Hospitals today focus on creating a culture of patient safety and reducing error. Registered nurses are mandated by the American Nurses Association's Code of Ethics to advocate for the patient at all times and to act accountably to ensure patient safety. There is a paucity of literature relating to how nurses' values and ethical ideology may affect their decision to act accountably. This study tested two hypotheses. Hypothesis 1 predicted that registered nurses who demonstrated a low relativistic ethical ideology would score higher on a measure of professional values than would registered nurses who demonstrate a high relativistic ethical ideology. Hypothesis 2 predicted an order of ethical ideology (absolutists then exceptionists, subjectivists and situationists) in scores on a measure of accountability. A descriptive non experimental design was used. Registered nurses (n=215) employed on the west coast of Florida completed a demographic form, Ethical Position Questionnaire (EPQ), Nurses Professional Values Scale Revised (NPVSR) and an investigator developed accountability instrument. A median split on the scores of the relativism and idealism scales on the EPQ formed the four groups of ethical ideology; absolutists, exceptionists, subjectivists and situationists. The accountability instrument consisted of 2 hypothetical clinical vignettes involving a late antibiotic administration. Using a Likert type scale, the participants answered three questions regarding how likely they would be to record the actual time of medication administration, call the physician and complete an incident report. Hypothesis I was not supported. Idealism (p=.001) not relativism had a significant effect on professional values. Hypothesis II was not supported. Absolutists scored highest on measures of accountability followed by exceptionists, situationists and subjectivists. When controlling for age, idealism not relativism had a significant effect on completing an incident report (p = .03). This is the first study to examine the effect of ethical ideology on professional values and a registered nurse's intention to act accountably. Previous studies described values held but did not link the descriptions to intentions to act. The information may be useful to hospitals as they build a culture of patient safety and develop a workforce that is accountable for its actions and decisions.

Past research has shown that there are differences between children's ability to express verbally moral judgment or social cognitive principles (cognitive-expression) and their ability to understand and utilize these principles when making evaluations about others (cognitive-reception). This study investigated these differences.

The present study was undertaken (1) to compare the connotative meanings criminals attach to a sampling of concepts with those meanings attached by noncriminals, and (2) to examine the possible relationship between moral development and criminal behavior. One hundred thirty four male subjects completed the Wide Range Achievement Test- Revised (Reading Section); a personal data sheet; the Ammons Quick Test-Form I; the Criminal Semantic Inventory; the Test for Criminal Cognitions; and the Sociomoral Reflection Questionnaire. Subjects were divided into four groups (Noncriminals, Against Person Group, Against Property Group, and Against Statute Group) on the basis of history of criminal conviction. A one-way MANOVA was conducted on each of the 16 concepts under investigation. Significant differences were found for five concepts. In addition, criminals were found to differ significantly from noncriminals on level of moral development.

This paper examines Samuel Richardson's 1740 novel Pamela through two modern models of adolescent development: moral development (Kohlberg and Turiel) and psychosocial development (Erikson, Marcia, and Luyckx et al.). It argues that the novel's eponymous heroine is a complex character who moves beyond the simple stereotypes, being neither a perfect model of feminine virtue nor a coquette on the prowl for a wealthy catch. By examining the developmental arcs Pamela experiences in the novel, it is possible to read her as a typical teenage girl who achieves virtue through errors and growth rather than a static character whose virtue (or simulacrum of it) maintains a flatline.

This research explored the connection between the level of moral reasoning in rehabilitation professionals and their supervisors' judgment of them as more or less successful in providing services. Professionals from three work settings (private for-profit, private not-for-profit, and public) in two states (California and Texas) were categorized by supervisors into two research groups. Moral reasoning was assessed by the Defining Issues Test. A demographic questionnaire provided information on factors such as age, sex, exposure to previous ethics training, years in the field of vocational rehabilitation, and identification of the professional as an individual with a disability. Relevant data was obtained from 61 supervisors and 122 rehabilitation professionals. The research sample provided 20 matched pairs (one more successful and one less successful) from both the private for-profit and private not-for-profit settings and 21 matched pairs from the public work setting. This sample included 73 females and 49 males. Analysis found that rehabilitation professionals identified as being more successful had significantly higher moral reasoning scores on the Defining Issues Test than peers identified as less successful. This finding was not affected by sex, work setting, years in the field of vocational rehabilitation, or prior exposure to training in ethics. The factor of age was identified as having significant interaction with the level of assessed moral reasoning. A positive correlation was identified between age and supervisors' selection of more successful professionals. This research identified moral development as a factor in being judged by supervisors as successful in vocational rehabilitation services. It also discussed alternative criteria for success other than the “rehabilitated” status of the client, the role of moral development in successful case management, the need for assessing moral development in candidates for graduate school, and the place of moral development in hiring and training rehabilitation professionals. Several recommendations are made for additional research that include adding the supervisor's age as a research factor; focusing on rehabilitation counselors rather than including the general population of rehabilitation professionals; and comparing competitive closure rates of rehabilitation professionals with their levels of assessed moral reasoning.

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Moral development in preschool is a component of social and emotional development, which also includes self-regulation, interpersonal skills, and school readiness. While service-learning has demonstrated significant benefits to the social-emotional development of older students, very little research has examined the effects of service-learning with young children. The purpose of this study was to create an academic curriculum that would provide preschool children (3 to 5 years old) with a developmentally-appropriate approach to service-learning, and determine if such a curriculum had a measurable effect on naturalistic empathy. Children in two classrooms received a preliminary empathy score based on number of empathetic behaviors relative to time observed. Children in the experimental classroom engaged in a series of lesson plans designed to guide their self-selected service-learning project. Participants in the experimental classroom created an intergenerational project that directly served the residents of a nursing home across the street from their school. A subsequent assessment of empathy measured moral development as a result of the service-learning in comparison to the normal growth and development observed in the control classroom. Results indicate if participation in service-learning increases the number of observed empathetic behaviors. Implications and recommendations for further research are also discussed.

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