Moral reasoning and anti-immigrant bias: Experimental evidence from university students in Germany and the United States

Assessing levels of anti-immigrant bias and moral reasoning in university students was the objective of this research.22This research project has IRB approval from the Principal Investigator's university (Indiana State University IRB00002124). The Defining Issues Test measurement of moral reasoning (Rest et al., 1999) and a new measure of anti-immigrant bias were translated into German, pilot tested in both the United States and Germany, and used to assess levels of anti-immigrant bias and moral reasoning. Findings showed no significant differences in bias levels against Muslim versus non-Muslim immigrants. There were statistically significant lower moral reasoning levels and higher bias levels found among foreign students studying at the universities in both countries. Regression analysis showed conservativism was statistically significantly positively related to bias, but humanitarian liberalism was significantly negatively related to bias. Formal education was significantly negatively related to bias. In the moral reasoning regression model, bias negatively predicted principled moral reasoning, religious orthodoxy negatively predicted principled moral reasoning and Muslim immigrant identity versus non-Muslim immigrant identity had no statistically significant predictability on principled moral reasoning or bias levels. Implications are discussed.