Criteria for multidomain research.

The proposed criteria for organization of empirical research and theory for multiple domain models of adult development include: 1. Identification of domains and sub-domains of types of problems posed by dilemmas, tasks or questionnaires. 2. Identification of the various developmental levels of the presented problems and tasks. 3. Specification of the meta-ethical categories of the several aspects of the moral person and the analysis of the data and categories of types of questions addressed in the questionnaires and interview protocols. 4. Empirical evidence, longitudinal and/or cross-sectional, to support the claimed findings. 5. Age-range of the research subjects. 6. Use of structural-developmental assessment scoring manuals and high levels of inter-judge rater-reliability. Multiple domain theories are distinguished from single domain ones. Rawlsian conceptions of individuals as free and equal moral persons (Rawls, 1999) are specified into four aspects. Rawlsian metaethical categories of moral development are contrasted with those used by Kohlberg which are based on the metaethical theory of Dewey and Tufts (1932). Kohlberg’s, Perry’s and Gilligan’s theories are reviewed according to criteria for particular domains.