Individual moral judgment and cultural ideologies.

Abstract

Moral judgment cannot be reduced to cultural ideology, or vice versa. But when each construct is measured separately, then combined, the product predicts powerfully to moral thinking. In Study 1, 2 churches (N = 96) were selected for their differences on religious ideology, political identity, and moral judgment. By combining these 3 variables, a multiple correlation of .79 predicted to members' moral thinking (opinions on human rights issues). Study 2 replicated this finding in a secular sample, with the formula established in Study 1 (R = .11). Individual conceptual development in moral judgment and socialization into cultural ideology co-occur, simultaneously and reciprocally, in parallel, and not serially. Individual development in moral judgment provides the epistemological categories for cultural ideology, which in turn influences the course of moral judgment, to produce moral thinking (e.g., opinions about abortion, free speech).Theories of moral development typically invoke two processes to explain change over time: (a) socialization of the individual into cultural ideology and (b) the individual's cognitive construction of social and moral meaning. Theorists differ in terms of emphasizing one process or the other and in terms of which process is assumed to be dominant at one period of time. The concepts of autonomy and heteronomy are used to refer, respectively, to the individual, cognitive-constructionist, agentic aspect of morality and to the external, shared-group, conforming aspect. Autonomy and heteronomy are the yin and the yang of moral theorists. On the one hand, cognitive-developmental theories, centering on the construct of moral judgment, emphasize the development of autonomy. On the other hand, social learning theories and cultural psychology theories, centering on cultural transmission, emphasize heteronomy. Moreover, Piaget (1932/1965 postulated that development consists of moving from heteronomy to autonomy; Kohlberg

The Relation of Moral Judgment Development and Educational Experience to Recall of Moral Narratives and Expository Texts

“…Internal consistency as measured by Cronbach's alpha had the same range, .70-.80, in various studies (Rest, 1993). The DIT has been validated according to six criteria: (a) correlations with moral comprehension (e.g., Rest, 1979), (b) differentiating more and less skilled groups (Narvaez, 1998), (c) longitudinal trends (e.g., Rest, 1986), (d) sensitivity to intervention (Rest & Narvaez, 1994), (e) correlations with political attitudes (e.g., Narvaez, Getz, Rest, & Thoma, 1999), and (f) correlations with behavior (e.g., Thoma, 1994;see Rest et al, 1997, for a summary of validation studies). The DIT was scored electronically by the Center for the Study of Ethical Development, University of Minnesota.…”

The Effect of Teachers’ Spirituality and Ethical Ideology on Their Preference of Reporting Wrongdoings at Schools

“…In addition, Narvaez, Getz, Rest, and Thoma (1999) claim that religious fundamentalism and moral judgment are interrelated, that means if a person is exposed to or reinforced with religious fundamentalism, that person obeys religious authority. However, when the person comes up with a civil authority (e.g., school principals, judges, and university presidents), then s/he transfers his/her obedience from strong religious authority to strong respect for civil authority.…”

Influence of Social Norms and Spiritual Tendencies to Moral Considerations in Religious School Students

“…Reviews Narvaez, Getz, Rest and Thoma (1999) is a study that studies the relationship between moral judgment and human rights. This review uses the DIT instrument, religious ideology (Brown and Lowe s, 1951), political ideology, religious orientation and attitudes towards human rights (Atri) (Getz, 1985).…”