Moral Behaviour in Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom: The Impact of Moral Judgment and Moral Identity

The question of why people behave morally (i.e., suppress selfishness) has been debated for centuries. In two studies, we investigated the role of moral judgment and moral identity for Saudi and British adults’ moral behaviour: charitable giving (imperfect moral duty) and behaving honestly (perfect moral duty). Study 1 included 50 Saudi (MAge = 30 years, SD = 7.90, 21 females) and 52 British (MAge = 25 years, SD = 8.79, 39 females) adults. Study 2 included 53 Saudi (MAge = 23 years, SD = 2.82, 12 females) and 48 British (MAge = 21 years, SD = 6.68, 37 females) adults. Participants completed questionnaires measuring moral judgment, general values, and moral identity. Study 1 employed the dictator game to measure costly charitable giving. The charities were framed according to moral foundations theory (i.e., promoting care, justice, ingroup, authority, purity). Study 2 used an honesty task, in which being dishonest leads to higher financial payoffs. In Study 1, no cultural differences emerged concerning donations to charities promoting care or justice, but Saudi participants donated more to charities in the ingroup, authority, and purity frame. Moral identity mediated the relationship between moral judgment and donations in both cultures. In Study 2, honesty was not correlated with moral judgment and moral identity across both cultures. Culture moderated the relationship between honesty and moral judgment about harm and authority. Overall, the two studies show that differences in moral behaviour are not just depend on cultural background but also the type of moral behaviour itself.