Applying Snyder and Feldman's 1984 consolidation-transition model to moral judgement development has enabled further understanding of how moral judgement translates to moral functioning. In this study, 178 college students were identified as being in consolidated versus transitional phases of moral judgement development using Rest's Defining…

Teachers with relatively high scores on the Defining Issues Test of moral development, contrasted with teachers with relatively low scores, had a more democratic view of teacher and student roles, and saw rules as protecting the rights of individual students as well as the group's rights. (NH)

A study of two junior high male basketball teams tested the ability of an intervention model to alter values-related behavior, perceptions, and moral reasoning of the experimental group. Results suggest the treatment was effective in positively altering sportsmanlike and unsportsmanlike behavior. (IAH)

Reviews studies examining differences in moral schema development, using techniques that range from measuring implicit knowledge (such as the defining issues test) and explicit knowledge (such as with the moral judgment interview). Finds significant differences in the comprehension of moral narratives based on age/education and level of expertise.…

Investigated the relationship between 18-23 year olds' moral judgments and political choices. Surveyed 128 subjects about their perceptions of election issues, candidates, and voting intentions 2 weeks before the 1988 U.S. presidential election. Found significant relationships between subjects' moral development, as measured by the Defining Issues…

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)

Reports a study which examined objective ratings of the moral issues expressed in the Defining Issues Test (DIT) items in relation to verbal reports of the reasoning with which those ratings were generated. Finds that differences in the educational level of the subjects were significant. A case is made for verbal assessment of information on…

Fifty-five studies of a variety of education interventions designed to stimulate development in moral judgment, which used the Defining Issues Test, are reviewed. Results are discussed in terms of general treatment effects, program type, exposure to Kohlberg's Theory, subject age, and treatment duration. (Author/BS)

This final report describes the development of personal, social, and moral values, as well as the development of moral judgments of West Point cadets. The values of cadets at entrance and throughout their four years at the United States Military Academy were assessed. The basic research evaluated how cadets become socialized into the military…

Describes teachers' understanding of individualized instruction by presenting data collected from interviews with seven elementary school instructors. Finds a positive relationship between teachers' understanding of individualized instruction and their moral development as measured by the Defining Issues Test. Provides a number of interpretations…

Many indicators point to a crisis of confidence and credibility in the role of the teacher as a professional and moral leader. In response, many educational researchers are recommending that reflective teachers examine the moral and ethical issues embedded in their everyday thinking and behavior. A study was conducted, therefore, to identify and…

This paper reviews 20 cross-cultural studies conducted with the Defining Issues Test (DIT). All or part of the samples in the studies were non-Americans who had not been a part of the populations presented in the DIT manual. The studies were aimed at the comparison of moral reasoning structure and development across cultures. Several aspects of…

The Defining Issues Test (DIT) has been subjected to construct validation in a number of studies relating it to the development of moral judgment and to measures of cognitive development and political attitudes. The DIT has been found to have significant positive correlations with the Comprehension of Social-Moral Concepts Test for a variety of…

A sample of 245 Chicano, Black, and Anglo children, grades 2-9, from three midwestern states was chosen for a comparative study of moral judgment, to measure differences among the ethnic groups and to determine whether they made the same progression through Kohlberg's three levels of moral development. Subjects viewed video tapes of five moral…