Age and the moral values of practitioners

Abstract

Despite considerable discussions about greater need for research and discussion about ethics in public relations, few empirical studies have been conducted on the topic. This study employs a well-known social science measuring instrument to gauge differences in moral and ethical values between younger and older public relations practitioners. The study finds that age has a progressive effect on moral values among public relations practitioners, particularly in areas such as basic morality and basic honesty. The two age groups were more similar in terms of legal issues, economic morality and religious morality. Dr. Wright, an associate editor of Public Relations Review , is chairman, Department of Communication Arts, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Ala.