Date of Award
4-29-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Leadership Studies
First Advisor
Crystal Hoyt
Abstract
For various reasons, many students at institutions of higher education choose to partake in civic engagement. Evidence suggests that civic engagement may make students better people. This study tests that hypothesis under the competing frameworks of moral licensing and moral consistency through donation behavior and self-reported scores on various games. Additionally, this study seeks to understand if involvement in civic engagement impacts schemas of leadership. This study supports the theory of moral consistency and concludes that there is a correlation between involvement in civic engagement and perceptions on whether leaders should be civically engaged. We found that the amount of civic engagement did not predict cheating behavior, but that it did predict donation behavior and leadership perceptions. A better understanding of the potential benefits and drawbacks to civic engagement efforts at institutions of higher education can help inform the decisions and ways in which engagement is integrated on university campuses.
Recommended Citation
Osterberg, Ally, "Does civic engagement predict moral behaviors? A test of moral theories" (2022). Honors Theses. 1601.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/1601