心理科学 ›› 2012, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (6): 1429-1434.

• 社会﹑人格与管理 • 上一篇    下一篇

移情在道德强度对企业道德决策影响中的作用

李晓明1,傅小兰2,王新超3,3   

  1. 1. 湖南师范大学教育科学学院心理学系
    2. 中国科学院心理研究所
    3.
  • 收稿日期:2011-06-13 修回日期:2011-11-29 出版日期:2012-11-20 发布日期:2012-11-20
  • 通讯作者: 傅小兰
  • 基金资助:

    国家自然科学基金青年基金项目;国家自然科学基金面上项目

The Role of Empathy on the Relationship between Moral Intensity and Ethical Decision Making in the Business

  • Received:2011-06-13 Revised:2011-11-29 Online:2012-11-20 Published:2012-11-20
  • Contact: Xiao-Lan FU

摘要:

摘 要 本研究将一种重要的道德情绪——移情引入问题权变模型中,以探讨移情因素在道德强度对企业道德决策影响中的作用。本研究基于情景研究法,随机选取256名MBA学生为被试,要求被试基于所提供情景中假想参与者的行为,回答随后测量道德决策(道德识别、道德判断和道德意图)、移情反应、主观道德强度及移情特质的问题。结果发现,1)移情反应在道德强度对企业道德决策的影响中具有中介作用;2)移情关怀特质会通过影响主观道德强度和移情反应而作用于企业道德决策;3)结果大小、社会舆论和效应可能性对道德判断和道德意图的影响机制各有特点。

关键词: 移情, 道德强度, 问题权变模型, 道德决策

Abstract:

Abstract: Jones (1991) postulated ‘moral intensity’ of the issue as a starting point in the ethical decision making process. He argued that ethical decision making is issue contingent, and the characteristics of the moral issue itself affect ethical decision making of a moral agent. Jones identifies six categories of moral intensity: 1) magnitude of consequences, 2) probability of effect, 3) temporal immediacy, 4) concentration of effect, 5) proximity, 6) social consensus. The former study mainly explored the relationship between moral intensity and ethical decision making, but ignored investigating the influencing mechanism. The present study tried to include empathy into the Issue-Contingent Model to explore the mechanism of the influencing of moral intensity on ethical decision making in the business. The present paper reported the results of a vignette- and questionnaire-based research project. One scenario about the employee’s health was created allowing independent manipulation of the four MI components (magnitude of consequences, probability of effect, social consensus, proximity) as high or low moral intensity. All possible combinations were utilized, resulting in 16 different versions. The participants were presented with one version of the scenario. The scenario was followed by items assessing ethical perception, ethical judgment and ethical intention, empathic response, perceived moral intensity, dispositional empathy (including empathic concern and perspective-taking). All items were on 7-point anchored scales. The study selected 256 MBA students as participants. The LISREL8.51 was used to make the structural equation model of the role of empathy in the influencing of moral intensity on ethical decision making in the business. The results indicated that, 1) the empathic response completely mediated the relation between moral intensity and moral recognition, and partly mediated the relation between moral intensity and moral judgment, moral intent; 2) Dispositional empathic concern could influence ethical perception, ethical judgment and ethical intention through perceived moral intensity and empathic response; 3) Magnitude of consequence, social consensus, and probability of effect affected moral judgment and moral intent by different mechanism. Magnitude of consequence could not only influenced moral judgment and moral intent directly but also through the empathic response. Social consensus mainly had the direct influence on moral judgment and moral intent. Probability of effect influenced moral judgment and moral intent mainly through the empathic response. Those findings deepen our understanding of the influencing mechanism of moral intensity on ethical decision making, especially the role of emotions and reasons in ethical decision making. The future study is needed to extend the findings to the more ethical scenario in the business, such as some decisions which do goods for other people. In addition, the present study found that empathy had important role in the effect of moral intensity on ethical decision making, and the future researches can also manipulate the level of empathy response to explore whether the level of empathy can moderated the effect of moral intensity on ethical decision making.

Key words: empathy, moral intensity, Issue-Contingent Model, ethical decision making