Validation Study of the Korean Version of the Morality-as-Cooperation Questionnaire (MAC-Q)

This study aimed to adapt the "Morality-as-Cooperation Questionnaire (MAC-Q)," developed by Curry et al. (2019) based on the Morality-as-Cooperation (MAC) theory, into Korean and to validate its reliability and validity as a new measurement tool for moral psychology research in Korea.An online survey was administered to 562 Korean adults, and the collected data were randomly divided into Sample 1 (N = 284) and Sample 2 (N = 278).Sample 1 (N = 284) was used for an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and Sample 2 (N = 278) was used for a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).Convergent validity and reliability analyses (Cronbach's ) were conducted on the total sample (N = 562).Convergent validity was examined using selected subscales from the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ), the Schwartz Value Survey (SVS), and the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) as criteria.The results showed that when the 21 "relevance" items and the 21 "judgment" items of the MAC-Q were analyzed separately under seven subfactors (family values, group loyalty, reciprocity, heroism, respect, fairness, and property rights), the factor structure was identified through the EFA, and the CFA demonstrated acceptable model fit.The seven subscales also exhibited good internal consistency (Cronbach's ).However, when all 42 items were analyzed as a single seven-factor model, the overall fit was poor (though it improved under a multitrait-multimethod approach), and certain factors (heroism, property rights) showed relatively low correlations with external criterion measures.Based on these findings, the reliability and validity of the Korean MAC-Q were confirmed, and the study discusses its implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research.