Measure Of Moral Reasoning Research Articles

Moral Reasoning in Irish Children and Adolescents as Measured by the Defining Issues Test

The utility of the Defining Issues Test (DIT), as a measure of moral reasoning in the Republic of Ireland, was investigated. The subjects were 508 Catholic male and female Irish children and adolescents in three age groups: 12–13, 15–16, and 18–19 years old. The effects of sex, type of environment, (urban or rural), and age were investigated using analysis of variance. The findings indicated that there was a significant age effect (older subjects scoring higher), a significant sex effect (females scoring higher), and a significant interaction of age and sex. Further analysis indicated that the fact that the 12–13 year old females scored higher than would be expected from U.S. samples, caused the significant sex and sex X age effects. No significant differences were found between the urban and rural samples. The results were interpreted as indicating support for the use of the DIT in Ireland and in terms of the possible influence of the Catholic Church on the development of moral reasoning.

The role of dissimulation and social desirability in the measurement of moral reasoning

A series of studies investigating the psychometric and conceptual properties of the Survey of Ethical Attitudes (SEA), a paper-and-pencil measure of moral reasoning, is reported. The results of these studies indicate that the scale is clearly susceptible to the influence of response dissimulation in the form of both role-playing and impression management, and is also confounded with sources of stylistic variance in the form of social desirability. Previous proposals concerning the relationships among moral development, moral reasoning, and personality structure are reviewed in light of these findings, and an alternative conceptualization of the measure in terms of political and social attitudes is offered.

Comparison of Measures of Moral Judgment

Three measures of moral reasoning (Kohlberg's Moral Judgment Interview, Rest's Defining Issues Test, and Maitland and Goldman's Moral Judgment Scale) were administered to classes of college students to examine the relationship between the instruments as well as their internal consistency. The Kohlberg and Rest instruments showed the strongest relationship while the Maitland and Goldman measure correlated poorly with both. The Kohlberg measure produced the highest coefficient of internal consistency (which is perhaps to be expected given the nature of the scoring procedures), while the Maitland and Goldman measure produced the lowest coefficient of internal consistency.

Moral Reasoning and Moral Character: Relationships between the Kohlberg and the Hogan Models

The empirical relationships between Kohlberg's model of moral reasoning and Hogan's model of moral character were examined in 132 college students to test the hypothesis that moral judgments are a reflection of the structure of moral character. No relationships were found between measures of moral reasoning and measures of moral character. Kohlberg's measure of moral reasoning, however, was related to an alternative measure of moral reasoning ( r = .51, p < .01); moral character measures of empathy ( r = .40, p < .01) and socialization ( r = −.44, p < .01) were related to the use of marijuana as predicted. It was concluded that moral reasoning and moral character are empirically independent domains.