The most prevalent stimuli for exploring moral judgement in laboratory settings are small vignettes in the form of moral dilemmas. These dilemmas, mostly borrowed from the field of philosophy, are often criticised for lacking ecological validity due to their confined outcomes, hypothetical physical harms, focus on one character and overlooking cultural aspects. These criticisms are especially implicative for Indian culture which may have a different perspective on morality due to cultural prerogatives, encouraging collectivism as opposed to individualism of the West. Moreover, Indian culture often incorporates hints of ancient traditions and tales in a subtle but extensive way. We wished to probe this complex paradigm of moral judgement in the Indian context empirically by qualitatively analysing the responses and exploring the corresponding ratings of 60 participants, employing 10 selected stories from the Mahabharata. A preliminary report of the analysis is presented here. While the ratings varied considerably for similar judgements, the qualitative results indicated a complex amalgamation of emotions, reasons, intuitions and cultural influences. The scope for using epic stories to understand moral judgement, in the context of contemporary society, is discussed. The findings further encourage questioning the relevance of culture and issues of the ecological validity of vignettes.

中文翻译：

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传统故事可能成为道德判断研究中的装饰图案：使用摩Mah婆罗多故事的初步报告

在实验室环境中探索道德判断的最普遍的刺激是以道德困境形式出现的小插曲。这些困境主要来自哲学领域，由于其局限性，假想的身体伤害，专注于一个特征和忽视文化方面，经常因缺乏生态有效性而受到批评。这些批评对印度文化特别有意义，由于文化特权，印度文化可能对道德有不同的看法，从而鼓励集体主义而不是西方的个人主义。此外，印度文化通常以微妙而广泛的方式融合了古老的传统和故事。我们希望通过定性分析回应并利用《摩participants婆罗多》中精选的10个故事，通过定性分析回应并探索60位参与者的相应等级，以经验的方式探索这种复杂的道德判断范式。此处提供了分析的初步报告。虽然对于类似的判断，评分有很大不同，但定性结果表明，情感，原因，直觉和文化影响是复杂的融合。在当代社会的背景下，讨论了使用史诗故事理解道德判断的范围。这些发现进一步鼓励人们质疑文化的相关性以及小插曲的生态有效性问题。虽然对于类似的判断，评分有很大不同，但定性结果表明，情感，原因，直觉和文化影响是复杂的融合。在当代社会的背景下，讨论了使用史诗故事理解道德判断的范围。这些发现进一步鼓励人们质疑文化的相关性以及小插曲的生态有效性问题。尽管对于类似的判断，评分有很大不同，但定性结果表明，情感，原因，直觉和文化影响是复杂的融合。在当代社会的背景下，讨论了使用史诗故事理解道德判断的范围。这些发现进一步鼓励人们质疑文化的相关性以及小插曲的生态有效性问题。