The Effect of Moral Development and Moral Identity on Integrity

December 3, 2025

The Effect of Moral Development and Moral Identity on Integrity

Tom Clark | 2022

Abstract

This study assessed two personal level concepts—moral development and moral identity—to provide greater insight into how they influence moral integrity, with the ultimate goal of illuminating organizational effectiveness in teaching integrity and developing honesty and integrity in emerging leaders. In the end, the study addressed one of the most pressing leadership issues today: individual character development. The study followed a cross-sectional, quantitative, survey-based approach using a combined, three-part instrument to gather data from college-level participants enrolled in an established leader development program. This approach provided relative ease and efficiency in collecting data from numerous participants to test the hypotheses expeditiously and avoid biases. The combined instrument included the Defining Issues Test-2, which measures moral development; the Moral Identity Measure, which measures moral identity; and the Integrity Scale, which measures integrity. The findings supported the research hypotheses, indicating that a leader’s moral development and moral identity have a positive effect on the moral integrity that the leader exhibits. The paper concludes by recommending practical steps to enhance moral development and internalized moral identity—the strongest predictor of integrity based on the findings—and how integrity is taught and developed as a character virtue in leadership development programs.

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