Motivating the Self to Virtue in Western and non-Western Countries: Does Nation or Faith Matter More?

Abstract

Our international project involves interviews with older and younger adults of 4 faith conditions (Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and Agnostic) in 2 countries, Canada and South Korea. Study 1 includes participants from two age groups at opposite ends of adulthood: (1) emerging adults (age 18-25) and (2) retired older adults (age 65-85) (N=240). Each participant is interviewed twice. In the first interview, participants explain their understanding of virtue in their own lives and those of people they admire, and whether they consider their moral exemplars wise. Participants also complete self-report questionnaires about religious faith, wisdom, self-construal, personal values and quality of life; finally, they nominate a religious authority (or, for agnostics, a community leader) they consider wise, who form the subject pool for Study 2. Since personal faith needs support from faithful communities, the second interview takes a more communal perspective on motivation to virtue: participants first complete the Multiplayer Simulation for Researching Effective Interpersonal Dynamics to shows how they make more or less wise decisions about dynamic, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous situations; participants then speculate more broadly on themes of nation and community and the role of faith in contributing to social and communal well-being. Study 2 further explores these issues with religious authorities and community leaders in both countries (N=120). Preliminary analyses compare interview data with questionnaire measures of self, motivation, and virtue. Narratives about exemplary others are used to illuminate participants’ own standards and expectations. The goal is to explore the cultural determinants and universality of virtue, and how understandings of virtue commonly shared within national cultures interact with personal wisdom, stage in life, and religious faith.