This study examined the theoretical relationship between moral development and Black racial identity development among African American university students. Results indicated that racial identity and moral judgments are linked and that emotionality embedded within Black racial identity statuses differentially influences moral decision making. It is recommended that school-based programs involving moral development include racial identity issues and subsequent emotionbased components during training.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Arbuthnot, L.
, & Gordon, D. (1986). Behavioral and cognitive effect of a moral reasoning developmental intervention for high-risk behavior-disordered adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 85, 1275-1301.
2.
Atkinson, D. R.
, & Thompson, C. E. (1992). Racial, ethnic, and cultural variables in counseling. In S. D. Brown & R.W. Lent (Eds.), Handbook of counseling psychology (pp. 349-382). New York: John Wiley.
3.
Bagley, C.
, & Copeland, E. (1994). African and African American graduate students’ racial identity and personal problem-solving strategies. Journal of Counseling and Development, 73, 167-171.
4.
Batson, C.
(1995). Prosocial motivation: Why do we help others? In A. Tesser (Ed.), Advanced social psychology (pp. 333-381). New York: McGraw-Hill.
5.
Bradby, D.
, & Helms, J. (1990). Black racial identity attitudes and White therapist cultural sensitivity in cross-racial dyads: An exploratory study. In J. Helms (Ed.), Black and white racial identity: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 165-175). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
6.
Carter, R.
(1991). Racial identity attitudes and psychological functioning. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 19, 105-114.
7.
Carter, R.
(1995). The influence of race and racial identity in psychotherapy. New York: John Wiley.
8.
Chickering, A.
(1969). Education and identity. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
9.
Colby, A.
, Kohlberg, L., Abrahami, A., Gibbs, J., Higins, A., Kauffman, K., Lieberman, M., Nisan, M., Reimer, J., Schrader, D., Snarey, J., & Tappan, M. (1987). The measurement of moral judgment: Theoretical foundations and research validation (Vol. 1). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
10.
Colby, A.
, Kohlberg, L., Speicher, B., Hewer, A., Candee, D., Gibbs, J., & Power, C. (1987). The measurement of moral judgment: Standard issue scoring manual (Vol. 2). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
11.
Crain, W.
(1992). Theories of development: Concepts and applications (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
12.
Cross, W. E., Jr.
(1978). The Thomas and Cross models of psychological nigrescence: A review. Journal of Black Psychology, 5, 13-31.
13.
Cross, W. E.
, Parham, T. A., & Helms, J. E. (1991). The stages of Black identity development: Nigrescence models. In R. L. Jones (Ed.), Black psychology (3rd ed., pp. 319-338). Berkeley, CA: Cobb & Henry.
14.
Dunston, P.
, & Roberts, A. (1987). The relationship of moral judgment and ego development to political-social values in Black college students. Journal of Black Psychology, 13, 43-49.
15.
Fischer, A.
, Tokar, D., & Serna, G. (1988). Validity and construct contamination of the Racial Identity Attitude Scale: Long form. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 45, 212-234.
16.
Gibbs, J.
, Potter, G., & Goldstein, A. (1995). The Equip program: Teaching youth to think and act responsibly through a peer-helping approach. Champaign, IL: Research Press.
17.
Helms, J.
(Ed.). (1990). Black and White racial identity: Theory, research, and practice. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
18.
Helms, J.
(1993). More psychologists discover the wheel: A reaction to views by Penn et al. on ethnic preference. Journal of Black Psychology, 19, 322-326.
19.
Helms, J.
(1995). An update of Helms’ White and people of color racial identity models. In J. Ponterotto, J. Casas, L. Suziki, & C. Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural counseling (pp. 181-198). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
20.
Helms, J.
, & Carter, R. (1990). Development of the White racial identity inventory. In J. Helms (Ed.), Black and White racial identity: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 67-80). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
21.
Helms, J.
, & Parham, T. (1985). The racial identity attitude scale (RIAS). Irvine, CA: University of California Press.
22.
Jones, W.
(1990). Perspectives on ethnicity. New Directions for Student Services, 51, 59-71.
23.
Kohlberg, L.
(1969). Stage and sequence: The cognitive-developmental approach to socialization. In D. A. Goslin (Ed.), Handbook of socialization theory and research. Chicago: Rand McNally.
24.
Kohlberg, L.
(1976). Moral stages and moralization. In T. Lickona (Ed.), Moral development and behavior: Theory, research, and social issues (pp. 31-53). New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
25.
Kohlberg, L.
(1981). Essays on moral development (Vol. 1). New York: Harper & Row.
26.
Lemon, R.
, & Waehler, C. (1996). A test of stability and construct validity of the Black Racial Identity Attitude Scale-Form B (RIAS-B) and the White Racial Identity Attitude Scale (WRIAS). Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 29, 77-85.
27.
Locke, D.
, & Tucker, D. (1988). Race and moral judgment development scores. Counseling and Values, 32, 232-235.
28.
Locke, D.
, & Zimmerman, N. (1987). Effects of peer-counseling training on psychological maturity of Black students. Journal of College Student Personnel, 28, 525-532.
29.
McEwen, M.
, Roper, L., Bryant, D., & Langa, M. (1990). Incorporating the development of African American students into psychosocial theories of student development. Journal of College Student Development, 31, 429-436.
30.
Mitchell, S.
, & Dell, D. (1992). The relationship between Black students’ racial identity attitude and participation in campus organizations. Journal of College Student Development, 33, 39-43.
31.
Mussen, F.
, Rutherford, R., Harris, S., & Keasey, C. (1978). Honesty and altruism among preadolescents. Developmental Psychology, 3, 164-194.
32.
Muuss, R.
(1976). Kohlberg’s cognitive-developmental approach to adolescent morality. Adolescence, 41, 39-54.
33.
Narváez, D.
, & Rest, J. (1995). The four components of acting morally. In W. Kurtines & J. Gewirtz (Eds.), Moral development: An introduction (pp. 385-399). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
34.
Nghe, L. T.
, & Mahalik, J. R. (2001). Examining racial identity statuses as predictors of psychological defenses in African American college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 48, 10-16.
35.
Parham, T.
, & Helms, J. (1981). The influence of Black students’ racial attitudes on preference for counselor race. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 28, 250-257.
36.
Parham, T.
, & Helms, J. (1985a). Attitudes of racial identity and self-esteem of Black students: An exploratory investigation. Journal of College Student Personnel, 26, 143-146.
37.
Parham, T.
, & Helms, J. (1985b). Relation of racial identity attitude states of Black attitudes. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 32, 431-440.
38.
Parham, T.
, & Williams, P. (1993). The relationship of demographic and background factors to racial identity attitudes. Journal of Black Psychology, 19, 7-24.
39.
Rest, J.
(1979). Development in judging moral issues. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
40.
Rest, J.
(1986). Moral development: Advances in theory and research. New York: Praeger.
41.
Rest, J.
(1990). DIT manual (3rd ed.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
42.
Rest, J.
(1993). Guide for the Defining Issues Test. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
43.
Richardson, T.
, & Helms, J. (1994). The relationship of the racial identity attitudes of Black men to perceptions of “parallel” counseling dyads. Journal of Counseling and Development, 73, 172-177.
44.
Rybash, J.
, Roodin, P., & Lonky, E. (1981). Young adults’ scores on the Defining Issues Test as a function of a “self” versus “other” presentation mode. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 10, 25-31.
45.
Salili, F.
, Maehr, M., & Gillmore, G. (1976). Achievement and morality: A cross-cultural analysis of causal attribution and evaluation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33, 327-337.
46.
Shavelson, R.
(1988). Statistical reasoning for the behavioral science (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
47.
Snarey, J.
(1985). Cross-cultural universality of social-moral development: A critical review of Kohlbergian research. Psychological Bulletin, 97, 202-232.
48.
Taylor, C.
, & Howard-Hamilton, M. (1995). Student involvement and racial identity attitudes among African American males. Journal of College Student Development, 36, 330-336.
49.
Tucker, D.
, & Locke, D. (1986). The manipulation of race in moral dilemmas: Implications for moral education and human relations. Educational and Psychological Research, 13, 99-109.
50.
Walsh, W.
, & Srsic, C. (1995). Annual review: Vocational behavior and career development. Career Development Quarterly, 44, 98-145.
51.
Ward, J.
(1995). Cultivating a morality of care in African American adolescents: A culture-based model of violence prevention. Harvard Educational Review, 65, 175-188.
52.
Wilson, F.
(1995). The effects of age, gender, and ethnic/cultural background on moral reasoning. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 10, 67-78.
53.
Wright, D.
(1987). Minority students: Developmental beginnings. In D. J. Wright (Ed.), Responding to the needs of today’s minority students (pp. 5-22). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
