Undergraduate students showed an increase in moral reasoning (DIT) after a semester-long course covering topics of advertising ethics, completing a new advertising ethics training program (CEAE), and engaging in activities that allowed for reflection. Students placed more importance on postconventional stages of moral reasoning over personal…

This experiment tested the use of a nudge-based texting intervention on the moral reasoning development of preservice teachers. The intervention sent cellphone text messages of moral scenarios in one of two forms over the course of 42 days (6 weeks). Results showed no significant interaction between group assignment and time across all four…

The purpose of this quantitative ex post facto study was to examine if there is a significant difference in mean moral judgment levels of first year undergraduate students after participating in a character development program at a non-traditional program in a university in the southwestern United States. This study included new non-traditional…

The purpose of this quantitative ex post facto study was to examine if there is a significant difference in mean moral judgment levels of first year undergraduate students after participating in a character development program at a non-traditional program in a university in the southwestern United States. This study included new non-traditional…

Intercultural initiatives have become a major focal point in higher education in recent years. Many initiatives have ambitious learning outcomes, but few metrics for evaluating success. This is due to the hidden ethical/moral curriculum embedded within them. In this study, intercultural initiatives are examined through a hybrid…

Although some previous studies have investigated the relationship between moral foundations and moral judgment development, the methods used have not been able to fully explore the relationship. In the present study, we used Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) in order to address the limitations in traditional regression methods that have been used…

Ethical misconduct continues to raise concerns among the public because of the significant impact on stakeholders. This study investigates differences among business ethics education, attitudes towards ethical decision-making, and length of work experience among MBA groups. Based on the premise that the transfer effects of business ethics…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Using multilevel modeling, moral reasoning was investigated with respect to individual characteristics and school-related (i.e. university/college) factors. Researchers observed significant effects for the individual characteristic of political orientation. Additionally, all investigated school-related factors were significant. Only main effects…

Using the Defining Issues Test of moral reasoning, researchers gathered pre- and posttest data from educational leadership students (N = 52) and confidence levels in enacting ethical school leadership, before and after completing a master's degree program in educational leadership. On a 95-point scale, pretest, postconventional moral reasoning…

The Center for the Study of Ethical Development archives DIT data and, in this way, it is possible to investigate normative trends, which is the purpose of the present study. Specifically, online DIT-2 data is used. Results support the notion that the primary difference in the paper/pencil version and the online version of the DIT-2 is simply the…

We utilized data from a multi-institutional longitudinal study to investigate the association between diversity-related coursework and moral development among students over 4 years of college. Our findings parallel the prior research, which support the positive effects of diversity on college students, by offering new evidence that diversity…