The Relationship between Moral Identity and Moral Behavior among University Students in Pakistan

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between moral identity and moral behavior among university students in Pakistan. A correlational research design was used with a convenience sample of 300 university students (146 male, 154 female) drawn from universities in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Participants completed the Moral Identity Scale (Aquino & Reed, 2002) and the Moral Behavior Inventory (Mendez, Anderson, & Shapira, 2005). Data were analyzed using Pearson product-moment correlation and independent-samples t-tests in IBM SPSS Statistics (Version 27). Results revealed a significant positive correlation between total moral identity and moral behavior, r(298) = .321, p < .01, with both the internalization subscale (r = .320, p < .01) and the symbolization subscale (r = .198, p < .01) also significantly and positively related to moral behavior. Female students scored significantly higher than male students on both moral identity and moral behavior. These findings support the view that moral identity, particularly its internalized dimension, functions as an important self-regulatory anchor for ethical conduct, and extend this evidence to a non-Western, collectivist university population. Implications for character development and moral education in higher education are discussed.