A Piagetian Scale for the Measurement of Ethical Competence in Politics

Politicians' ethical competence is defined as the use of a cognitive ability, independent of particular political, ideological, or moral values. Accordingly, an assessment instrument-the Ethical Competence Questionnaire-Political (ECQ-P)-measuring ethical autonomy was constructed, based on Piaget's theory of moral development. The administration of ECQ-P to politicians with a high degree of political engagement, and on ordinary citizens and simple party members, demonstrated satisfying psychometric properties. The former group obtained a higher score on ECQ-P. A confirmatory factor analysis showed that the measurement model is compatible with the data. These findings indicate the adequacy of ECQ-P as an instrument measuring ethical competence.