Ethical Muscle: Conceptualization, Scale Development, and Validation

The aim of this study was to conceptualize ethical muscle, develop a scale to measure it, and verify the scale’s validity. After conducting a comprehensive review of the relevant literature, we conceptualized the term ethical muscle using a competency framework. Identifying its meaningful dimensions, we developed an ethical muscle scale in five phases. First, in-depth interviews were conducted with government employees ( N = 20) using the Critical Incident Technique. Second, an expert panel ( N = 22) assessed the content validity of the items collected during the first phase using the Delphi method. Third, we surveyed government employees ( N = 544) and undertook factor analysis of the data to construct an ethical muscle scale. Fourth, the psychometric properties of the developed scale were identified by confirmatory factor analysis in AMOS. Finally, we conducted a replication study ( N = 213) to confirm and generalize our findings. These phases led to the development of a four-factor ethical muscle scale comprising 15 items. The four factors are moral courage (five items), ethical knowledge (four items), duty orientation (three items), and morality (three items). The validation study demonstrated the reliability and validity of the scale.