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This paper considers two studies that address negative affective states and moral reasoning while taking the Defining Issues Tests (DIT, DIT2). Both studies confirmed earlier findings that the DIT dilemma, 'Heinz and the Drug,' and the DIT2 dilemma, 'Famine,' are related to increased anger and sadness and decreased moral reasoning. Similar findings were observed in the context of a video consideration of a real-life dilemma paralleling these two dilemmas (Study 1). Comparable findings pertaining to Famine were also observed among three samples of different moral judgment developmental levels, further implicating the role of dilemma content where the trends observed are concerned (Study 2). Overall, both studies illustrated similar patterns of affective states and moral reasoning across all considered DIT/DIT2 dilemmas thereby offering further evidence of the joint involvement of rational deliberation and affective states in the consideration of DIT/DIT2 dilemmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-sectional study compared the moral reasoning of first-year and third-year doctoral students in clinical psychology. Nineteen first-year and 20 third-year students were recruited from 17 doctoral training programs in the UK. Most adopted a sophisticated approach to moral judgments, as assessed by the Defining Issues Test, although, surprisingly, more experienced students had significantly less sophisticated schemata. In their moral judgments, less experienced students relied more heavily on their personal, and more experienced students on their professional, constructs, as assessed by repertory grid technique. Integration between personal and professional constructs was higher in more experienced students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed and tested a behavioral version of the Defining Issues Test-1 revised (DIT-1r), which is a measure of the development of moral judgment. We conducted a behavioral experiment using the behavioral Defining Issues Test (bDIT) to examine the relationship between participants' moral developmental status, moral competence, and reaction time when making moral judgments. We found that when the judgments were made based on the preferred moral schema, the reaction time for moral judgments was significantly moderated by the moral developmental status. In addition, as a participant becomes more confident with moral judgment, the participant differentiates the preferred versus other schemas better particularly when the participant's abilities for moral judgment are more developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Defining Issues Test (DIT) has been the dominant measure of moral development. The DIT has its roots in Kohlberg's original stage theory of moral judgment development and asks respondents to rank a set of stage typed statements in order of importance on six stories. However, the question to what extent the DIT-data match the underlying stage model was never addressed with a statistical model. Therefore, we applied item response theory (IRT) to a large data set (55,319 cases). We found that the ordering of the stages as extracted from the raw data fitted the ordering in the underlying stage model good. Furthermore, difficulty differences of stages across the stories were found and their magnitude and location were visualized. These findings are compatible with the notion of one latent moral developmental dimension and lend support to the hundreds of studies that have used the DIT-1 and by implication support the renewed DIT-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated the reliability, validity, and differential item functioning (DIF) of a shorter version of the Defining Issues Test-1 (DIT-1), the behavioural DIT (bDIT), measuring the development of moral reasoning. About 353 college students (81 males, 271 females, 1 not reported; age M = 18.64 years, SD = 1.20 years) who were taking introductory psychology classes at a public University in a suburb area in the Southern United States participated in the present study. First, we examined the reliability of the bDIT using Cronbach's α and its concurrent validity with the original DIT-1 using disattenuated correlation. Second, we compared the test duration between the two measures. Third, we tested the DIF of each question between males and females. Findings reported that first, the bDIT showed acceptable reliability and good concurrent validity. Second, the test duration could be significantly shortened by employing the bDIT. Third, DIF results indicated that the bDIT items did not favour any gender. Practical implications of the present study based on the reported findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper presents the validation of an adaptation of the Defining Issues Test, short version (DIT-SF), to measure the moral development around corruption. Method: The sample was 232 university students of various professions and levels between the ages of 15 and 33 of both genders. The validated instrument (DIT-C) has 3 subscales where each one corresponds with a dilemma and associated items from which a score is obtained. Results: The results indicate that: 1- There are significant correlations between the 3 subscales of the DIT-C, 2- All subscales explain a percentage of the variance and, 3- External validation with another instrument of moral development presented statistically significant correlations. Cronbach's alpha was 0.809. Conclusions: The DIT-C is an instrument to measure the individual expectation of corruption that meets several of the minimum conditions of reliability and validity to measure the moral development around corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on ethical behavior has used the Defining Issues Test (DIT) (Rest, 1993) measure of cognitive moral development to predict ethical behavior. The DIT measures rational, as opposed to affective, content of the process leading to ethical behavioral choices. This research introduces Emotional Intelligence (EI) in an attempt to explain more variance in ethical behavior. Data is collected in an experimental economics lab where there are cash payoffs for decisions made. Results indicate that EI does explain some variance in ethical behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this study is to compare James R. Rest's Defining Issues Test and Georg Lind's Moral Judgment Test in terms of theory and practice. It is known that both of them are most widely used tests to measure moral judgment throughout the world. With this aim, in this article, firstly both scientists' theories and own studies on tests are handled theoretically. Then some academic studies of these tests applied in Turkey are mentioned. Finally, findings and comments of this research related to DIT and M JT are revealed. Both tests were performed on a group of 251 students in studying various programs of Artvin Çoruh and Ondokuz Mayıs universities in 2012-2013 academic year. In research process, relational scanning model was used, and in data analysis SPSS 16.0 statistical program was applied. To determine the correlation between DIT and M JT tests, Pearson moments correlation test was used. In order to see relationship between both tests and independent variables benefited from t-test and ANOVA. As a result, it was revealed that the main theoretical difference between both tests is DIT's step priority and MJT ' s step consistency. Besides, it was also concluded that tests are structurally different from each other. The results of data analy sis demonstrated that there was no significant relationship (r= -0,02) between P-Point of DIT scale and C-point of MJT scale; between students' moral judgment points and gender variant there was significant difference in DIT, but in contrast to this, no difference in MJT test; terms of university and department of education variant, there was no significant change in DIT, but on contrary, there is a significant difference in MJT test. Finally, between moral judgment points and students grade level no significant differences found in both tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The moral role of the teacher has long been recognised and this has implications for the selection and education of student teachers. There is growing recognition of the importance of teachers’ capacity to make sound moral judgements and of the influence of teachers’ levels of moral reasoning on their professional practice. The paper presents the findings of a longitudinal study of 102 undergraduate student teachers who completed the DIT 2 measure of moral reasoning, at the beginning, mid-point and end of their four-year degree programme at an Irish university. While these students’ levels of moral reasoning were found to be higher than those of their international peers, more than half of graduating students were reasoning at the conventional level as defined by Kohlberg. These findings are located in the context of Irish education policy and practice. Some possible explanations for the students’ performance are suggested and discussed including their entry characteristics, the status of the teaching profession in Ireland, the nature of their teacher education programme and participation in the Transition Year option. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Moral reasoning is concerned with making decisions regarding the appropriate course of action in particular situations and has been highlighted as a critical factor that may facilitate (or impede) the effectiveness of educational programs in promoting positive outcomes. This study examined the trajectories of moral reasoning as measured by the Defining Issues Test (DIT2) for college students and to what extent there are intra-individual (within student) and inter-individual (between student) changes in moral reasoning during this developmental period. The results suggest that moral reasoning was best represented by a linear increase on the mean level and non-significant variability across students. The relationship between moral reasoning and students’ prior academic attainment was also examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article compares a variety of imputation strategies for ordinal missing data on Likert scale variables (number of categories = 2, 3, 5, or 7) in recovering reliability coefficients, mean scale scores, and regression coefficients of predicting one scale score from another. The examined strategies include imputing using normal data models with naïve rounding/without rounding, using latent variable models, and using categorical data models such as discriminant analysis and binary logistic regression (for dichotomous data only), multinomial and proportional odds logistic regression (for polytomous data only). The result suggests that both the normal model approach without rounding and the latent variable model approach perform well for either dichotomous or polytomous data regardless of sample size, missing data proportion, and asymmetry of item distributions. The discriminant analysis approach also performs well for dichotomous data. Naïvely rounding normal imputations or using logistic regression models to impute ordinal data are not recommended as they can potentially lead to substantial bias in all or some of the parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper outlines the development and implementation of an online educational intervention designed to enhance moral reasoning in higher level tax students. Before decisions are made about how to behave ethically, cognitive moral reasoning takes place. The importance of education in developing morally sensitive individuals who use principled moral reasoning has been widely acknowledged. The literature contends that moral reasoning might be enhanced through certain forms of intervention studies. An online educational intervention designed to enhance moral reasoning in tax was developed and empirically tested for effectiveness through the use of a pre- and post-test and focus group feedback gathered from students. Students' contributions to ethical discussions were analysed to determine their perceptions of salient issues concerning ethics in tax. This paper will inform future educators and researchers designing effective ethics interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The cross-sectional study with 180 adult subjects researched structural-developmental levels of conceptions of the beautiful and also studied their relations with structural-developmental levels of moral development. Measures of moral development that are considerably beyond the scope of Kohlberg's conception of justice-reasoning were used. Six levels of conceptions of the beautiful were studied. The highest level, not discerned in previous studies, was established from some responses to Picasso's Les Demoiselles d' Avignon. Six structural-developmental conceptions of the beautiful across four Picasso paintings and one Michelangelo sculpture meet the criterion of generality which supports the claim to finding hierarchical structures within a domain of their own. Distinctions are made about the domain of the issues under study among four domains: I) the real, II) the good, III) the just and right, and, IV) the beautiful. The beautiful, domain IV, involves the contemplation, or, appreciation, and fashioning of beautiful objects. Data were collected and analyzed in two domains and two sub-domains of moral development characterized as: 1) conceptions of the good, 2) judgments of justice-reasoning (obligations, liberties and duties), and 3) compassion as a supererogatory act which a person does for the sake of another's good at considerable cost or risk to the self. The moral domains and subdomains used as a framework for the measures of moral development in these studies are based on the framework of Rawls's social contract philosophy and the psychological study of conceptions of the beautiful is based on Kant's philosophy of the beautiful. The relations between the developmental level of conceptions of the beautiful and the structural-developmental levels of moral decisions were studied through standardized justice-reasoning dilemmas and administration of a fidelity/infidelity structural interview. The data suggest that as the level of moral development rises, there is a tendency for the levels of conceptions of the beautiful to also rise. In 91% of instances, there was plus or minus a half level correspondence between the level of conceptions of justice-reasoning and the level of conceptions of the beautiful. In 98% of the analyzed cases, the levels of conceptions of the good and the levels of conceptions of the beautiful are within one level of one another. The study also contributes toward resolving the unsettled question about the number of developmental domains and subdomains that exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explorations of relationships between Haidt’s Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ) and indices of moral decision-making assessed by the Defining Issues Test have been limited to correlational analyses. This study used Harm, Fairness, Ingroup, Authority and Purity to predict overall moral judgment and individual Defining Issues Test-2 (DIT-2) schema scores using responses from 222 undergraduates. Relationships were not confirmed between the separate foundations and the DIT-2 indices. Using the MFQ moral judgment items only, confirmatory factor analyses confirmed higher order constructs called Individualizing and Binding foundations. Structural models using these higher order factors fitted the data well, and findings indicated that the Binding foundations significantly positively predicted Maintaining Norms and negatively predicted both overall moral judgment (N2) and the Postconventional Schema. Neither Individualizing nor Binding foundations significantly predicted Personal Interest. While moral judgments assessed by DIT-2 may not be evoking the MFQ foundations, findings here suggest the MFQ may not be a suitable measure for capturing more advanced moral functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A measure of moral judgment development, the Defining Issues Test (DIT) is described and the supporting evidence for the measure is summarized. We address these questions: what does the DIT measure; how does the measure work, and how has the measure been validated? The psychometric properties of the DIT are also presented. We suggest that the current evidence supports the DIT as a reliable and valid measure of the characteristic ways adolescents and adults comprehend moral issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of education in developing ethically sensitive individuals who use principled moral reasoning when facing dilemmas has been widely acknowledged (Pascarella and Terenzini 1991; Rest et al. 1999b). However, ethics is typically omitted from the higher level curriculum and, if raised at all, comprises a very minor element of the course content of a small minority of modules. This paper makes the case for including deliberate moral reasoning interventions within higher education programmes. In doing so, it draws on the concepts of professionalism, citizenship and social capital and explains how moral reasoning development would encourage serving the public interest, active citizenship and the development of social capital. To illustrate the critical need for this to be achieved urgently, the paper refers to evidence from two recent studies carried out in Ireland, demonstrating a clear lack of principled moral reasoning among the respective cohorts tested. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examined how the group membership of the person being judged influenced the level of moral reasoning. Nearly 200 ordinary Italians were given two measures of moral ingroup inclusiveness (the Bogardus social distance scale and a self-categorization measure) and the short form of Rest’s Defining Issues Test (DIT). The protagonists in the dilemmas were either Italian (ingroup member) or Romanian (outgroup member). Overall, the post-conventional score (P score) was related to higher inclusiveness. However, respondents with a narrow moral ingroup scored lower on post-conventional reasoning when the protagonists were Romanian (outgroup members) than when they were Italian. By contrast, those respondents with an inclusive moral ingroup obtained identical P scores on both types of dilemmas. Inclusiveness of the moral ingroup also mediated the relation of political affiliation and post-conventional reasoning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents three studies exploring the relationship between emotional responses to classic cognitive developmental moral dilemmas and moral reasoning indices as measured by the Defining Issues Test (DIT). Each study indicated that certain moral dilemmas elicit varying levels of anger and sadness as compared to a neutral baseline. In each study, decreased moral reasoning was observed in those instances where reports in both sadness and anger were high following a dilemma. This did not occur, however, in those instances where only sadness or anger was high following a dilemma. Affective inductions prior to taking the DIT (study 3) did not impact trends beyond that found for individual moral dilemmas in studies 1 and 2. Although certain dilemmas elicited affective states that temporarily influenced reasoning, in general participants’ reasoning levels stayed consistent across dilemmas. Results are discussed in terms of the role of affect on the moral judgment process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present study was to investigate the patterns of moral reasoning of a sample of college students at Kuwait University, and to examine the effect of education level upon their moral reasoning abilities. A sample of 90 college male students participated in this study .They ranged in age from 17-25. For the purpose of this study they were divided into four groups according to their level of education: Freshmen (n=30), sophomores (n=25), juniors (n=24), and seniors (n=1l). All the participants were Muslims. The Defining Issues Test (DIT), which is based on Kohlberg's cognitive moral development theory, was used as the instrument of assessment of their moral reasoning. The DIT presents situational dilemmas requiring several decisions for each. From these responses, the decision-making process is evaluated, and a P score (principled moral reasoning) is formulated Results revealed that the participants operate predominantly at the conventional level of Kohlberg's moral judgment theory. Analysis of Variance also revealed that education did not seem to have affected the moral reasoning stages of the respondents. These findings are discussed in light of the previous related moral judgment literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the recent outbreak of revolutions, understanding the causes of revolutions would be beneficial for many people. In this experimental study, social networking, religious similarity, and moral reasoning were examined as possible causes of revolution. Participants were divided into four groups and were exposed to a conservative political model organization, which advocated using revolutionary behaviors to support political positions. Each model group differed in its religious background and use of social networking. All participants completed the Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT­2; Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, & Bebeau, 1999). Based on the results of the DIT­2, participants were placed into one of three schema groups: personal interests, maintaining norms, or postconventional. A three-­way MANOVA confirmed a significant triple interaction effect in predicting willingness to protest utilizing the factors of 2 (social networking) x 2 (religious similarity) x 3 (moral reasoning), F(2, 152) = 3.342, p = .038, ηp2 = .042, Observed Power = .625. This finding supports the complexity and multiplicity of the causes of revolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the influence of various U.S. service learning programs on college students' moral reasoning. The respondents were divided in two groups and were asked to accomplish the Defining Issues Test (DIT-2) prior to and after a service learning course. Results show that the group comprised of the service learning participants had a considerably higher moral reasoning than the other group.

This article addresses the construct validity of the Defining Issues Test of ethical judgment (DIT/DIT-2). Alleging a political bias in the test, Emler and colleagues (1983, 1998, 1999, 2007), show that conservatives score higher when asked to fake as liberals, implying that they understand the reasoning associated with 'higher' moral development but avoid items they see as liberally biased. DIT proponents challenge the internal validity of faking studies, advocating an explained-variance validation. This study takes a new approach: Adult participants complete the DIT-2, then evaluate the raw responses of others to discern political orientation and ethical development. Results show that individuals scoring higher on the DIT-2 rank others' ethical judgment in a way consistent with DIT-2-based rankings. Accuracy at assessing political orientation, however, is low. Results support the DIT-2's validity as a measure of ethical development, not an expression of political position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was an investigation of the relationship between multicultural experiences and moral development. A sample of 227 purchasing managers was assessed in relation to their multicultural experiences and moral development as measured by the Defining Issues Test (Rest, 1979). Results indicated that moral development is significantly positively related to multicultural experiences, particularly the depth of the experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors utilized the Defining Issues Test (Rest, 1979) to analyze the moral reasoning capacities of purchasing managers in Taiwan and mainland China. The findings revealed that the respondents all focused more on the conventional level than on the postconventional level of moral development as both of these areas are influenced by Chinese culture. The moral reasoning capacities of Taiwanese purchasing managers were found to be different to some extent from those of their Chinese counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines variation in moral judgment level as measured by the Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT-2; J. R. Rest & D. Narvaez, 1998), based on individual demographic information and educational contexts. Individual DIT-2 scores and demographic information were obtained from the archived data sets housed at the Center for the Study of Ethical Development. The information on educational contexts was obtained by surveying the researchers who initially gathered the data. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze DIT-2 data from 7,642 individuals and 65 institutions. Findings indicate that average DIT-2 scores vary significantly among institutions. Further, the authors found that the strength of the relation of DIT-2 scores to gender and English language status is significant and consistent across contexts, whereas the strength of the relation to educational level and political identity varies across contexts. These findings indicate that information about the individuals' educational context as well as the broader regional contexts should be taken into account to understand variation in individual levels of moral judgment. The findings can also be used as an interpretive guide for DIT-2 users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of ethical behavior in procurement has become increasingly critical to many organizations. A sample of 213 procurement executives from large Taiwanese companies was assessed in terms of their moral judgment development measured by the Defining Issues Test (Rest, 1979). The findings indicate that Taiwanese procurement executives focus more on the conventional level than on the postconventional level of moral judgment development. Taiwanese procurement personnel at a higher management level will have higher overall scores for moral judgment development than those at a lower management level, and upper management focus less on mutually satisfying outcomes and group harmonization than do middle or lower levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical evidence has demonstrated the validity and reliability of moral development instruments such as the Defining Issues Test (DIT) and Moral Judgment Test (MJT). Rasch item reliability for each was .95. A newer instrument generated using the Model of Hierarchical Complexity had item reliability of .97. Rasch scores of responses to each instruments' items correlated well with the items' measure of hierarchical complexity, r = .286, .372, .557, .767. Test items used to measure moral reasoning were significantly correlated. In general, stage of moral development did not predict political affiliation or voting, supporting Kohlberg's claim that structure, not content, underlies stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the association between the development of moral judgment (as measured by the Defining Issues Test [DIT]; J. R. Rest, 1979) and political attitudes has demonstrated that these factors are often reliably related. N. Emler (1987, 1990) and colleagues have asserted that DIT scores actually measure test-takers' political identity rather than their developmental level. To test this claim, these researchers have designed "faking studies" in which respondents are asked to complete the DIT as if they were of a particular political orientation, regardless of their real political views. These faking studies have yielded contradictory conclusions, whereas tests of the incremental validity of the DIT have provided some evidence for its empirical distinctiveness. In the present study, the authors reexamined this issue by pitting scores on the DIT, Version 2 (DIT-2; J. R. Rest, D. Narvaez, S. J. Thoma, & M. J. Bebeau, 1999) against several more concrete measures of political identification in several predictive models of attitudes toward human rights and civil liberties. DIT-2 scores and political identification emerged as significant predictors in nearly all regression analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal in the study was to examine the moral reasoning patterns of a sample of Kuwaiti male and female adolescents, and whether or not gender had an influence on their moral reasoning. There were 90 participants; 45 males and 45 females. They were randomly selected from three high schools in Kuwait city and were in grades 10-12. They ranged in age from 15-17 years (M = 15.9, SD = 1.8). The results show that the sample operated predominantly at stage 4 of Kohlberg's (1984) moral judgment stages. No significant gender differences were found in the participants' moral reasoning. These results are discussed in the light of previous research findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Kohlberg’s theory of moral development conceives conventional and post-conventional moral reasoning as consecutive levels in a developmental sequence. This claim was examined in terms of the relationship between preference for these two styles of reasoning on the one hand and moral identity as perceived by others (reputation) and as self-perceived and on the other. Participants (n =172), in groups of four mutual acquaintances, provided ratings of one another’s standing, and estimates of their own standing and reputation, on four trait dimensions (moral responsibility, consideration for others, respect for authority, and political orientation). Post-conventional moral reasoning, assessed using the Defining Issues Test, was not significantly related either to reputation or to self-rating on any dimension except political orientation. Conventional reasoning was related to politics though in the opposite direction, but additionally to both self- and other-ratings of moral responsibility and to the corresponding ratings of respect for authority. Findings do not support the view that the conventional/post-conventional distinction in moral reasoning is a developmental difference. An alternative proposed is that these are independent domains of moral thought, related to quite different aspects of social behaviour and political attitudes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Previous study has asserted that education majors score lower on assessments of moral development than do other majors. However, important factors associated with moral development have been overlooked. This study investigated the degree to which moral developmental differences exist by accounting for some of the oversights observed in previous study. Samples of 51, 38, and 62 college students in education, psychology, and other majors were addressed in terms of their moral judgment development, moral sensitivity, nonprejudice, and attitudes about human rights and civil liberties. Although some minor trends are seen in favor of psychology majors, results support that moral developmental differences are not as dire as previous study portends. The authors recommend efforts to account for the individual, academic, and extracurricular experiences associated with majors and universities so that continued understanding of the moral development and functioning of their students can occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The level of moral development in a sampled of convicts from West Venezuela is presented. The study was carried out by means of Defining Issues Test (DIT) evaluation. The sample includes 50 persons between 19 and 55 years old (M = 34,33 y DT = 8,76), out of them 39 were males (average age 33,74), DT=8,24) an 11 were females (average age 35,91, DT=10,67). All of them were beneficiaries of alternatives formulas of their respective sentences such as social work, parole or conditional suspension of sentences and following the corresponding process or rehabilitation out of prisons. This sample registered a moral principles index of 19,67 and a non-relevant answers index of 12,07 as well as fourth moral developmental stage of 41,3 which are unusually high. The results suggest that there is not a statistically significant difference in the pattern of moral development depending on sex, age, or institution for sentenced fulfillment. However, the unusual high pattern of answers and the inverse correspondence between the duration of sentences and the resulting level of moral principles suggest that the sample behaves in a way, which is different from what is expected in no-out-law samples. Findings and implications are discused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of teaching computer ethics is shown by its inclusion as core content in both information systems and computer science model curricula. This paper outlines a method for evaluating undergraduate computer ethics programs using the Defining Issues Test of moral judgment. A "before-and-after with a control group" research design was used. The experimental group exhibited a significantly larger increase in moral judgment development than the control group. This indicates that computer ethics teaching is having a useful effect on students' ethical development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-cultural study was conducted to examine the moral reasoning of a sample of full-time faculty members at Kuwait University. 86 participants completed Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT) which measures percentage of principled moral reasoning indexed as P% - score. The analysis of the results showed that the obtained P-% score was lower than the norms reported in the published research on Western subjects. Overall, the stages were not significantly related to the age or discipline of the participants. Discussions of the present findings were made in line with the recent research on moral development calling for a reorientation of the psychology of morality, which has been predominantly based on the cognitive developmental paradigm for a number of decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation examined the moral reasoning of six classes of first-year pharmacy students at schools of pharmacy in diverse geographical locations in the United States. Assessing moral reasoning is an assessment of one's conceptual adequacy of moral thinking. It attempts to tap the basic conceptual frameworks that individuals use to analyze social-moral problems and to judge the proper course of action. Previous studies have demonstrated a pragmatic and positive relationship to clinical performance in health professionals. Thus, pharmacy students at higher levels of moral reasoning can be expected to perform at higher levels on clinical performance measurements. Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT) was used as a surrogate measure of pharmacy students' moral reasoning. Results indicated that students differ significantly on moral reasoning by geographic region. The students from the northwest regions of the United States scored significantly higher than other regions of the country. Age was significantly related to DIT scores in the positive direction, while females scored significantly higher than males. Interestingly, the overall mean moral reasoning scores of all classes of pharmacy was lower than previous empirical research results of other first-year health professional students. The results are discussed along with plausible explanations of potential educational interventions, and suggestions for selecting pharmacy students to schools of pharmacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the ethical frameworks used by outdoor education programs' leaders in decision making. The study made use of the Defining Issues Test (DIT-2) and the fable instrument by Dr. Rita Manning to provide data. The result of the study shows that on the average, outdoor leaders understand and basically accepts the society's rules.

El artículo presenta información sobre un estudio sobre el razonamiento moral en estudiantes de secundaria. El estudio, que fue realizado en el estado de Aguascalientes, México, evalúa el desarrollo del juicio moral en los alumnos utilizando el Defining Issues Test diseñado por Rest. Los resultados del estudio indican que existe un mayor avance en la moralidad asociada con variables como la modalidad de bachillerato y de control privado.

College faculty (N = 115) were recruited to investigate the influence of moral reasoning on hiring decisions about affirmative action dilemmas. Participants completed the Defining Issues Test (DIT), a standard test of moral reasoning, a measure that presented two hypothetical moral dilemmas about affirmative action that manipulated candidates' race and moral issues, and a scale evaluating the use of external norms versus self-chosen principles. Results indicated that moral issue but not race of a minority candidate affected hiring decisions. Faculty used greater percentages of principled reasoning when solving the more salient affirmative action dilemmas than when solving the hypothetical dilemmas of the DIT. Higher scores on the DIT were related to the use of principles rather than norms when making hiring decisions. Findings suggest that faculty decisions about hiring a hypothetical affirmative action candidate are more influenced by moral reasoning level and competing conceptions of justice than racial bias or ambivalence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“Macromorality” concerns the formal structure of society, as defined by institutions, rules, and roles. “Micromorality” concerns the particular face-to-face relations that people have in everyday life. Kohlbergian theories are most useful for issues of macromorality. The Defining Issues Test (DIT) derives from Kohlberg's approach but makes several departures, including defining cognitive structures in terms of schemas instead of stages, reformulating the definition of postconventional moral thinking, and using different research strategies. The validity of the DIT is based on seven criteria (briefly discussed), and hundreds of studies have produced significant trends. Recent research derived from schema theory produces novel phenomena that link our theory of moral schemas more closely with information processing and decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was directed towards personality-related, value system and sociodemographic variables of nursing students in a situation of change, using a longitudinal perspective to measure their improvement in principle-based moral judgement (Kohlberg; Rest) as possible predictors of stress. Three subgroups of students were included from the commencement of the first three-year academic nursing programme in 1993. The students came from the colleges of health at Jönköping, Växjö and Kristianstad in the south of Sweden. A principal component factor analysis (varimax) was performed using data obtained from the students in the spring of 1994 )n = 122) and in the spring of 1996 )n = 112). There were 23 variables, of which two were sociodemographic, eight represented self-image, six were self-values, six were interpersonal values, and one was principle-based moral judgement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a particular form of anchoring effect specific to a sequence of Likert-scale questions. It mentions that the effect, which is sometimes called "sequential anchoring," manifests itself by having the response to one question serve as an anchor for the response to the subsequent question. It mentions that the presence of sequential anchoring, the order of the questions matters, since a different series of anchors likely leads to different results.