Investigating Bias in the Behavioral Defining Issues Test

What is it about?

The study evaluated the validity of the Behavioral Defining Issues Test (bDIT) in assessing postconventional moral reasoning across different gender, political, and religious groups without bias. The study found that the bDIT consistently measured postconventional moral reasoning across heterogeneous groups at the test level, and no item significantly favored a specific group at the item level. These results suggest that the bDIT is not biased across different groups. The study has limitations, including its focus on a Southern US university student population and reliance on self-reported political and religious affiliations.

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Why is it important?

This research is important because it addresses concerns regarding potential biases in the Defining Issues Test (DIT), a widely used tool in moral psychology and education. The study examines whether the brief version of the test, the behavioral DIT (bDIT), is biased across different genders, political, and religious views. By testing the validity evidence of the bDIT in terms of measurement invariance and differential item functioning (DIF), the research provides support for the use of test scores across diverse groups, enabling researchers to draw conclusions based on the scores when examining participants' moral reasoning development. Key Takeaways: 1. The bDIT assessed postconventional moral reasoning consistently across different gender, political, and religious groups at the test level. 2. At the item level, the DIF test reported no significant favoring of a specific group, suggesting no item demonstrated a practically meaningful DIF. 3. The study provides support for the use of the bDIT to test participants' developmental levels of moral reasoning across diverse groups.