The Relationship Between Students’ Moral Judgment,Self-efficacy And Their Moral Behavior

Background: In recent years, there is growing awareness of the importance of people as a moral subject, and moral judgment has become a hot topic for moral psychology. As the future and hope of the motherland, college students are the backbone of the construction of the socialist cause, having a strong bearing on the state and national progress. Therefore, the status and level of moral development of college students is a widespread concern in society. In the early stages of moral psychology research, cognitive level of individuals is considered to be the only factor that affects moral judgment. However, with the progress of moral psychology studies, researchers found that personality factors play a very big role in the process of change in moral psychology. To find personality variables associated with ethical behavior, Walker assumed that when moral judgment is not sufficient to describe ethical behavior, personality variables may, to a large extent, be filling this gap. When personality variables intervene, moral reasoning based on ethical behavior significantly increased its forecasts, from the original52%up to86%, from76%to92%. Walker’s hypothesis experimental data provide strong evidence that personality variables are involved in improving the moral awareness based prediction of ethical behavior, bridging the gap between moral judgment and moral behavior.Purpose By preparing questionnaire on students’ moral behavior, the study aims to examine the moral judgment ability of university students, the correlation between self-efficacy and ethical behavior, and the role of self-efficacy in moral judgment and moral behavior.Methods The study was divided into two parts: the preparation of measurement tools,"Students’Moral Behavior Questionnaire" and related research. Compilation of ethical behavior questionnaire was based on literature analysis and interviews. The preparation of the draft questionnaire draws on gathering and analyzing the description of ethical behavior projects on college students. In March2013,325undergraduates in Xinxiang Medical College were surveyed; In April,67undergraduate college students from Sanquan College were surveyed, and10days later were retest. The survey was to analyze the moral judgment ability, and the correlation between self-efficacy and moral behavior, by the use of moral judgment questionnaire, general self-efficacy questionnaire, and students’moral behavior questionnaire. Random sampling of Xinxiang Medical College and Sanquan College was conducted, involving685undergraduate students.609valid questionnaires were obtained and analyzed by using SPSS17.0for data processing.Results1The moral behavior questionnaire features four factors: honesty, civility, mutual respect and volunteering in a total of28projects. The questionnaire’s internal consistency coefficient a was0.851; split-half reliability coefficient was0.701; retest reliability coefficient of0.929.2In terms of demographic factors, self-efficacy of college students saw significant differences (P<0.05) on gender and family background. Boys’self-efficacy was significantly than that of girls. Significant association Existed between self-efficacy and moral judgment and moral behavior (P<0.05); there were significant differences (P<0.05) levels of moral conduct between medical and non-medical majors.3Significant positive correlation existed between self-efficacy and ethical behavior of college students a (r=0.235, P<0.001), and between self-efficacy and moral judgment (r=0.143, P<0.01).4In the self-efficacy interaction questionnaire, the regression coefficients in the interaction "moral judgment x self-efficacy," was significant (β=0.088, t=2.229, P New interpretation amount=0.026) in the regression equation of ethical behavior as a result variables, and after the introduction of the interaction term(ΔR2) it has reached a significant level (ΔR2=0.010, P=0.026).Conclusion1The first part of the preparation of this study,"Students ’Moral Behavior Questionnaire" fit as a tool to measure students’ moral behavior.2Self-efficacy can positively predict moral behavior; Self-efficacy plays a mediating role in transferring process of moral judgment into ethical behavior.