Designing a Model for Predicting Moral Behavior based on Moral Attitude and Identity: The Mediating Role of Benefit and Costs

This study was conducted to design a model for predicting moral behavior based on moral attitude and identity due to the mediating role of cost and benefit.               

The research method was descriptive-correlational and the statistical population included all second grade high school students of Hamadan in the academic year 2021-2022. The sample size consisted of 928 participants (399 girls and 529 boys) who were selected by multi-stage cluster random sampling method and completed the Moral Behavior, Moral Identity, Moral Attitude, and Benefit and Cost Scale. Data were analyzed by structural equation modeling using SPSS and Lisrel software.

The results show that the proposed model fits well with the experimental data and the variables of psychological benefit, situational benefit, psychological cost and situational cost have a significant mediating role in the relationship between moral attitude and moral identity with moral behavior. The findings also indicate that the direct effects of moral attitude and identity on moral behavior are not significant.

Based on the findings, it can be said that two factors of benefit (psychological-situational) and cost (psychological-situational) can control the performance or non-performance of moral behaviors by individuals with moral attitude and identity. Because assessing the degree of benefit and cost that performance or non-performance of moral behaviors might have for people can facilitate or deter them from doing the action or moral behavior.