Resolving the "Political Bias" Claims against the DIT and DIT-2: Does Political Ideology Pose a Threat to CPA Ethics Research?

Charles D. Bailey
University of Central Florida

Thomas J. Phillips, Jr.
Louisiana Tech University

Stephen B. Scofield (deceased)
Texas A&M University

Abstract: The Defining Issues Test (DIT) has been popular among accounting researchers as a well-established measure of moral judgment capacity. The revised instrument, DIT-2, has only recently appeared in accounting literature. Accounting researchers John Sweeney and Dann Fisher have built upon other research critical of the DIT to claim that the DIT P-score is merely a preference measure expressing political beliefs. Using “faking” experiments, they find that subjects choose different factors than when responding according to official DIT instructions. The DIT developers reject faking studies, claiming that validity tests should address explained variance over and above other constructs. Using data from 741 practicing CPAs taking the DIT and 261 taking the DIT2, each of whom also responded to political preference scales, we measure the amount of variance shared by the DIT P and “political” measures. Findings indicate that, at least among accounting professionals, the measures are not seriously threatened by confounding.

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