Moral Identity Goal Characteristics: Age-Related Trends From Early Adolescence to Old Age.

The study investigated age-related trends in moral identity goal characteristics, as proposed in previous research (Krettenauer, 2022a), by modifying the Self-Importance of Moral Identity Questionnaire (Aquino & Reed, 2002). Internally and externally motivated moral identity was assessed on varying levels of abstractness for promotion orientation as well as prevention orientation in Canadian participants from three different age groups: early adolescence (13–14 years, n = 248, 119 female), late adolescence to early adulthood (17–20 years, n = 251, 160 female), and mid to old age (50–76 years, n = 129, 76 female). Findings demonstrate that the self-importance of abstract moral identity characteristics increased with age relative to concrete identity characteristics, while the relationship between the two characteristics weakened. The same trend was found for internal moral identity motivation in comparison to external motivation. The study demonstrates that moral identity does not only reflect stable individual differences but is also an important developmental construct. Merging developmental and individual difference perspectives on moral identity opens new and promising avenues for future research. Public Significance Statement: This study presented a novel approach for describing differences in how moral values are integrated into people's sense of identity across the lifespan. It shows that across adolescence, early adulthood, and late adulthood, the moral values that inform people's identity tend to become more abstract and are increasingly motivated by personal commitment rather than the tendency to meet social expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]