An examination was conducted of the classification of potential misconduct in the moral domain (rather than the non-moral domain). Behaviors in the moral, social-conventional, and personal domains differ with regard to why and how they are regulated. Behaviors in the moral domain often face interference by others due to reasons irrelevant to existing rules or norms. Behaviors in the social-conventional domain are disapproved of and face interference only when contrary explicit or implicit rules exist. Behaviors in the personal domain reflect personal interests and tastes, and thus, they face no interference by others. We predicted and found that Americans consider a wider range of potential misconducts as moral issues compared with Japanese people, who tend to consider the same issues as socially regulated. In tight cultures, such as that observed in Japan, behaviors are regulated by social norms and authorities, and are evaluated as such. However, in loose cultures, such as that observed in the US, misconducts tend to be attributed to the actor\u27s free choice, and thus, the individual\u27s morality is at stake. These results support the argument of cultural psychology that moral judgment varies across cultures
