The Defining Issues Test (DIT) has been subjected to construct validation in a number of studies relating it to the development of moral judgment and to measures of cognitive development and political attitudes. The DIT has been found to have significant positive correlations with the Comprehension of Social-Moral Concepts Test for a variety of samples of students and adults. A longitudinal study showed scores on both tests increased over time. A number of studies also showed significant positive correlations of the DIT with Kohlberg's Moral Judgment Scale under several different scoring methods. The DIT is essentially a recognition task whereas Kohlberg's test requires subjects to produce and justify an answer, which may account for differences in the developmental level of responses between the tests. The DIT also has positive correlations with other measures of cognitive development. Negative correlations were found between the DIT and authoritarian attitudes as indicated by the Law and Order Test. Correlations of the DIT with other measures of political attitudes are generally lower and inconsistent. (Author/CTM)