Ethical Behavior and Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior Applied to the Decision to Obtain Professional Credentials.

摘要

Currently, the requirement to obtain and maintain professional credentials within the engineering discipline varies among the five military departments within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). However, there may be an ethical requirement to do so. The purpose of this research was to investigate ethical theory and behavior theory, and their influence on the decision to obtain and maintain professional credentials. Individual Moral Philosophy (IMP) is one approach describing ethical thought. The Ethics Position Questionnaire (EPQ) measures the two dimensions of IMP: idealism and relativism. The Theory of Planned Behavior (ToPB) is used in research to predict behavior intentions and subsequently behavior from three factors: attitude toward a behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. A six-section survey (100 questions) was distributed to two separate groups of military engineers and thirty-seven responses were received. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and multiple regression analysis were used to validate the ToPB and subsequently test the impact of the two dimensions of IMP from the EPQ on attitude. Results showed support for the predictive ability of attitude, norms, and control on intentions, and the addition of the two dimensions from the EPQ as predictors of attitude toward a behavior.