Identifier

etd-12092004-163021

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Mass Communication

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

This two-part study employed 11 qualitative interviews, the Defining Issues Test (DIT) and a quantitative version of the five-factor TARES test to complete the first cross-cultural analysis of the ethical decision-making patterns of public relations practitioners. The DIT is an instrument based on Kohlberg’s (1969) moral development theory, the TARES test composed of 14 self-enforced, ethical consideration statements derived from the research of Baker and Martinson (2001). Results indicate no statistically significant difference in levels of moral development and ethical consideration between sampled practitioners in Australia, New Zealand and the United States (Lieber, 2003). This finding argues for a vocational uniformity in moral and ethical reasoning across these countries despite geographic, cultural, economic and ethnic disparities.

Date

2005

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

R. Kirby Goidel

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.1138

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