Personal Values in Everyday Prosocial Situations Among Healthcare Students: A Qualitative Content Analysis.
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| Title: | Personal Values in Everyday Prosocial Situations Among Healthcare Students: A Qualitative Content Analysis. |
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| Authors: | Liu, Chih-Chi1 (AUTHOR) liucc1126@hsc.edu.tw |
| Source: | Inquiry (00469580). 10/18/2025, Vol. 62, p1-12. 12p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Empathy, *Altruism, *Medical education, *Qualitative research, *Undergraduates, *Content analysis, *Internalizing behavior, *Research methodology, *Interpersonal relations, Research funding, Professional ethics, Descriptive statistics, Professional identity, Thematic analysis, Ethical decision making, Social skills, Statistics, Judgment (Psychology), Values (Ethics) |
| Geographic Terms: | Taiwan |
| Abstract: | This study explores how undergraduate health care students in Taiwan observe others' needs and what factors influence their prosocial behavior in the context of priority seating. Using a qualitative descriptive design with thematic content analysis, structured open-ended questionnaires were distributed to 146 students from 3 health-related departments at a college in Taiwan. Thematic content analysis was conducted based on a pre-defined coding framework. Participants' reasoning reflected both normative categories (eg, older adults, pregnant women) and situational judgments based on observed needs (eg, signs of fatigue or injury). Voluntary seat-offering was the most common behavior and was strongly associated with internalized personal values. Decisions were also shaped by the perceived demeanor of the person in need. Visual cross-theme analyses highlighted how these factors interacted in cases involving older adults and people with mobility impairments. Health care students' decisions to offer their seat were influenced by a mix of internal moral orientations, interpersonal cues, and context sensitivity. While cultural norms may inform reasoning, students actively negotiated social expectations with personal judgment. These findings suggest a need for further educational attention to everyday moral decision-making in the development of professional identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Inquiry (00469580) is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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| Abstract: | This study explores how undergraduate health care students in Taiwan observe others' needs and what factors influence their prosocial behavior in the context of priority seating. Using a qualitative descriptive design with thematic content analysis, structured open-ended questionnaires were distributed to 146 students from 3 health-related departments at a college in Taiwan. Thematic content analysis was conducted based on a pre-defined coding framework. Participants' reasoning reflected both normative categories (eg, older adults, pregnant women) and situational judgments based on observed needs (eg, signs of fatigue or injury). Voluntary seat-offering was the most common behavior and was strongly associated with internalized personal values. Decisions were also shaped by the perceived demeanor of the person in need. Visual cross-theme analyses highlighted how these factors interacted in cases involving older adults and people with mobility impairments. Health care students' decisions to offer their seat were influenced by a mix of internal moral orientations, interpersonal cues, and context sensitivity. While cultural norms may inform reasoning, students actively negotiated social expectations with personal judgment. These findings suggest a need for further educational attention to everyday moral decision-making in the development of professional identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00469580 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/00469580251381578 |
