The development and validation of a measure of character: The CIVIC

Abstract

The present research study sought to develop and validate a character scale – the Comprehensive Inventory of Virtuous Instantiations of Character using a total sample size of 3679 across five studies. In Study 1, character trait items were generated using an integrative classification system. In Study 2, character trait scales were further refined and their factor structure examined, revealing eight higher-order character dimensions or character cores: appreciation, intellectual engagement, fortitude, interpersonal consideration, sincerity, temperance, transcendence, and empathy. Study 3 established convergent validity of character traits with extant measures and discriminability from personality facets, social desirability, and moral cognitive development. Study 4 revealed that character cores were more strongly related to evaluative constructs than personality dimensions. Study 5 demonstrated that character cores predicted performance and psychological well-being outcomes above and beyond personality. The implications of our findings for the assessment and taxonomy of character are discussed.

Keywords:

• Virtue
• character
• strengths
• personality
• morality
• scale development
• measurement
• exploratory structural equation modeling
• subjective well-being
• eudaimonia

Notes

1. There were a few cases where some factors yielded from the EFAs were not retained. Both the character traits of honesty and judgment had arguably better fit indices with a three-factor structure. With honesty, the third factor included only items that specifically reflected behavioral consistency with one’s values. These items were dropped given the literature on the lack of conceptual discrimination made between virtues and values in the management and social sciences and the indiscriminant usage of the terms (cf. Wright & Goodstein, 2007); the potential to be tapping into behavioral integrity, which can be considered an adjunctive instead of a substantive virtue (i.e. one that facilitates the enactment of substantive virtues, but are amoral themselves; Audi & Murphy, 2006; Simons, 2002); and the relative narrowness of the construct. As a result, only the two primary factors under honesty were retained. A similar decision was made with the character trait of judgment. The third factor that emerged here was comprised of only two items that both spoke to the ability to think critically. Again, given the potential to be tapping into an adjunctive virtue and the narrowness of the factor the decision was made drop these items and to only retain two factors. One final exception was with zest, which seemed to tap into a construct measuring daily enthusiasm or vigor and a general energy construct. Since the former was very close to the original conception of zest and the latter was deemed too general, morally neutral, and likely related to personality dimensions, only the set of items related to the former construct was kept and thus zest was not included in the table of character traits that resulted in multiple factors.