Scheduled for Research Consortium Psychology and Sociocultural Poster Session, Wednesday, April 26, 2006, 1:45 PM - 3:15 PM, Convention Center: Exhibit Hall Poster Area I


An Examination of Moral and Social Values in Taiwanese College Students

Shu-Tung Lai1, Sharon K. Stoll1 and Jennifer M. Beller2, (1)University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, (2)Washington State University, Pullman, WA

Descriptive and experimental studies do not support the belief that sport participation enhances moral development. However, most research has been conducted in the west. Would the same findings reoccur in an Eastern culture? The purpose of this study was to evaluate moral and social reasoning of college students in Taiwan. A Chinese version was developed from the Rudd-Stoll-Beller-Hahm Value Judgment Inventory (RSBH), a research instrument with a Cronbach Alpha of .82- .87 for the moral index and .70 - .73 for the social index. The RSBH, a 20 question index, is designated to assess moral character and social character reasoning. Five scenarios were substituted in soccer, softball, baseball, and basketball to eliminate questions that were distinctly American. A pilot study detected errors, which were corrected. The sample was college students (N = 227; male = 112, female = 115) in Taiwan. Physical education majors (N = 110; male =78, female = 32) and non-physical-education majors (N =117; male = 34, female = 83) were evaluated. A Cronbach Alpha and a two by two univariate factorial analysis of variance (physical education majors & non-physical education majors x male & female) was used. Reliability was high on the moral side (α = .78) yet lower (α = .42) on the social side, which may be due to cultural social differences. Moral values of non-physical education majors (M=31.50, SD = 6.69) were significantly higher than physical education majors (M =27.46, SD = 6.88), F (1, 226) = 6.38, p = 0.12; Females (M =31.97, SD =6.85) scored significantly higher than physical education majors (M =27.05, SD = 6.85), F (1, 226) =16.35, p = 0.00. For the social values, non-physical education majors (M=36.60, SD = 7.06) scored significantly higher than physical education majors (M = 33.54, SD = 3.79), F (1, 226) = 6.96, p = .0.01; Females (M =36.63, SD = 6.97) scored significantly higher than males (M = 33.56, SD =4.04), F (1, 226) = 6.78, p = .01. The results on the moral index agree with reported data on the RSBH; however, even though the results on the social index agree with reported data, the low reliability on the social index is problematic. Earlier studies using the RSBH in Europe found the same phenomenon, which may be due to a difference in context of social values. The study supports the previous findings that sport does not build character.


Keyword(s): athletics/sports, multiculturalism/cultural diversity

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