The development of sociomoral reasoning in Asian and Western cultures: Influences of context and historical time

We will present findings from cross-cultural studies on socio-moral reasoning and decision-making in close friendship and in the family. Our studies includes a longitudinal sample of Icelandic children, a cross-sectional /longitudinal sample from China and cross-sectional samples from other cultures (e.g. Russia, East Germany, US) of children and adolescents from ages 7 to 18 years. The results reveal a universal developmental sequence of reasoning but also a complex interaction between culture, development and context of reasoning. A comparison of the cross-sectional with the time-lagged same aged longitudinal Chinese study reveals differences that can be explained as effects of cultural change.