The influence of foreign experiences and critical thinking disposition on moral and legal consciousness

Abstract

We examined how foreign experiences and critical thinking disposition influence moral and legal consciousness. Participants (N = 725) answered a questionnaire that measured their moral and legal consciousness (to what extent they permit various immoral/illegal behaviors, whether they intervene for a person behaving immorally/illegally, and to what extent they think various immoral/illegal behaviors are permitted in the Japanese society), levels of critical thinking disposition, and their foreign experiences (living abroad, traveling abroad, having foreign friends, and using foreign languages daily). The results showed that weak critical thinking dispositions were positively related to tolerating various immoral/illegal behaviors, not intervening for persons behaving immorally/illegally, and tolerating illegal behaviors in the context of Japanese society. Although no effects were found for three dimensions of foreign experiences, daily use of foreign language was associated with tolerability of illegal behaviors, especially in the group that had weak critical thinking dispositions. The results suggest that having a strong critical thinking disposition leads to having a relatively rigid moral and legal consciousness, and that for people that have weak critical thinking dispositions, daily foreign experiences can strengthen permissive attitudes toward illegal behaviors.