Moral Maturity: Measuring the Development of Sociomoral Reflection

The traditional production measure of moral judgment has been the Moral Judgment Interview (MJI), which uses hypothetical moral dilemmas to elicit moral judgment. However, the MJI dilemmas have been criticized as artificial and may not be entirely appropriate for children, certain cultures, and practical moral situations. This unique volume utilizes and evaluates a new production measure of moral judgment, the Sociomoral Reflection Measure -- Short Form (SRM-SF), which substitutes brief stimulus materials and evaluative questions for the moral dilemma technique. The authors report that the SRM-SF exhibits an impressive degree of reliability and validity and is quicker to administer and score than other available measures. To illustrate these findings, this book offers the resources needed for the assessment of the Kohlbergian stage of moral judgment using the SRM-SF. These resources include: an up-to-date review of research and theory, a group-administrable questionnaire, an efficient scoring manual, and self-training exercises in assessment. Psychometrically sound and practical, the SRM-SF has the potential to become the leading moral judgment measure of the 90s.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface. Part I: Background. Moral-Cognitive Development and Maturity. The Sociomoral Reflection Measure -- Short Form. Using the Sociomoral Reflection Measure -- Short Form. Part II: Reference Manual. Contract and Truth. Affiliation (with Parents and Friends). Life. Property and Law. Legal Justice. Appendices: The Social Reflection Questionnaire -- Short Form and SRM-SF Rating Form. Question Exercises with Answer Keys. Questionnaire Exercises with Answer Keys.

About the Author :
John C. Gibbs, Karen S. Basinger, Dick Fuller, Richard L. Fuller

Review :
"...will be invaluable to researchers in the field of sociomoral reflection and moral judgment. It offers a sophisticated yet economical (in money and time) alternative to other expensive production measures like the MJI. I will certainly use the SRM-SF in my future work, and recommend it highly to others." —Merrill-Palmer Quarterly "A groundbreaking contribution to the field. The author offers an exciting new way of thinking about the morality of justice and caring -- a way which broadens our ideas about what it means to be morally mature. The authors' Social Reflection Questionnaire overcomes many of the limitations of the currently available techniques for assessing moral judgment and will prove invaluable in future research with young children as well as adults." —Joan G. Miller Yale University "This is an insightful effort to explore the development of moral reflection, a capacity that very much needs to be looked at in its own right. The authors provide a methodology for measuring moral reflection that is ingenious and 'user-friendly' and a thoughtful conceptual framework for distinguishing it from other elements of moral judgment. As the authors suggest, this work has important implications for the study of delinquent as well as normal social development." —Anne Colby Radcliffe College