Analyzing Peer Influence in Ethical Judgment: Collaborative Ranking in a Case-Based Scenario

Peer influence is how an individual's beliefs, actions, and choices can be influenced by the opinions and behaviors of their peers. Peer influence can affect the moral behavior of individuals. In this study, we analyze peer influence in the context of case-based learning activity in ethics education. To conduct this type of activity, we introduce EthicRankings, a groupware environment that enables students to analyze an ethical case and reason about it by ranking the actors involved according to some ethical criteria. A study with a sample of 64 engineering students was conducted at a Latin American university to analyze peer influence from a dual standpoint in an activity comprising an individual response phase followed by a collaborative phase with anonymous chat interaction. Firstly, we determine how likely a student is to change their rankings in the collaborative phase when observing their peers’ rankings and interacting with them anonymously. Secondly, we compare positive, neutral, and negative sentiment variations in students’ written justifications for rankings before and after collaborating. Results show that students are highly likely to change their responses in the collaborative phase if their responses differ significantly from their peers’ in the individual phase. Also, sentiments in written ranking justifications vary in ways consistent with changes in ranking. The pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.