SOCIAL ROLES, SELF-CONCEPTIONS, AND MORAL REASONING

According to Kohlberg's (1975, 1976, 1978, 1980a, 1980b, 1981, 1985) theory of moral development, individuals progress sequentially through a series of stages as they develop more sophisticated moral reasoning skills. The purpose of this research was to consider the possible relationships between social role-playing, role conflict, self-conceptions, college experience, and level of moral reasoning. Subjects were 197 students enrolled in introductory social science courses at a public junior college in a metropolitan area in southeast Florida. The age range of the subjects in this study was from 17 to 66 years, with a mean age of 22 years. There were 78 males and 119 females involved. Rest's (1979a, 1979b) Defining Issues Test was used to measure level of moral reasoning. This test yields a "p" score representing the amount of principled moral reasoning demonstrated by the subject while taking the test. Social role-playing and role conflict were measured by a role-playing questionnaire. The number of social roles listed and the number of role conflicts reported by the subjects were counted. The social self-conception was determined through the use of the Twenty Statements Test, that is, the number of times subjects listed social roles and group memberships in answer to the question "Who am I?" Androgyny was measured by the Bem Sex-Role Inventory. College experience was measured by the question "Is this your first time in college?" Scholastic aptitude, social-economic class, age, and sex were included as control variables. The variables that were significantly correlated with the level of moral reasoning in this sample were scholastic aptitude (r =.47, p < .01), age (r =.23, p < .01), social role-playing (r =.35, p < .01), and college experience (r =.17, p < .05). Social role-playing was the only variable that significantly added to the predictability of moral reasoning when the control variables scholastic aptitude, social-economic class, age, and sex were considered. The increment to the R^2 was .03 (F (84,5) = 3.97, p < .05). Social role-playing also incremented the well documented contribution of age and scholastic aptitude in predicting the level of moral reasoning. The increment to the R^2 was .03 (F (3, 86) = 3.98, p < .05). These results suggest that social role-playing should be considered in a developmental model of moral development.