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Ego identity status, formal operations, and moral development

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Abstract

Twenty-six subjects (20 males and 6 females) were administered measures assessing ego identity status, level of moral reasoning, and stage of cognitive development. Expectations that formal operations would be a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the development of post-conventional moral thought and for Identity Achievement status were supported. Level of moral thought was also found to be positively related to achievement of identity. Individual descriptions of subjects with noteworthy patterns of the three variables under study were presented. Suggestions for future research included the necessity for replication of these findings with a largerN and exploration of the possibility that level of social role taking mediates between cognitive development and identity (psychosocial) development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

    Ian Rowe & James E. Marcia

Authors
  1. Ian Rowe
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  2. James E. Marcia
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Additional information

This research is based upon the master's thesis of the first author.

Received his B.A. from Simon Fraser University in 1974. Research interests are in cognitive developmental theory.

Received his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 1964. Presently Professor of Psychology, Simon Fraser University. Research interest is construct validation of ego psychoanalytic theory.

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Rowe, I., Marcia, J.E. Ego identity status, formal operations, and moral development. J Youth Adolescence 9, 87–99 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02087928

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