| An Empirical Test of the Moral Virtue Theory of Status Attainment |
Received:October 14, 2017 Revised:October 15, 2017 |
Key Words: virtue, status, morality, moral character |
| Author Name | Affiliation | | Feng Bai* | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University | | Grace Ho | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University | | Haoyi Tan | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University |
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Abstract: |
| This paper tests the moral virtue theory of status attainment (Bai, 2017), a recently developed conceptual framework. We first develop the 15-item Status Attainment Scale that reliably measures the three routes to status, that is, virtue, dominance, and competence. We then explore the nomological network and discriminant validity of virtue and find virtue to be positively related to established constructs of moral character and perceptions (e.g., humility) and unrelated to immoral constructs (e.g., extraversion). Finally, we find evidence that virtue is not a component of competence, but a distinct path to status unto itself, bounded by observers’ moral character. |
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