Can Quantitative Assessment of Moral Identity Be Improved?

<p>According to results from Aquino and Reed (study 5, 2002) and Hall and Derryberry (2010), high means and very low standard deviations of the average score for each question for both the internalization and symbolization scales of the Moral Identity Scale (MIS) are common. This study attempts to measure the extent to which a person considers morality to be a central part of his or her self-concept. Because participants may feel pressure to respond in a certain way on the MIS, the role of social desirability to respond favorably is very plausible. The current study, therefore, attempts to reduce socially desirable responding on the moral identity construct. The hypothesis of this study was that the revised Moral Identity Scale—compared to the original Moral Identity Scale—would display a reduction in skewness, a reduction in social desirability effects, and an increase in the ability to predict moral functioning. Analyses partially supported a reduction in social desirability and supported an increase in the ability to predict moral functioning. However, analyses did not support a reduction in negative skewness.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Department of Psychology

Year

2015

Author dc:creator

• Baker, David Adrion

Contributors dc:contributor

• Pitt Derryberry (Director), Andrew Mienaltowski, Aaron Wichman

• Revision of Moral Identity Scale
• Social Psychology
• Behavior Analysis
• Moral and Ethical Aspects
• Applied Behavior Analysis
• Personality and Social Contexts

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1453

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.wku.edu:theses-2456