Moral Identity Scale

What it measures

The dominant measure of moral identity in consumer and organisational research. Administered following a standard induction paragraph describing nine moral traits (caring, compassionate, fair, friendly, generous, helpful, hardworking, honest, kind). Internalization captures how much moral traits are a core part of one's private self-concept; Symbolization captures public behavioural expression of moral values. The two dimensions are correlated (r=0.41) but distinct — Internalization predicts volunteering hours and donation behaviour; Symbolization correlates more with impression management concerns (r=0.26). Alpha: Internalization 0.71–0.83, Symbolization 0.71–0.82. Test-retest (4–6 weeks): Internalization r=0.49, Symbolization r=0.71. Mean scores: Internalization Mapprox.4.5 (high), Symbolization Mapprox.3.0 (moderate) — people privately value moral traits more than they publicly express them.

Response format

5-point Likert (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree); 5 Internalization items averaged; 5 Symbolization items averaged. Items 3 and 4 of Internalization require reverse scoring.

Scale items

Internalization (5 items) — private centrality of moral traits to self-concept. Likert 1–5. Items 3 and 4 require reverse scoring (R).

• It would make me feel good to be a person who has these characteristics.
• Being someone who has these characteristics is an important part of who I am.
• I would be ashamed to be a person who has these characteristics. (R)
• Having these characteristics is not really important to me. (R)
• I strongly desire to have these characteristics.

Symbolization (5 items) — public behavioural expression of moral identity. Likert 1–5.

• I often wear clothes that identify me as having these characteristics.
• The types of things I do in my spare time (e.g., hobbies) clearly identify me as having these characteristics.
• The kinds of books and magazines that I read identify me as having these characteristics.
• The fact that I have these characteristics is communicated to others by my membership in certain organizations.
• I am actively involved in activities that communicate to others that I have these characteristics.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

IMPORTANT: The scale must be preceded by the induction paragraph listing nine moral traits: 'Listed below are some characteristics that may describe a person: Caring, compassionate, fair, friendly, generous, helpful, hardworking, honest, and kind.' without this priming context the items lack meaning. Internalization items 3 ('I would be ashamed to be a person who has these characteristics') and 4 ('Having these characteristics is not really important to me') require reverse scoring. Modest social desirability correlation for Symbolization (r=0.26) — consider controlling in studies where impression management is plausible. Both dimensions should be reported separately.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Aquino, K., & Reed, A., II. (2002). The self-importance of moral identity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(6), 1423–1440.

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