مدل‌سازی روابط ساختاری قضاوت اخلاقی و رفتار اخلاقی و بررسی نقش میانجی بنیادهای اخلاقی

فاطمه  ملائی; سوسن علیزاده فرد; منصوره   نیکو گفتار

Authors

Fatemeh Mollaei Department of Psychology, To.C., Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9300-8754
Susan Alizadefard Department of Psychology, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran / Visiting Professor Department of Psychology, To.C., Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5650-8554
Mansoure Nikoogoftar Department of Psychology, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran Visiting Professor Department of Psychology, To.C., Islamic Azad University, Tonekabon, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2149-878X

Keywords:

moral judgment, moral behavior, moral foundations

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Moral judgment and moral foundations are important constructs for explaining individuals’ moral behavior; however, the mechanism through which these variables are related and the potential mediating role of moral foundations require further empirical investigation. This study aimed to model the structural relationships between moral judgment and moral behavior and to examine the mediating role of moral foundations among university students.

Methodology: This descriptive-correlational study employed a path-analysis approach. The statistical population consisted of all male and female undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students at Islamic Azad University, Shahr-e Ray Branch, during the 2023–2024 academic year, from whom 200 students were selected using convenience sampling. Data were collected using Rest’s Short Form of Moral Stories (1973), Swanson and Hill’s 15-Item Checklist of Moral Behavior (1993), and Haidt and Graham’s 32-item Moral Foundations Questionnaire (2007). Data were analyzed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient in SPSS version 27 and structural equation modeling in SmartPLS. The Sobel test was also applied to examine the hypothesized mediating effect.

Findings: Moral judgment had a significant direct effect on moral behavior (P<0.001). Moral foundations also exerted a significant direct effect on moral behavior (P<0.001), such that a one-unit increase in moral foundations was associated with an average 0.45-unit increase in moral behavior. Moral foundations were positively and significantly correlated with moral behavior (r=0.31, P<0.001). However, the relationship between moral judgment and moral foundations was not statistically significant. The Sobel test further indicated that the indirect effect of moral judgment on moral behavior through moral foundations was not significant (Z<1.96); therefore, the hypothesized mediating role of moral foundations was not supported.

Conclusion: Moral judgment and moral foundations appear to contribute independently to moral behavior, whereas moral foundations do not constitute a mediating mechanism linking moral judgment to moral behavior. These findings suggest that educational programs designed to promote ethical behavior among university students may benefit from simultaneously strengthening moral judgment capacities and underlying moral foundations.

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