ABSTRACT
Research using the Defining Issues Test of moral judgment on the effects of college upon moral judgment development is reviewed. Three kinds of studies show a “college effect”: cross-sectional comparisons of students at various educational levels, longitudinal follow up of subjects who attend or don’t attend college, and the association of involvement in college with degree of change. Then studies on more specific life experiences (the conditions and mechanisms whereby the “college experience” has its effect) are reviewed, highlighting the role of variables such as “Continued Intellectual Stimulation” and “Academic/Career Orientation.” Moral education programs are reviewed. Then the larger question of moral development (of which moral judgment development is part) is discussed in terms of a Four Component Model of moral development.
