Darcia Narvaez

DIT2 : Devising and testing a revised instrument of moral judgment

The Denning Issues Test, Version 2 (DIT2), updates dilemmas and items, shortens the original Defining Issues Test (DIT1) of moral judgment, and purges fewer participants for doubtful response reliability. DIT1 has been used for over 25 years. DIT2 makes 3 changes: in dilemmas and items, in the algorithm of indexing, and in the method of detecting unreliable participants. With all 3 changes, DIT2 is an improvement over DIT1. The validity criteria for DIT2 are (a) significant age and educational differences among 9th graders, high school graduates, college seniors, and students in graduate and professional schools; (b) prediction of views on public policy issues (e.g., abortion, religion in schools, rights of homosexuals, womens roles); (c) internal reliability; and (d) correlation with DIT1. However, the increased power of DIT2 over DIT1 is primarily due to the new methods of analysis (a new index called N2, new checks) rather than to changes in dilemmas, items, or instructions. Although DIT2 presents updated dilemmas and smoother wording in a shorter test (practical improvements), the improvements in analyses account for the validity improvements.

A Neo-Kohlbergian Approach to Morality Research

Kohlbergs work in moral judgement has been criticised by many philosophers and psychologists. Building on Kohlbergs core assumptions, we propose a model of moral judgement (hereafter the neo-Kohlbergian approach) that addresses these concerns. Using 25 years of data gathered with the Defining Issues Test (DIT), we present an overview of Minnesotas neo-Kohlbergian approach, using Kohlbergs basic starting points, ideas from Cognitive Science (especially schema theory), and developments in moral philosophy.

A Neo-Kohlbergian Approach: The DIT and Schema Theory

Abstract“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 Kohlbergs 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.

Beyond the Promise: A Perspective on Research in Moral Education

Changing concerns and ideological shifts in American society produce different emphases in moral education. We argue that different approaches address different dimensions of development. If viewed as complementary rather than contradictory, we may be able to move beyond ideological and philosophical disputes to solid theory-building based on empirical findings. In proposing an action program for moral education that incorporates research, we draw upon lessons learned from the Head Start movement of the 1960s. In defining researchable variables, we recommend the Four Component Model (sensitivity, judgment, motivation, character) instead of the usual tripartite model (thinking, feeling, acting).

The Influence of Reading Purpose on Inference Generation and Comprehension in Reading

There are variations in the extent to which particular types of inferences or activations are made during reading (G. McKoon & R. Ratcliff, 1992; M. Singer, 1994). In this study, the authors investigated the influence of reading purpose (for entertainment or study) on inference generation. Participants read 2 texts aloud and 2 texts for comprehension measures. Reading purpose did not influence off-line behavior (comprehension) but did influence on-line reader behavior (thinking aloud). Readers with a study purpose more often repeated the text, acknowledged a lack of background knowledge, and evaluated the text content and writing than did readers with an entertainment purpose. This pattern was stronger for the expository text than for the narrative text. Reading purpose, and possibly text type, affects the kinds of inferences that readers generate. Hence, inferential activities are at least partially under the readers strategic control.

Moral Schemas and Tacit Judgement or How the Defining Issues Test is Supported by Cognitive Science

Ideas from cognitive science are increasingly influential and provide insight into the nature of moral judgement. Three core ideas are discussed: modern schema theory, the frequency of automatic decision-making and implicit processes as the default mode of human information processing. The Defining Issues Test (DIT) measures the beginnings of moral understanding, which are largely non-verbal and intuitive, in contrast to the Moral Judgement Interview (MJI), which measures the highest level of verbal understanding. The positive attributes of the DIT and its conceptualisation of moral judgement schemas are more apparent in a time of increasing respect for implicit knowledge and processing. The DIT offers a means of measuring moral judgement that fits with current views in cognitive science. Although the MJI and interview techniques generally are worthwhile for measuring production competence, the DIT is better able to measure understanding at the level that drives most decisions for most people.

Moral reasoning, intercultural development, and multicultural experiences: relations and cognitive underpinnings

Abstract The relation between moral reasoning and intercultural sensitivity is discussed. We hypothesize that multicultural experiences are related to both types of development, describe the cognitive processes through which multicultural experiences theoretically facilitate development, and present empirical data supporting the association. Though the underlying developmental constructs were initially conceptualized as stage theories, we borrow from cognitive science and contemporary theories of human learning ( Derry, 1996 ) to think of moral and intercultural development in terms of increasing sociocognitive flexibility. Intercultural and moral development share the common element of a critical shift from rigid to flexible thinking. In moral reasoning, this is characterized by the shift from conventional to post-conventional thinking. In intercultural development, a similar movement occurs between the ethnocentric and ethnorelative orientations of intercultural sensitivity. In order to test our hypothesis, college students (n=70) took measures of intercultural development (Intercultural Development Inventory), moral judgment (Defining Issues Test), and multicultural experience (Multicultural Experience Questionnaire). The results indicate that moral judgment and intercultural development are significantly related to one another. Both are related to multicultural experiences, particularly depth of the experiences, as opposed to breadth.

Moral Complexity The Fatal Attraction of Truthiness and the Importance of Mature Moral Functioning

Recently, intuitionist theories have been effective in capturing the academic discourse about morality. Intuitionist theories, like rationalist theories, offer important but only partial understanding of moral functioning. Both can be fallacious and succumb to truthiness: the attachment to one’s opinions because they “feel right,” potentially leading to harmful action or inaction. Both intuition and reasoning are involved in deliberation and expertise. Both are malleable from environmental and educational influence, making questions of normativity—which intuitions and reasoning skills to foster—of utmost importance. Good intuition and reasoning inform mature moral functioning, which needs to include capacities that promote sustainable human well-being. Individual capacities for habituated empathic concern and moral metacognition—moral locus of control, moral self-regulation, and moral self-reflection—comprise mature moral functioning, which also requires collective capacities for moral dialogue and moral institutions. These capacities underlie moral innovation and are necessary for solving the complex challenges humanity faces.

The Influence of Moral Schemas on the Reconstruction of Moral Narratives in Eighth Graders and College Students.

Much attention has been focused on the importance of reading moral stories to children (e.g., W. Bennett, 1993). Although research on general discourse comprehension is flourishing, little attention has been given to how moral discourse is understood by individuals; that is, what affects an individuals comprehension of a moral text? Eighth-grade and college students read and recalled four complex moral narratives in which moral arguments at different Kohlbergian stages were embedded. Participants then took the Defining Issues Test (DIT), a measure of moral judgment development. Those with higher reasoning scores on the DIT reconstructed more high-stage moral arguments during recall, including adding high-stage moral reasoning that was not in the original text. Significant age-level differences in cumulative moral judgment concepts were also found. Prior moral knowledge affected the comprehension of complex moral narratives.

TEACHING MORAL CHARACTER: TWO ALTERNATIVES FOR TEACHER EDUCATION

Debating whether or not teachers should teach values addresses the wrong question. Education already is a values-infused enterprise. The larger question is how to train teachers for positive character formation. Two teacher education strategies are presented in this article. A “minimalist” strategy requires teacher educators to make explicit the hidden moral education curriculum and to reveal the inextricable linkage between best practice instruction and moral character outcomes. The “maximalist” approach requires preservice teachers to master a tool kit of pedagogical strategies that target moral character directly as a curricular goal. To this end, the Integrative Ethical Education model outlines five steps for moral character development: supportive climate, ethical skills, apprenticeship instruction, self-regulation, and adopting a developmental systems approach.