Gender differences in moral orientation: A meta-analysis

C. Gilligan's (1982) critique of L. Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning an d her assertion that two modes of moral reasoning (justice and care) exist have been the subject of debate within the field of psychology for more tha n 15 years. This meta-analysis was conducted to review quantitatively the w ork on gender differences in moral orientation. The meta-analysis revealed small differences in the care orientation favoring females (d = -.28) and s mall differences in the justice orientation favoring males (d = .19). Toget her, the moderator variables accounted for 16% of the variance in the effec t sizes for care reasoning and 17% of the variance in the effect sizes for justice reasoning. These findings do not offer strong support for the claim that the care orientation is used predominantly by women and that the just ice orientation is used predominantly by men.