FINAL - 2) Moral Development Flashcards
What are the three approaches to moral development?
1) Psychoanalytic : Role of the moral emotions (shame, guilt, pride)
- Freud, Erikson
2) Behaviourist: Role of reinforcements and punishments
- Skinner, Bandura
3) Cognitive developmentalist: Role of moral reasoning (thinking about “right” and “wrong”)
- Piaget, Kohlberg
What are the 3 components of Freud’s psychosexual theory of development? Explain them
1) ego: logical, rational component
2) id: bad, irrational ideas
3) superego: moral role between the two, provide us with punishment if we don’t behave morally in the way our parents and our culture expect us to behave
According to Freud’s psychosexual theory of development, the superego is developed at the end of the _____ stage. (age 4 or 5)
phallic stage : you have to identify with same sex parent to develop superego
What are the two components of the superego?
1) conscience (no lying, cheating, hitting) -> guilt (we will be punished = feel guilty, if we don’t follow the rules)
2) ego ideal -> shame (if we fail to meet ideals then we feel shame, more general feeling than guilt, general sense of failing to live up to code of ethics that I was supposed to live up to)
What did Erikson add to Freud’s psychosexual theory of development? What component did he add to the superego?
- Erikson liked Freudian theory but not unconscious stuff
- he changed basic structure of how personality develops (learn things directly from both parents rather than internalizing them into your superego)
- agrees that you get punished by negative emotions like Freud described
- important role for positive emotions
- adds pride to superego components (proud of stealing something in a grocery store)
- punished or rewarded by behaving morally or immorally
What is the Skinner approach to moral behaviour?
- moral behaviours are the result of operant conditioning experiences
- rewards and punishments
- consequences for our behaviour teaches us to become moral actors
What is the problem with punishing individuals in the wrong way (ex: hitting a child)?
- it really scares them but they don’t remember what it was that was wrong (they only remember not to do it around their parents, not in general)
- Inappropriate punishments teach the wrong lesson
- Punishment can still be effective if right lesson is taught: Should instead talk about what they did and why it is wrong
Explain Bandura’s social-learning theory approach
- Vicarious rewards and punishments: learn through other people, how you see others behave and how others get rewarded/punished
ex: If we see a kid steal a candy bar and get punished for it then we see that its not a good thing to do, if we see them get away with it then we think it’s a good thing
Moral reasoning: what is the cognitive approach? What does it depend on?
- process of making judgments about the “rightness” or “wrongness” of specific acts
- depends on cognitive development: egocentrism, centering, abstract thought
According to the textbook, what is Piaget’s model of moral development (a cognitive approach)?
- Stage 1: (2-4yos) premoral: having not yet developed moral sensibility.
- Stage 2: (5-7yos) moral realism; believe that rules are created by adults and must be followed/can’t be changed. This is heteronomous morality – absolute rules handed down by another. Also, children believe in immanent justice – breaking a rule always leads to punishment.
- Stage 3: (8-10yos) moral relativism: understanding that rules are created by people to help them get along. They now have autonomous morality; morality based more on free will. Children now understand reasons for rules and begin to pay more attention to consequences and intentions.
According to the textbook, when does self-control emerge? At about __ yos, toddlers have internalized some of the controls imposed by others and are capable of some SC in their parents’ absence. At about _ yos, children become capable of self-regulation; they can devise ways to control their own behaviour.
- emerges in infancy and gradually improves during the preschool years.
- 2, 3
According to the textbook, what is inductive reasoning in terms of teaching self-control?
- inducing the child to reason, to think for him or herself about the situation.
- form of discipline more likely to lead to moral development
Give a general explanation of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development (a cognitive approach):
- he created many stories involving moral dilemmas and was more interested in reasoning than outcome.
- built on Piaget’s approach of cognition and his proposal that this occurred in a stage-like progression.
- He analyzed children’s, adolescents’ and adults’ responses and identified 3 levels of moral reasoning, each divided into two stages.
In terms of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, what is the first stage and its 2 substages?
- Preconventional level: For most children, many adolescents, and some adults, moral reasoning is controlled almost solely by obedience to authority and by rewards and punishments.
- Stage 1: Punishment and Obedience Orientation – people believe that adults know what is right and wrong.
- Stage 2: Self-Interest Orientation – Doesn’t matter if its right or wrong, all depends on how it interacts with MY life
In terms of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, what is the second stage and its 2 substages?
- Conventional level: for most adolescents and adults, moral decision making is based on social norms – what is expected by others.
- Stage 3: Interpersonal Relationships – Concern for other people, Motivation determines morality
- Stage 4: Maintaining Social Order– Concern for society as a whole, Cultural-level obedience determines morality
In terms of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, what is the third stage and its 2 substages?
-Postconventional level: for some adults, typically those older than 25, moral decisions are based on personal, moral principles.
-Stage 5: Social Contract Orientation – Adults agree that a good society protects members’ basic rights and if it doesn’t then there is questioning of inadequate conventional laws BUT democratic processes must be adhered to
-Stage 6: Universal Ethnic Principles – Accept that the quest for social justice can force you to break with
conventional rules AND ALSO with democratic processes
True or False: the bases of moral reasoning are not universal as Kohlberg claimed instead, they reflect cultural values.
true
According to the textbook, going beyond Kohlberg’s Theory, what is Gilligan’s Ethic of Caring?
- The questions of whether there are definite male-female differences in moral reasoning
- a comprehension meta-analysis conducted which included 113 studies with more than 12000 participants.
- Overall, males tended to get slightly higher scores on problems that emphasized justice and females tended to get slightly higher scores on problems that emphasized caring.
- But the differences were small, most people think about moral issues it terms of both justice and caring
More research on moral development by Kohlberg: Colby, Kohlberg, et al. (1983): Dominant Reasoning Stage by Age. Explain this longitudinal study
- Followed Boys for 20 years (age 10 to age 34)
- Stage one moral reasoning is gone by mid teens
- Stage 2 is predominant in 10 year olds, slowly going away into adulthood, gets replaced by stage 3 in the teen years
- By mid to late teens, thinking in terms of interpersonal relationships is the dominant form of moral reasoning
- Stage 4 takes over in the twenties
- If someone is between pre-conventional and conventional, they will go back and forth but eventually will fall on one side or the other
More research on moral development: Walker et al. (1987): Dominant Reasoning Stage by Age. Explain the results
- boys and girls (ages 6, 9, 12, 15) and their parents
- there are people who are between stages
- even in parents, its rare to achieve stage 4 (most parents are stuck in 3 -4 area)
The stages of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development occurs in sequence and that is supported by a study done by Snarey on 27+ cultures. BUT Miller & Bersoff compared moral judgments of americans and hindu indians at grade 3, grade 7 and university and found what? Explain the experiment and give results
- Moral dilemma (scenario)
- 2 behavioural options (one at stage 3 (interpersonal option) and one at stage 4(Maintaining Social Order))
- if stage 3 option is chosen, you violate stage 4 thinking and vice versa
- hindus are choosing stage 3 and americans are choosing stage 4
- different cultures are focusing in on different types of values
- cultural differences in highest stage achieved and most common reasoning type
How does moral Reasoning Develop?
Cognitive milestones:
-need concrete operations to use conventional reasoning: (theory of mind, decentration), thinking about more than just one consequence at once
-need formal operations to use post-conventional reasoning: (abstract thought, contrary-to-fact reasoning)
Social environment: need opportunities to discuss moral issues, disequilibrium -> equilibrium
How does moral Reasoning Develop? Link to Moral behaviour: Explain what Schonert-Reichl (1999) found
- correlational research
- Found significant positive correlations between stage of moral reasoning and prosocial behaviour (the higher the stage, the more you’ll do to help others)
- Higher moral reasoning level = less likely to harm someone
- Higher moral reasoning = less likely to accept violence as appropriate behaviour
According to the textbook, what is prosocial behaviour?
Actions that benefit others
