Glossary of Terms Relevant for Christian Character and Virtue Formation

The overarching term used to describe the process of collecting and analyzing data to make an informed decision.

The set of research methods or techniques used to evaluate virtues.

The collective group of Christian study centers and institutes for Catholic thought (Cockle et al., 2024).

The totality of a person or group's morally relevant habits of thinking, feeling, behaving, and relating (Baehr, 2017). People's character can vary considerably in how good or bad it is and how coherent and contextually adaptive it is across time and situations (Lerner, 2019).

Systematic internal changes in the structure, function, and patterns that characterize a person’s or group’s morally relevant habits of thinking, feeling, behaving, and relating (VandenBos, 2015).

Efforts to cultivate a person’s or group’s morally good habits (Berkowitz, 2012). Character formation happens most commonly in the context of moral communities such as families, schools, religious/spiritual communities, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and virtue-aspiring organizations ("11 Principles for Cultivating a Culture of Character").

Habits of thinking, feeling, behaving, or relating that are consensually esteemed as morally good and reliably are contextually adaptive across time, cultures, and situations. In other words, character virtues are morally guided habits that contribute reliably to the flourishing of individuals and the social milieu in which they are embedded. Character virtues are characteristic adaptations of individuals and groups. Importantly, it is “coherence—the habit of doing the right thing at a specific place and a specific time—and not consistency [that] is the hallmark of character virtues" (Lerner, 2019). Once fully embodied and matured, character virtues reliably arise from an intrinsic (i.e., fully internalized) motivation (Ryan and Deci, 2000) and for the right reasons, particularly self-transcendent (i.e., beyond the self) motives and goals (Ratchford, Ming, and Schnitker, 2023).

“Stable individual differences that reflect the ways in which people navigate their social world given their personality, life experiences, and cultural influences” (Hoyle and Davisson, 2021).

“Groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly…. [They] are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavor" (E. Wenger-Trayner, B. Wenger-Trayner, Reid, Bruderlein, 2023). These groups can range from very small (e.g., a family or friend group) to incredibly large (e.g., an international missionary, humanitarian, or business organization). Christian colleges/universities and centers for Christian thought are two types of communities of practice in higher education.

“Systematic [internal] changes of [a person or group’s] behavior, and of the systems and processes underlying those changes and that behavior” (Overton, 2010).

A systematic method for making a decision.

“[A disposition] to give a [particular] response in a particular context" (Wood, Labrecque, Lin, Rünger, 2014).

“When people repeat the same [responses] in a specific context, so that associations between the [responses] and the contextual cues can be formed" (Wood, Labrecque, Lin, Rünger, 2014). When habits are repeated frequently, the mental/neural representations underlying them become stronger and more consistently and automatically (reflexively) activated by the associated contextual cues (Wood, Labrecque, Lin, Rünger 2014).

A set of beliefs, values, affiliations, and roles a person uses to define their sense of self (“who I am”) and guide their decisions and behaviors (“how I live”). In short, an identity refers how a person self-defines who I am and how I live. An identity can also be communal, namely how a group of people collectively defines who we are and how we live (Oyserman, Elmore, Smith, 2012). See also meta-identity.

Systematic internal changes in the structure, function, and patterns that characterize how a person or group defines themselves (“who I am” or “who we are”) and navigates their decisions and behaviors (“how I live” or “how we live”).

The psychological process of linking two or more distinct identities into a coherent whole. Healthy identity integration refers to identity integration that is contextually adaptive (benefits the person and their social milieu) across time and situations.

“The linkage of differentiated elements" (Siegel, 2012).

A person or group’s most prominent identity, under which all other identities are ordered. For example, a Christian meta-identity refers to when a person or group’s most prominent identity is Christian, such that they define themselves foremost as a Christian and their ultimate motivation is to behave and make decisions congruent with their set of Christian beliefs, values, affiliations, and roles. A meta-identity can be thought of as a “master identity.”

That which is relevant to what is ethically right, wrong, good, or bad.

A group of people with a shared sense of what is ethically right, wrong, good, or bad and a shared set of norms for guiding ethically relevant decisions and behaviors. Christian colleges/universities and centers for Christian thought are two types of moral communities in higher education.

Systematic internal changes in the structure, function, and patterns that characterize people’s ethically relevant beliefs, values, decisions, behaviors, and identities (VandenBos, APA Dictionary of Psychology)

The set of beliefs, values, affiliations, and roles a person or group uses to define their ethically relevant sense of self and guide their ethically relevant decisions and behaviors.

“A person’s [or group’s] internalized and evolving life story, integrating the reconstructed past and imagined future to provide life with some degree of unity and purpose" (McAdams and McLean, 2013).

a formal type of assessment used to collect and analyze participant data across the organization to monitor and make informed decisions on organizational culture

an informal type of assessment used to collect and analyze personal information to make an informed decision for personal growth

an activity or set of activities that are grouped together for the purpose of achieving a specific outcome

a formal type of assessment used to collect and analyze participant data within a program to make an informed decision on program effectiveness

A person’s or group’s search for and response to sacred meaning and connection in the context of culturally sanctioned codifications, rituals, and institutions. More specifically, religion refers to people’s search for and response to sacred meaning (sense of transcendent significance, purpose, and coherence) and connection in the context of culturally sanctioned codifications (e.g., of beliefs, values, and morals), rituals (e.g., prayer, meditation, and collective worship), and institutions (e.g., families, faith communities, schools, and organizations) (Davis, Day, Lindia, and Lemke, 2023). 

Systematic internal changes in the structure, function, or patterns that characterize people’s search for and response to sacred meaning and connection (Davis, Day, Linda, and Lemke, 2023).

The set of beliefs, values, affiliations, and roles that a person or group uses to define how they search for and respond to sacred meaning and connection.

A person’s or group’s search for and response to sacred meaning and connection with whatever they perceive as sacred, typically including supernatural entities (e.g., deity/deities, saints, ancestors, karma, or fate/destiny) or aspects of life viewed as a manifestation of the divine (e.g., close human relationships; a vocation or calling) or as having transcendent or divine-like qualities (e.g., nature, the universe, or the true self) (Davis, Day, Lindia, and Lemke, 2023).

A person’s or group’s internalized, evolving story about themselves and how they fit into a story bigger than themselves (Schnitker, King, and Houltberg, 2019).