The purpose of this paper is to validate the use of a modified Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) for predicting undergraduate student cheating. Specifically, we administered a survey assessing how the TPB relates to cheating along with a measure of moral reasoning (DIT- 2) to 527 undergraduate students across three institutions; and analyzed the…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a business ethics course on the cognitive moral reasoning of freshmen business students. The sample consisted of 268 college students enrolled in a required business ethics course. The students took Rest's Defining Issues Test--Version 2 (DIT2) as a pre-test and then post-test (upon…

Understanding the developmental issues first-time college students face is critical for scholars and educators interested in learning and development. This purpose of this study was to investigate the differential impact of first-year college experiences on the moral reasoning development of 1,469 students in moral transition versus those in moral…

The ineffectiveness of business ethics education has received attention from the popular press and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business after repeated ethics scandals. One possibility is that teaching ethics is different from other content areas because ethics is best learned when the student does not know it is being taught.…

The Defining Issues Test (DIT), which utilizes the moral development stage theory of L. Kohlberg, was administered to 41 students from an upper middle class school district in Pennsylvania. The scores of students who elected to attend the alternative high school were compared with the scores of students who elected to attend the district's…

Male perpetrated sexual aggression has long been recognized as a serious problem on college campuses. The purpose of this multiple regression correlation study was to assess the relationship between levels of moral development (measured by the Defining Issues Test) and the degree to which first-year college men (N = 161) ascribed to rape…

Critics of moral judgment measures question whether the obtained pattern of relationships between moral judgment scores and outcome variables might be better explained by verbal/general ability. To address this concern, we assess the degree to which moral judgment development reduces to verbal ability using the Defining Issues Test (DIT). Our…

Administered standard and modified versions of the Defining Issues Test (DIT) to 40 older adults. Contrary to previous studies, the self/other manipulation failed to significantly influence older adults' moral judgments. The role of cognitive/perspective-taking and personal/affective factors in moral reasoning abilities are discussed. (JAC)

This literature review examines the potential of selective recall for assessing level of moral reasoning. Rest's Defining Issues Test was administered to five individuals to test the applicability of certain principles of selective recall in assessing moral reasoning. (IAH)

The Defining Issues Test (DIT) of moral judgment, a stage preference approach, is compared with the Moral Judgment Test (MJT) widely used in Europe. The MJT is a stage consistency test. Construct validity is defined in terms of seven types of studies, which support use of the stage preference approach. (SLD)

Fifty school administrators completed Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT) and Patterson's Moral Action Choice Test (MACT) as part of a study to determine how Kohlberg's theory of moral development might apply to day-to-day administrative decision-making. The respondents were presented with hypothetical moral dilemmas and asked to explain what they…

Gains in moral judgement, as measured by the Defining Issues Test (DIT), correlate strongly with advancing education. Curricula that are strongly biblically based may not promote, and students with a strong fundamentalist orientation may not demonstrate, such moral growth. Students at an interdenominational, but very conservative seminary,…

Developing teacher candidates who are able to make moral judgements to equitably resolve classroom dilemmas, conduct student assessment and allocate resources is critical for today's diverse classrooms and should be part of fostering professional disposition. However, one challenge of incorporating dispositions in teacher education and a valid…

Research on moral development from a cognitive-developmental perspective has been undertaken predominantly with Western subjects and most often with males. To investigate variables associated with moral reasoning among Palestinian Arabs, 259 male and female university students between the ages of 18 and 26 completed Rest's Defining Issues Test…

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between moral judgment and personality or attitude toward authority; variation of attitude toward authority through adolescence; and bias of Kohlbergian moral development toward a liberal political philosophy. Results were discussed in terms of the political and psychological features of…