Age Trends in Judging Moral Issues: A Review of Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal, and Sequential Studies of the Defining Issues Test
- 1 June 1978
- journal article
- review article
- Published by JSTOR in Child Development
- Vol. 49 (2) , 263-279
- https://doi.org/10.2307/1128688
Abstract
Cross-sectional data on several thousand high school, college and graduate students from all regions of the USA show striking differences on the Defining Issues Test (DIT) when grouped by age-education level. Adults show stronger positive relationships with years of education than with chronological age. Longitudinal studies show that individuals over 2- and 4-yr intervals generally show decreases in lower stages and increases in higher stages. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies suggest a general plateau in development in early adulthood and after formal education. Sequential studies indicate that generational effects do not account for age trends. Sampling biases and testing effects do not seem to be serious artifacts. Kohlberg''s general model of moral development and the validity of the DIT as an assessment instrument were supported.This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- The development of moral thought: Review and evaluation of Kohlberg's approach.Psychological Bulletin, 1974