chapter 12: moral understanding & behaviour

Question 1

developing self control

Answer 1

• the ability to control ones thoughts, behaviours and emotions
• during infancy, requires assistance from caregivers
• effortful control: inhibition of an action already under way
• parental intervention

Question 2

walter mischel and colleagues marshmallow experiment

Answer 2

has marshmallows then leaves the room and tells them not to eat it, sees if they do

• childrens ability to delay gratification based on the use of transcendence strategies
  (distracting themselves, verbalizing benefits of holding out for larger reward)

Question 3

high self control is associated with

Answer 3

• better interpersonal skills
• more stable relationships
• higher grades
• stable relationships
• fewer problems with alcohol

Question 4

prosocial behaviour

Answer 4

voluntary actions intended to benefit others, such as sharing, helping and showing compassion

Question 5

hamlin and wynn (2011) study

Answer 5

infants show preference for helpful puppet over one who hinders others
- infants see the puppets as more representative of themselves

Question 6

warneken and tomasello (2006) study

Answer 6

most 18 month olds realized experimenter needed help and spontaneously helped him

• experimenter never asked for help

Question 7

dunfield and kuhlmeier (2010)

Answer 7

toddlers more likely to help someone who displayed positive feelings toward them and has made an effort to help them

Question 8

prosocial behaviours (2 reasons)

Answer 8

1. altruistic (selfless) motives
   - comforting another person who is crying
   - 18 mo - 2 years
2. selfish motives
   - sharing to get something in return
   “ill share my doll if you share yours”

Question 9

empathy and 2 results

Answer 9

empathy: the sharing of another persons emotions and feelings

result in:

1. personal distress
   - a self focused emotional reaction to another persons distress
2. sympathy
   - feelings of sorrow or concern for another
   - more likely to lead to pro social behaviour

Question 10

parental influence on prosocial behaviours

Answer 10

• strong influence of parents
• when parents are warm, encourage emotional expressiveness, aware of feelings = empathy
• personal distress from parental hostility, being highly punitive

community activities such as: donations, charity lead to empathy

Question 11

piaget cognitive developmental view - heteronomous morality

Answer 11

heteronomous morality (5-7 yrs)

• being under the authority of another
• view rules as handed down by authorities
• permanent existence
• being unchangeable
• leads children to have unquestioning respect for rules and those who enforce them

Question 12

piaget cognitive developmental view - autonomous morality

Answer 12

autonomous morality (8-10)
- aka moral relativism
- less dependent on external rewards and punishments as they developed a personal sense of right and wrong
- rules are flexible
- moral judgements are freely chosen

Question 13

piaget believed that children display both:

Answer 13

heteronomous and autonomous reasoning
- alternate bw 2 modes of reasoning

Question 14

kohlbergs theory

Answer 14

• presented boys (10,13,16) with moral dilemmas, then gave them a moral judgment interview

“heinz dilemma” - moral reasoning of stealing a drug to cure wifes cancer due to not being able to afford
- less interested in respondents decision than in their underlying rationale; “`thought structure”

Question 15

kohlbergs theory - level 1

Answer 15

1. preconventional level
   - moral reasoning is based on external forces (reward and punishment)

stage 1: obedience to authority
- believing that authority figures know what is right and wrong
- should not steal the drug bc police will catch him or jail, should steal drug bc only small theft and unlikley to get caught

stage 2: instrumental orientation:
- consists of looking out for ones own needs
- should steal drug bc druggist tried to rip him off and if he saves wife life she will do smth nice in return

Question 16

kohlbergs theory - level 2

Answer 16

conventional level
- look to society norms for moral guidance

stage 3: “good boy, good girl” orientation
- people guided by aim of winning approval of others/expectations
- should not steal drug bc make him look dishonest in eyes of others

stage 4: social order morality
- people believe that societal laws are for the good of all people
- should not steal drug bc its illegal and no one is above the law

Question 17

kohlbergs theory - level 3

Answer 17

postconventional level
- morals based on personal moral code
- laws are seen as invalid if they compromise human rights or dignity

stage 5: social contract
- laws are good only as long as they benefit all group members

stage 6: universal ethical principles
- highest level of moral reasoning
- right and wrong defined by self chosen ethical principles (e.g. justice, compassion and equality)
- should steal drug bc doesnt make sense to put respect for property over respect for life itself

Question 18

support for kohlbergs theory

Answer 18

• studies show that people rarely skip stages or regress
• research demonstrates links between levels of moral reasoning and moral action
• youth who engage in delinquent behaviour are more likely to emphasize punishment and reward when assessing the morality of actions, rather than considering social norms or personal moral codes

higher level: fighting for causes and following beliefs

lower levels: associated with deliquency

Question 19

cultural differences in kohlberg

Answer 19

• reflects western values that emphasize individual rights and justice
• ex. china and india would use more sophisticated moral reasoning according to cultural standards
• use more direct questions, found that children responses in numerous cultures reflect increasingly sophisticated moral judgements

Question 20

gender differences in kohlberg

Answer 20

• gilligan argues that the emphasis on justice is more applicable to men than women
• reflected masculine concern with individuation, and ignored feminine concern with interpersonal relations and ethics of compassion, care, and responsibility to others

women: oriented to mroality of care

Question 21

eisenbergs levels of prosocial reasoning

Answer 21

• said that the heinz situation was unrealistic
• children’s dilemmas usually involve self-interest versus helping others

dilemas did not reflect issues that children think about in their daily lives

Question 22

Eisenberg’s Levels of Prosocial Reasoning

Answer 22

self interest vs helping others

stage 1: hedonistic orientation
- pursue their own pleasure

stage 2: approval focused orientation
- behave as society expects people to behave

stage 3: empathic orientation
- consider others perspective and how actions will make them feel

Question 23

social domain view - 3 types of rules

Answer 23

Moral rules mostly apply to actions that involve physical or psychological harm
- children consistently judge moral violations as more wrong than violations of social conventions

1. moral rules
   “you should not hit others”
2. social conventions
   - you should give up your seat on the bus to a frail person
3. personal sphere rules
   - norms that apply to a specifc group within a larger society
   - matters of personal preference
   - ex. what to wear to school

Question 24

Pattern of reasoning within each social domain shifts from

Answer 24

concrete to abstract

• 8-10 year olds taken into account context and persons intentions when making moral judgements

Question 25

influences on moral reasoning

Answer 25

1. parenting styles
   - authoritative leads to a higher level reasoning
   - create supportive atmosphere, encourage prosocial behaviour
2. schooling
   - moral reasoning advances as long as a person stays in school
   - higher education is better
3. peer interaction
   - fosters awareness of others perspectives