Personal values and moral reasoning: An empirical study

This exploratory study examined the personal values (using the Rokeach values survey) and moral reasoning (according to the DIT-2 P-scores) of a sample of 51 students taking business courses at a Canadian University in Winter 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic. The mean P-Score of the sample was 32.16 with females having a mean P-score (37.4) significantly higher (at 5% level) than the males (mean of 28.62). Health was ranked as the most important terminal value, followed by Family Security and Self-Respect while Honest was considered as the highest-ranking instrumental value, followed by Responsible and Ambitious. Female respondents considered the value of Self-Respect to be of more priority than the male respondents. The results suggest that most of the respondents (66%) according to the Musser-Orke classification, place emphasis on social than on personal goals and thus on serving others rather than themselves. No significant correlation was, however, detected between the respondents’ P-Scores and either their social terminal or moral instrumental value scores.