The Routledge International Handbook of Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Character Development, Volume I: Conceptualizing and Defining Character

by Michael D. Matthews (Editor), Richard M. Lerner (Editor)

Overview

Drawing from philosophy, religion, biology, behavioral and social sciences, and the arts, The Routledge International Handbooks of Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Character Development, Volumes I and II, present cutting-edge scholarship about the concept of character across the life span, the developmental and contextual bases of character, and the key organizations of societal sectors, within and across nations, that promote character development in individuals, families, and communities.

This first volume, Conceptualizing and Defining Character, explores the foundations of the field by providing an array of interdisciplinary approaches to character development, including economics, education, law, literature, military science, philosophy, and many more. With contributions from international experts, Volume I brings together cutting-edge research and discusses instances of character development, including civic character, courage, fairness, forgiveness, gratitude, morality, tolerance, and thankfulness.

This comprehensive publication is an essential reference for researchers and graduate students in behavioral sciences, biology, philosophy, theology, and economics, as well as practitioners leading or evaluating character education or character development programs around the world.

Find Volume II: Moderators, Threats, and Contexts here: www.routledge.com/9781032172453

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032169767
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/26/2025
Series:	Routledge International Handbooks
Pages:	666
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Michael D. Matthews, Ph.D., is Professor of Engineering Psychology at the United States Military Academy. He has been a military psychologist since 1980. In the past 40 years, he has served on active duty as an Air Force officer (as a behavioral sciences officer), as a psychology professor at Drury University, as a research psychologist for the Army Research Institute, and, since 2000, in his current capacity at West Point.

Richard M. Lerner, Ph.D., is the Bergstrom Chair in Applied Developmental Science and the Director of the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University. He went from kindergarten through Ph.D. within the New York City public schools, completing his doctorate at the City University of New York in 1971 in developmental psychology. Lerner has more than 800 scholarly publications, including more than 80 authored or edited books.

Table of Contents

Section 1: Introduction  1. Contemporary Character Development Scholarship: Multidisciplinary and International Perspectives;  Section 2: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Character Development  2. Epigenetics and Character Virtue Development  3. Character Virtues in Developmental Science  4. The Economic Approach to Personality, Character and Virtue  5. PRIMED for Character Education: Deriving Design Principles for Effective Practice from Empirical Evidence  6. Changing the Character of Schools: Promoting Servant Leadership Virtues to Solve Internationally Relevant Problems in Education  7. Educating for Character in the Sexual Domain: Why It Matters and How to Do It  8. Character Development in Higher Education  9. The Use and Inculcation of Character in Law: Challenges Reflected Throughout United States’ Legal Systems  10: Character Development in Leadership and Organizational Studies  11: Contact with the vir fortis: Character Education and the Roman Practice of Declamation  12. Character Virtue Development in Military Science  13. The Philosophical Foundations of Character Virtue Development  14. Political Science Approaches to the Character Virtues  15. Character Virtues in Positive Psychology  16. Character-Minded Evaluation: Recognizing and Activating the Essential Role of Character in High-Quality Evaluation  17. The Culture of Character: Sociological Perspectives  18. Theological Perspectives on Beliefs and Communities of Practice: Virtue Systems as an Integrative Approach for Psychologists;  Section 3: Instances of Character Development  19. Developing Civic Character  20. Courage: Moral and Physical Dimensions  21. Justice: Where Aristotle and Kohlberg Meet   22. On Forgiveness and Character Development: Description, Explanation, and Optimization  23. Gratitude: From Relational Emotion to Contextualized Virtue Inclusive of Indebtedness  24. Dynamics of Intellectual Humility  25. Intellectual Virtues  26. Kindness: A Path to Human Growth and Connectedness  27. The Development of Morality and the Character System: Implications for the Notion of Virtue  28. Personal Liberty, Mutual Respect, and Tolerance  29. Feeling Good and Feeling Thankful: The Role of Positive Emotions in Sustaining Early Prosocial Behavior  30. Purpose through the Lens of Character Virtue Development

Editorial Reviews

“Over the years, I’ve read a lot of edited volumes on character development. Most include chapters on theories of moral development as well as how families, schools, sports, and adult mentors serve to form and shape the positive character of children and teens. Yet The Routledge Handbook includes thought-provoking chapters on how character development intersects with economics, sociology, law, theology, political science, and epigenetics (these are just a few of the academic disciplines featured). I want to express my gratitude to each of the 177 individuals who contributed to the Handbooks. Their scholarship will serve as an inspiration and steppingstone to scores of future educators, scholars, and researchers. Both Rich and Mike are scholars of the first rank. But their steeled commitment to invite and graciously welcome prolific scholars and researchers into our noble field is undoubtedly their superpower. The Routledge Handbook exemplifies the “Big Tent” metaphor that has served as the unifying principle for Character.org ever since we opened our doors in 1993. I truly believe we are stronger together!”

— Dr. Arthur Schwartz, President, Character.org, US

“This modern encyclopedia of character is a treasure. I have immense respect for its editors and authors, as well as the breadth of topics and how they have been organized. Most of all, I love the interdisciplinary approach represented in these two volumes. I know I will turn, again and again, to the chapters in this Handbook for knowledge, wisdom, and inspiration.”

— Angela Duckworth, CEO of the Character Lab and bestselling author of Grit

“This Handbook is greatly needed at this time in history when basic principles of honesty and integrity seem to take a backseat to self-interest and personal financial or political gain.”

— Admiral James Stavridis, U.S. Navy (Retired), former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and author of To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and the Crucible of Decision and coauthor of 2034: A Novel of the Next World War

“This multi-faceted, far-reaching Handbook succeeds on many fronts. It captures the classic concerns of character that sages have examined for centuries and the vibrant contemporary work that scholars are producing at this moment… It has no near equivalent as a resource for anyone wishing to review the present state of knowledge about this most crucial dimension of human life.”

— William Damon, Director of the Stanford Center on Adolescence and author of The Path to Purpose

“Matthews and Lerner’s monumental two-volume International Handbook of Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Character Development provides a timely and engrossing compendium of everything you ever wanted to know about character virtues—what they are, what they presage, how and where they are manifest, and how they can best be promoted and nurtured at all ages as well as in all contexts and cultures. The volumes comprise a finely written tour-de-force that will appeal especially to academics, parents, teachers, cultural critics, and those in positions of leadership throughout society even as they underscore how elusive these virtues have become in our fractured world.”

— Michael E. Lamb, Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Emeritus Fellow, Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge

“Understanding and promoting moral character may seem like gentle, uncontroversial goals. Yet, moral character is under serious threat in the world today, and these goals are as urgent as they’ve ever been. These extravagantly comprehensive volumes draw from virtually all disciplines to provide the best thinking and evidence to guide our efforts to strengthen collective and individual character. As a wonderful bonus, the handbook ends with unique resources on character-infused leadership in military professions and portraits of university-based and other centers for the study and promotion of character.”

— Anne Colby, author of Educating Citizens and The Power of Ideals

“To the great credit of the editors, they have taken an interdisciplinary approach to this topic, which is becoming increasingly important in today's world. The result is a highly comprehensive work with up-to-date findings — a vital resource for researchers and practitioners shaping character education worldwide.”

— Hubert Annen, Head of Military Psychology and Military Pedagogy Studies, Swiss Military Academy at ETH Zurich

“These knowledgeable and nuanced discussions of important topics from multidisciplinary perspectives of character and virtue will provide graduate students, researchers, and academicians with a valuable overview on a worldwide scale. Excellent resource for scholars at all levels.”

— Updesh Kumar, Scientist ‘G’ & Head Mental Health Division, DIPR, DRDO, Delhi, India

From the Publisher