Stephen J. Thoma

Postconventional Moral Thinking : A Neo-kohlbergian Approach

Contents: Preface. Overview of Our Neo-Kohlbergian Approach. Psychological and Philosophical Challenges to Kohlbergs Approach. A Neo-Kohlbergian Approach Based on the DIT. Validity and Reliability Studies of the DIT. New Issues, New Theory, New Findings. Stages or Schemas? Integrating With the Domain Approach. Integrating With the Cultural Psychology Approach. Summary. Appendices: The ATHRI. Services and Materials Available From the Minnesota Center.

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.

Estimating gender differences in the comprehension and preference of moral issues

Abstract The claim of a gender bias is considered on measures of moral judgment focusing on concepts of justice. Both meta-analyses and secondary analyses on 56 samples of over 6000 male and female subjects are used to estimate the magnitude of gender effects. Inconsistent with current expectations, the results indicate that overall, and at every age/educational level, females score significantly higher than males. Second, the magnitude of this difference is small, both in comparison with age/education effects and in relation to conventional interpretations of the measures employed. Several possible interpretations of these results are discussed especially with regard to C. Gilligans (1977, Harvard Educational Review, 47, 481–517) recent criticism of Kohlbergs theory.

Does Moral Education Improve Moral Judgment? A Meta-Analysis of Intervention Studies Using the Defining Issues Test:

A review was conducted of 55 studies of education interventions designed to stimulate development in moral judgment. All studies used the Defining Issues Test. Various subject groups were involved (junior and senior high school students, college and graduate students, adults), various types of programs were employed (group discussion of moral dilemmas, psychological development programs, social studies and humanities courses), and the duration of the programs varied (a few hours to a year-long program). The principal findings from meta-analysis indicate that the dilemma discussion and psychological development programs produce modest overall effect sizes, that treatments of about 3 to 12 weeks are optimal, and that programs with adults (24 years and older) produce larger effect sizes than with younger subjects; however, significant effect sizes are obtained with all groups.

Designing and validating a measure of moral judgment: Stage preference and stage consistency approaches

The Defining Issues Test (DIT) of moral judgment is discussed in light of the recent challenge by G. Lind (1995) with the Moral Judgment Test (MJT), which is widely used in Europe. The 2 tests represent alternative methods as well as support different conclusions about moral judgment. The key difference is a stage-consistency (MJT) vs. a stage-preference (DIT) approach. Construct validity is defined in terms of 7 types of studies, and the approaches are compared. The stage-preference approach systematically outperforms the stage-consistency approach. Benchmarking by using classic studies in moral judgment illustrates an empirical, multistudy, quantitative approach to moral judgment research.

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.

The Challenge of Measuring Epistemic Beliefs: An Analysis of Three Self-Report Instruments.

Epistemic beliefs are notoriously difficult to measure with self-report instruments. In this study, the authors used large samples to assess the factor structure and internal consistency of 3 self-report measures of domain-general epistemic beliefs to draw conclusions about the trustworthiness of findings reported in the literature. College students completed the Epistemological Questionnaire (EQ; M. Schommer, 1990; N = 935); the Epistemic Beliefs Inventory (EBI; G. Schraw, L. D. Bendixen, & M. E. Dunkle, 2002; N = 795); and the Epistemological Beliefs Survey (EBS; P. Wood & C. Kardash, 2002; N = 795). Exploratory factor analyses, confirmatory factor analyses, and internal consistency estimates indicated psychometric problems with each of the 3 instruments. The authors discuss challenges in conceptualizing and measuring personal epistemology.

“Intermediate” Concepts and the Connection to Moral Education

This paper provides a brief overview of Rests (1983) conception of the important processes that contribute to effective moral decision making, summarizes efforts to design and assess moral education programs based on Rests Four-Component Model, and describes new directions in the assessment of moral judgment development that are specifically directed toward professional ethics education. Based on preliminary studies, we recommend that, in addition to measuring each of the processes in Rests model, educators design profession-specific measures of moral concepts that better reflect the content of professional ethics education. Labeled intermediate concepts measures, these assessments attend to concepts that are more specific than the abstract moral schemas tested by Kohlbergian measures of moral judgment and more general than concrete codes of professional ethics.

Is Political Conservatism Synonymous With Authoritarianism

The authors performed 2 studies that tested the distinction between conservative political ideology and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA). Across these studies, moderate relationships emerged between RWA and our measures of cognitive rigidity, whereas the relationship between rigidity and mainstream conservative ideology was not as strong. The authors used partial-correlation and path analyses to assess the possibility that RWA mediates the relationship between (a) cognitive rigidity and (b) mainstream conservative attitudes and self-identified conservatism. The results indicated that conservatism is not synonymous with RWA. Additionally, RWA appeared to partially mediate the relationship between cognitive rigidity and mainstream conservatism.