AFFECT, EMOTION, AND CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN MORAL ATTRIBUTIONS

We assessed whether the quality of negative emotion in response to moral violations differs between Koreans and Americans. We assessed the strength of four negative emotions in response to moral violations, measured which was felt most saliently, and measured attributions based on those moral violations. In response to perfect duty violations, Koreans felt less negative emotion than Americans. There were no cultural differences for imperfect duty violations. Consistent with previous findings, Koreans' attributions did not differ between the two violation types, whereas Americans' did. Results contribute by supporting decision withholding theory, and highlighting the importance of context in attribution research.