Russian-Language Version of the Moral Identity Questionnaire

Abstract

<p>Moral identity, according to theoretical concepts, plays an important role in motivating moral behaviour. At the same time, empirical studies of moral identity are hampered by the lack of appropriate instruments. The purpose of this work is to develop a Russian-language inventory based on the Moral Identity Questionnaire (MIQ) by J. Black and W. Reynolds, which includes two scales: Moral Self and Moral Integrity. The Moral Integrity Scale measures the desire for consistency between one's moral impulses and actions, while the Moral Self Scale measures how strong one's identification with moral values is. In the study on a sample of 322 students (79% female, mean age M = 21,05; SD = 6,55) good internal consistency of the scales was shown (Cronbach's &alpha; coefficients were 0.77 and 0.80). The results of the confirmatory factor analysis confirm the structure of the questionnaire, composed of two factors relevant to the scales. The results of the validity analysis showed that indicators of moral identity are directly related to moral foundations, agreeability, indicators of empathy, as well as identified, internal and introjected motivation for moral actions. Also, the expected negative correlations of indicators of moral identity with moral disengagement, traits of the dark triad, egoism, propensity to academic dishonesty and amotivation of moral actions were revealed. No gender differences were found on the scales of moral identity, while a weak direct relationship of all scales with age was revealed. Thus, as a result of the study, a Russian-language moral identity questionnaire was developed, which can be useful in further research on the role of identity in motivating moral behaviour.</p>