyses comparing groups included independent samples t-test and general linear models adjusting for age and education. Results: Chinese American participants endorsed greater utilitarian Total Scores than Taiwanese participants (M_CA = 12.0+/- 3.6, M_T = 8.3+/-2.9, p < .001), even after accounting for age and education. Similar results were observed for each of the three moral dilemma categories: SO (M_CA = 4.8+/-0.4, M_T = 2.9+/-0.3, p < .001), PR (M_CA = 2.2+/-0.3, M_T = 0.9+/-0.2, p < .001), and AP (M_CA = 5.2+/-0.2, M_T = 4.3+/-0.1, p < .001) after controlling for age and education. Conclusions: These findings underscore the divergence in moral decision-making phenotypes between Chinese Americans and Taiwanese participants. In contrast to Chinese Americans, Taiwanese participants were more likely to prioritize certain moral principles such as social boundaries and personal obligations over utilitarian principles. This highlights the intricate nature of cultural influences on moral reasoning, transcending ethnicity and geographical location, an important consideration in our increasingly globalized world with growing immigrant populations and the dissemination of cultural identity through social media.

Poster

02/17/2024
10:45 am - 12:00 pm
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)

Poster Session 11: Cultural Neuropsychology | Education/Training | Professional Practice Issues

Final Abstract #83

Navigating Moral Crossroads: Cultural Perspectives on Moral Decision-Making Between Chinese Americans and Taiwanese Individuals

James Qian, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Ta-Fu Chen, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Yu-Chen Chuang, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Stephanie Kwan, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Katherine Rankin, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Isabel Elaine Allen, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Winston Chiong, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Elena Tsoy, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Rea Antoniou, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Sherry Chen, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Yu-Ling Chang, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Patrick Callahan, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Marilu Gorno Tempini, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Anson Wong, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Xin Wen, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Boon Lead Tee, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States

Category: Social Cognition

Keyword 1: social cognition
Keyword 2: diversity
Keyword 3: cross-cultural issues

Objective:

Moral decision-making is a multidimensional process influenced by cognitive functions, cultural values, and socio-emotional elements. Cultural and societal values vary across populations and can guide disparate choices when facing moral predicaments. Utilitarian reasoning, which prioritizes actions yielding optimal overall outcomes, often manifest when navigating moral dilemmas involving the relinquishment of personal rights, the decision-maker's interests, or those of their close associates. Prior evidence provides support for contrasting moral decision patterns between Western individualist and Eastern collectivist societies, however, the relationship between cultural identity and moral reasoning remains understudied, particularly among individuals immersed in multiple cultures. This study empirically examined moral decision-making patterns of Chinese Americans (CA) in the United States and Taiwanese (T) individuals in Taiwan. We aimed to explore whether residence in distinct socio-geographical environments was associated with moral decision-making patterns among individuals of shared ethnic heritage.

Participants and Methods:

This study included twenty-eight Chinese American participants (22 females; M_age= 68.8 +/- 7.5 years; M_edu = 16.6+/-2.6 years) enrolled at the University of California, San Francisco and 52 Taiwanese participants (34 females; M_age= 70.7+/-7.2; M_edu = 13.2+/-3.3 years) at the National Taiwan University. Participants exhibited no signs of cognitive or functional impairment as determined by neurological and neuropsychological assessments. We trans-adapted a moral reasoning battery comprising 7 hypothetical moral dilemmas. These dilemmas focused on three moral categories: (1) Special Obligation (SO) dilemmas, involving choices demanding the sacrifice of benefits for close individuals such as family and friends; (2) Personal Rights (PR) dilemmas, entailing actions that infringe upon personal rights to achieve optimal outcomes; and (3) Agent-centered Prerogative (AP) dilemmas, involving decisions that prioritize overall best outcomes while disregarding the decision-maker’s personal interests. Participants viewed 7 animated videos depicting these moral dilemmas, presented with Mandarin voiceover and Chinese text. They then ranked the likelihood of choosing utilitarian actions for each dilemma. Utilitarian scores were assigned on a 4-point Likert scale (range = 0-3, higher scores indicating stronger utilitarian leanings). Sub-scores for SO, PR, AP, and Total Scores were aggregated. Analyses comparing groups included independent samples t-test and general linear models adjusting for age and education.

Results:

Chinese American participants endorsed greater utilitarian Total Scores than Taiwanese participants (M_CA = 12.0+/- 3.6, M_T = 8.3+/-2.9, p < .001), even after accounting for age and education. Similar results were observed for each of the three moral dilemma categories: SO (M_CA = 4.8+/-0.4, M_T = 2.9+/-0.3, p < .001), PR (M_CA = 2.2+/-0.3, M_T = 0.9+/-0.2, p < .001), and AP (M_CA = 5.2+/-0.2, M_T = 4.3+/-0.1, p < .001) after controlling for age and education.

Conclusions:

These findings underscore the divergence in moral decision-making phenotypes between Chinese Americans and Taiwanese participants. In contrast to Chinese Americans, Taiwanese participants were more likely to prioritize certain moral principles such as social boundaries and personal obligations over utilitarian principles. This highlights the intricate nature of cultural influences on moral reasoning, transcending ethnicity and geographical location, an important consideration in our increasingly globalized world with growing immigrant populations and the dissemination of cultural identity through social media.