Moral judgment in delinquents and nondelinquents: recognition versus production measures

Juvenile delinquents' (n = 60) and nondelinquents' (n = 73) stages of moral development were compared using both recognition and production measures. Juvenile delinquents were found to score significantly lower than nondelinquents on a production measure of moral judgment (the Sociomoral Reflection Measure). A recognition measure (the Sociomoral Reflection Objective Measure), however, did not discriminate between the two groups in an analysis controlled for significant covariates of age, socioeconomic status, and IQ. The possibility that delinquents are delayed in the production but not recognition of mature moral reasoning is considered. The possibility is also considered, however, that excessive error variance associated with recognition measures of moral reasoning when administered to juvenile delinquents is responsible for the inability of such measures to discriminate between delinquents and nondelinquents.