Does Morality Matter in Friendship?�A Preliminary Study on Fu-Jen Catholic University Students’ Perceived Relationship between �Morality and Friendship

409110581 · Section E · Aubrey Tseng

Conclusions

Introduction

Methodology

Data Analysis

01

Literature Review

02

03

04

05

Table of contents

Introduction

01

• Background & Motivation
• Definition
• Research Questions
• Hypothesis

Background & Motivation

Family, Lovers, Friends

Reasons for parting ways

Human interactions

The autonomy in friendship

Definition

According to eminent moral philosopher Bernard Gert, morality refers to a set of standards for behavior that would be supported by all reasonable individuals under certain circumstances.

Research Questions

• If a friend does something morally wrong, does that impact how one feels about that friend?
• Would it damage a friend's friendship with others if he or she did something morally repugnant and was subsequently viewed as a vile person based on moral principles?

Hypothesis

• Yes, a friend's immoral behavior will influence one's perspective of that friend, specifically in a negative way.
• Yes, if a friend engages in morally repugnant behavior and is subsequently seen as a morally reprehensible person based on ethical principles, the friendship with this individual would be affected.

Literature Review

02

Aristotle

& Emmanuel Kant

“Friendship: Liberty, Equality, and Utility” --James O. Grunebaum

“On Having Bad Persons as Friends”

--Jessica Isserow

“Friendship and Moral Danger”

--Dean Cocking & Jeanette Kennett

Aristotle

& Emmanuel Kant

The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle: friendship is a form of mutual goodwill. 🡺Friends come with a set of special duties

🡺Similar to how parents have unique responsibilities to support and help their children.

“Friendship: Liberty, Equality, and Utility” --James O. Grunebaum

🡺Despite owning special duties in friendship, friends are likely to behave towards one another without any consideration for any moral duty or obligation.

🡺Example: giving out birthday cards

“On Having Bad Persons as Friends”

--Jessica Isserow

🡺People actively "select" the friends they have

🡺It is natural for friends to possess flaws, and sometimes these imperfections even contribute to the attraction between friends.

🡺it is important not to perceive moral flaws as common characteristics.

“Friendship and Moral Danger”

--Dean Cocking & Jeanette Kennett

🡺Being friends with unethical individuals is unlikely to directly impact one's moral character.

🡺The mutual attraction that arises in friendship may influence people to engage in morally wrong or negative behaviors.

(Example: your friend accidentally killed someone and asked for your help.)

Research Gap

No study specifically focuses on college students.

Previous studies:

Researchers wanted to know if, to be objectively fair, commitments to friends necessarily take precedence over moral obligations. Other studies looked at whether developing friendships with those who engage in unethical activity will affect people’s morals.

Research gap: there is no study specifically related to college students.

First, friends share obligations similar to those of parents to their children, for example, caring and respecting

Second, we have autonomy in friendship and it’s natural to have friends who have flaws, however, certain moral flaws such as cruelty and immorality shouldn’t be overlooked

Third, being friends with unethical people is unlikely to affect one’s moral character. However, the mutual attraction that occurs in friendship may influence people to act in morally wrong or bad ways.

Methodology

03

• Research Design
• Data Collection

Research Design

Research Method

Participants

Limitations

A quantitative approach

Fu-Jen Catholic University students from year one to four

sampling bias

desirability bias

Online Questionnaire Design

Part 1: Basic Information

Age & Biological gender

Part 2: Thoughts on Morality and Friendship

use the Likert Scale to indicate respondents’ level of agreement with the statements presented

Online Questionnaire Design

Part 3: Scenario Questions

Through different real-life situations, including crime, cheating in close relationships, plagiarism, and bullying others. respondents were asked to determine how they would react to these cases, whether their reactions would be positive or negative, and whether this would affect their views on their friends and further affect their friendship.

Data Collection

• Platforms: Line, Instagram, and Dcard
• Time Period: April 9th to 14th, 2023
• 200 responses

Data Analysis

04

Questionnaire Analysis

Part 1: Basic Information

A total of 200 questionnaires were collected

​

Gender

152 females (76%)

48 males (24%)

Year of School

42 Freshman (21%)

45 Sophomore

66 Junior (33%)

47 Senior (23.5%)

Part 2: Thoughts on Morality and Friendship

2-1 The level of agreement with the statement "I care about morality."

Over 80%

Agree

Disagree

Part 2: Thoughts on Morality and Friendship

2-2 The level of agreement with the statement "Friendship matters to me a lot."

Majority 83%

Only 5%

Part 2: Thoughts on Morality and Friendship

2-3 The level of agreement with the statement "I consider myself to be a moral person."

more than 50% of the participants considered themselves to be moral people.

Part 2: Thoughts on Morality and Friendship

2-4 The level of agreement with the statement "I don’t make friends with immoral people."

Neutral stance

Part 2: Thoughts on Morality and Friendship

2-5 The level of agreement with the statement "I would stop being friends with someone if he/she is engaged in immoral behavior."

31.5%

28%

Divided results

Part 2: Thoughts on Morality and Friendship

• Most respondents agree that both morality and friendship matter to them.
• Over half of the respondents view themselves as moral people.
• Respondents tend to hold a neutral attitude when asked if the immorality of a friend would affect their friendship.

Part 3: Scenario Questions

Scenario 1: Cheat in Relationship

You have recently found out that your long-time friend, A, cheated on his/her partner with a third party. You know both A and his/her partner, but you're unsure if there were any existing problems in their relationship. What you do know is that A's partner is unaware of the infidelity. Regardless of how you choose to handle the situation (whether to confront or ignore), has your opinion of this friend and your friendship with him/her changed as a result of this discovery?

Part 3: Scenario Questions

Scenario 1: Cheat in Relationship

Would this affect your view of this certain friend?

More than 70%

Part 3: Scenario Questions

Scenario 1: Cheat in Relationship

How would this influence your friendship with this friend?

Out of the 153 respondents who would think less of their friends, 55 of them (40%) would not let this incident influence their friendships.

• The inspection conducted using SPSS software revealed a connection between the first and second questions in each scenario.
• Initially, I expected that having a negative impression of friends 🡺 a more distant relationship.
• However, human psychological states can be contradictory, and forming a negative impression of someone does not necessarily imply the need to change the relationship between the two individuals.

Part 3: Scenario Questions

Scenario 1: Cheat in Relationship

If this friend stops the wrongdoing, would you become close again?

Part 3: Scenario Questions

Scenario 2: Drug Problems

You have recently learned that your long-time friend, B, is actually using drugs and engaging in drug trafficking. You had no idea that B was engaged in these illegal activities, and you yourself have never been involved with drugs. Leaving aside how you will handle the situation (whether to confront or ignore), has your opinion of this friend and your friendship with him/her changed as a result of this discovery?

Part 3: Scenario Questions

Scenario 2: Drug Problems

Would this affect your view of this certain friend?

3 special cases

Over 80%

Part 3: Scenario Questions

How would this influence your friendship with this friend?

Scenario 2: Drug Problems

Over 80%

3 special cases

• Although a few individuals may have contact with drugs (3 special cases), for most people, using drugs is considered both illegal and immoral.
• Most students develop a negative impression of those who use drugs or engage in drug-related activities, which can affect their relationships with drug-using friends.
• Another reason for distancing oneself from friends involved with drugs is the fear of getting implicated since using drugs in Taiwan is illegal.

Part 3: Scenario Questions

If this friend stops the wrongdoing, would you become close again?

Scenario 2: Drug Problems

Part 3: Scenario Questions

Scenario 3: Plagiarism

You have recently discovered that your long-time friend, C, plagiarized someone else's work while writing his/her own thesis. Since the beginning of your university education, professors have warned you against the serious offense of plagiarism. You have also learned from numerous news reports that such a mistake could become a blemish on a person's life. Regardless of how you choose to handle the situation (whether to confront or ignore), has your opinion of this friend and your friendship with him/her changed as a result of this discovery?

Part 3: Scenario Questions

Scenario 3: Plagiarism

Would this affect your view of this certain friend?

Over 70%

Part 3: Scenario Questions

How would this influence your friendship with this friend?

Scenario 3: Plagiarism

Out of the 154 people who would think less of their friends due to this scenario, 47 of them (30%) said it would not affect their friendship.

• This could be because plagiarism is seen as a more personal matter (unless it involves plagiarizing the participant's own work), so although it is a serious offense on campus, students do not feel the need to adjust their relationships with their friends.
• This may also explain why most college students do not report their classmates for plagiarism.

Part 3: Scenario Questions

If this friend stops the wrongdoing, would you become close again?

Scenario 3: Plagiarism

Part 3: Scenario Questions

Scenario 4: Bully Others

You have recently discovered that your long-time friend, D, was the mastermind behind a campus bullying incident. Despite knowing D for many years, you had no idea that he/she was capable of treating others so poorly. You did not participate in the bullying incident. Leaving aside how you will handle the situation (whether to confront or ignore), has this discovery changed your opinion of your friend and your friendship with him/her?

Part 3: Scenario Questions

Scenario 4: Bully Others

Would this affect your view of this certain friend?

6%

94%

vs.

Part 3: Scenario Questions

How would this influence your friendship with this friend?

Scenario 4: Bully Others

16%

84%

vs.

• Over 90% of people have a negative impression of friends who bully others, and the majority of them would distance themselves from these friends.
• Bullying is seen as a serious issue on campuses.
• College students may worry about becoming the next target of bullying and therefore choose to distance themselves from such individuals.

Part 3: Scenario Questions

If this friend stops the wrongdoing, would you become close again?

Scenario 4: Bully Others

Part 3: Scenario Questions

Distribution of the Most Unacceptable Scenario

1. Bully Others

2. Drug Problems

3. Cheat in Relationship

4. Plagiarism

Conclusions

05

• Response to Research Questions
• Key Points Summary
• Limitations & Future Directions

Response to Research Questions & Hypothesis

If a friend does something morally wrong, does that impact how one feels about that friend?

​

​

​

​

​

Would it damage a friend's friendship with others if he or she did something morally repugnant and was subsequently viewed as a vile person based on moral principles?

​

​

​

Yes, but the degree of impact varies depending on the event.

Keypoints Summary

One

Two

The most unacceptable scenario among the respondents was their friend being a bully.

While most college students believed that morality and friendship are important to them, unethical behavior could negatively affect their evaluation of their friends and possibly even their friendship.

Keypoints Summary

Three

Four

Most respondents’ personal understanding of morality match with the universal moral principles such as "not harming others' rights, not breaking the law, and respecting others."

Most people would not let situations like infidelity, drug use, and plagiarism dispute affect their friendship or would be willing to give their friend another chance.

Keypoints Summary

Additional Findings

The survey results indicate that at least half of the respondents, when answering situational questions, believe that the situation would not affect their impression of their friends but would impact their friendship with them.

🡺there are other factors within these situations that could potentially influence the friendship between the respondents and their friends.

Limitations & Future Directions

Time Constraints

Study Scope

Sample Size

the limited time frame

of less than a year

the student population

at Fu Jen may differ

from other campuses

the target population

of this study only

represents a small

fraction of the

university

Works Cited

Annis, David B. “The Meaning, Value, and Duties of Friendship.” American Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 24, no. 4, 1987, pp. 349–56. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20014212. Accessed 20 Dec. 2022.

Cocking, Dean, and Jeanette Kennett. “Friendship and Moral Danger.” The Journal of Philosophy, vol. 97, no. 5, Philosophy Documentation Center, May 2000, p. 278. https://doi.org/10.2307/2678396.

Copp, David. “Jesse Prinz, ‘The Emotional Construction of Morals’ (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007): Prinz’s Subjectivist Moral Realism.” Noûs, vol. 45, no. 3, 2011, pp. 577–94. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41330872. Accessed 20 Dec. 2022.

Isserow, Jessica. “On Having Bad Persons as Friends.” Philosophical Studies, vol. 175, no. 12, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Oct. 2017, pp. 3099–116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-017-0996-0.

---. “FRIENDSHIP, MORALITY, AND SPECIAL OBLIGATION.” American Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 30, no. 1, JSTOR, Jan. 1993.

Mason, Cathy. “What’s Bad About Friendship With Bad People?” Canadian Journal of Philosophy, vol. 51, no. 7, Cambridge UP (CUP), Oct. 2021, pp. 523–34. https://doi.org/10.1017/can.2022.6.

Scanlon, T. M.. "What Is Morality?". The Harvard Sampler: Liberal Education for the Twenty-First Century, edited by Jennifer M. Shephard, Stephen M. Kosslyn and Evelynn M. Hammonds, Cambridge, MA and London, England: Harvard University Press, 2011, pp. 243-266. https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674062900.c10

The Definition of Morality (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). 8 Sept. 2020, plato.stanford.edu/entries/morality-definition.

Thank You