This study explored the moral reasoning and scientific argumentation skills of 31 gifted Finnish adolescents participating in a science program at the University of Helsinki. Students were given the Defining Issues Test (DIT) to determine their level of moral reasoning and the Raven test to evaluate their scientific reasoning. The argumentation…

Analysis of scholastic test information and scores on the Defining Issues Test (DIT) of moral judgment for 122 eighth graders found a wide variation in DIT scores among high cognitive ability subjects, but no high scores among low ability subjects, suggesting that high cognitive ability is necessary but not sufficient for high moral judgment. (DB)

Maintains that the Defining Issues Test (DIT) is now the most frequently used measure of moral judgment development. Reviews the history of DIT research. Asserts that the measurement system provided by the DIT would put the cognitive developmental approach in a better position to affect change in the moral development field. (CFR)