In an effort to explore an aspect of the theoretical question of moral development and empathy, the researcher addressed the following research hypotheses: (1) There is a relationship between vocational choice, moral development, and empathy. (a) There is a direct correlation between moral development and empathy. (b) Empathy has an effect on vocational choice. Thirty male and 30 female professionals from the Metropolitan Community Colleges and the Kansas City Law Association were solicited as voluntary participants. The 60 professionals consisted of 15 nurses, 15 faculty and administrators, 15 computer scientists, and 15 lawyers. Each participant was asked to take three survey questionnaires, the Defining Issues Test (DIT), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and the Emotional Tendency Scale (ETS).

Six Pearson correlations were done to compare each group on moral cognition. The mean for the nurses was 37.2667, the mean for the computer scientist was 35.7337, the mean for faculty and administrators was 35.000, and the mean for lawyers was 36.066. Pearson's correlations showed group means to be extremely close.

A one way analysis of variance between moral development of nurses, instructors/administrators, computer scientist, and lawyers was obtained. The result showed F ratio not to be significant. Also, with respect to empathy, groups showed significant difference between sex, years of experience, and years of education. The hypothesis that there is a relationship between vocation, moral development, and empathy was also supported. The hypothesis that empathy has an effect on vocational choice was supported by this research. The hypothesis that there is a direct correlation between moral development and empathy was supported by this research. Also, a multiple regression showed that there was significant difference between the Emotional Tendency Scale and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index.