The Role of Intuitive Judgment in Ethical Decision-Making and the Outcomes of Accounting Ethics Education

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the role of intuitive judgment in accounting students’ ethical decision-making and to clarify its implications for accounting ethics education within the framework of Haidt’s Social Intuitionist Model. This applied study employed a quasi-experimental design. The statistical population consisted of 240 accounting students enrolled at Payame Noor University in Yazd Province, Iran, from whom 156 participants were selected based on Cochran’s sample-size formula. Participants were assigned to Groups A and B. Group A was required to make a rapid judgment about an ethical scenario involving manipulation of financial statements under limited decision-making time. Group B received additional contextual information and the opinions of other accountants and was given sufficient time to reconsider the same ethical situation. The scenarios were adapted and localized from Andersen and Klamm’s study. Data were collected using a questionnaire scored on a seven-point Likert scale. Inferential analyses, including analysis of variance (ANOVA) and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), were conducted using SPSS. ANOVA results revealed a statistically significant difference between the rapid-decision condition and the condition allowing additional time for reasoned judgment (p<0.001), while the reported within-group difference was also significant (p=0.003). Additional analyses demonstrated significant effects for initial decision (p=0.001) and group membership (p=0.001). In the subsequent model, internship experience also showed a statistically significant effect on ethical decision-making (p=0.002), whereas most demographic variables, including gender, age, educational level, relevance of internship experience to the career path, and work experience, did not demonstrate significant effects. Overall, the inferential findings supported the proposition that restricted decision time promotes greater reliance on intuitive judgment, whereas additional time and contextual information facilitate more reasoned ethical judgment. Intuitive judgment appears to constitute an important initial component of ethical decision-making among accounting students, whereas additional information, deliberation time, and exposure to others’ perspectives can facilitate a transition toward more reflective moral reasoning. Accounting ethics education may therefore be strengthened by integrating intuitive responses with structured ethical scenarios, reflective discussion, and reason-based analysis to better prepare students for complex professional ethical dilemmas.