lecture 1- moral development and aggression Flashcards
what is pro social behaviour
Pro-social behavior refers to actions intended to benefit others or society as a whole. These behaviors are motivated by empathy, concern for others, moral principles, or social norms. Examples of pro-social behavior include helping, sharing, cooperating, comforting, and volunteering.
what are the key ingredients of pro-social behaviour?
Altruism
* A genuine concern for the welfare of others and willingness to act on that concern.
Empathy
* A person’s ability to experience the emotions of other people.
Morality
* The ability to distinguish right from wrong, and (sometimes) act on that distinction. Experience pride in virtuous conduct, but shame over acts that violate standards.
what are considered to be the most important aspects of a childs social development?
74% of parents said they hoped their child would acquire a strong sense of morality (Shaffer & Kipp, 2009)
what are the three moral principles:
- Avoid hurting others
Aggression was one behaviour that most parents said they would try to suppress / avoid in their child. - Prosocial concern
Encourage altruism through sharing, comforting, helping others. - Personal commitment to abide by rules
Comply with social rules of conduct, help child acquire personal values and ethics to know (and choose) right from wrong.
moral development is considered in three dimensions:
- Affective component – emotions
=> Stressed by psychoanalytic theorists (e.g., Freud). - Cognitive component – reasoning
=>Stressed by cognitive-developmental theorists (e.g. Piaget; Kohlberg).
=> Cognitive growth and social experiences improve rules/norms understanding. - Behavioural component – action
=> Stressed by social learning and social information-processing theorists (e.g.,
Bandura).
piagets theory of moral development
“Logic is the morality of thought just as morality is the logic of
action” (Piaget, 1962; 1965, p. 398)
* Studied childrens’ understanding of (1) respect for rules and (2)
concepts of justice.
piagets- stage theory
Premoral Period (Pre-school age)
- Little concern or awareness of rules. Make up own rules.
Stage 1: (Heteronomous Morality)
- Age 5-10 years
- “Under the rule of another.” Strong respect for rules, cannot be altered. Authority figures.
Actions judged by consequences, not intent.
Punishment for its own sake, not tailored to act.
Stage 2: (Autonomous Morality)
- By age 10-11
Social rules are arbitrary agreements that can be challenged, changed, and sometimes violated. Intent is important. Tailored punishment. Assume morality is fully developed.
critical evaluation of Piagets theory
Core criticism: Underestimates the competence of children to understand intentionality.
- Intentionality is a core aspect of making moral judgements.
=>Theory of mind, move away from egocentrism, other perspectives. - Argues capability to apply intentionality to moral judgements only developed in later childhood (10 yrs >).
- But research by Killen et al. (2011) shows that young children
aged 3-7 can:
=>Assign more blame when act was intentional than accidental.
=> Rated intentional acts as ‘more bad’ than accidental acts.
‘Morally-relevant Theory of Mind test’
(MoToM) (Killen et al., 2011)
- There is now a victim (the person who owns the object and leaves the room) and a potential trangressor (person who moves and damages object when victim is out of the room)
- Ability to interpret intentionality shown in younger children than Piaget proposed.
=> Justification questions to
assess level of harm perceived.
So young children CAN
distinguish between
intentions and outcomes and
apply those to moral
judgements.
kohlbergs theory of moral development
- Expansion of Piaget’s theory, beyond childhood (10-16 years).
- Moral dilemmas requiring choice between obeying rules or disobeying rules while serving a human need. Focus on rationale used to justify decision.
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development
LEVEL STAGE example
1. Pre-conventional
stage 1. Punishment and obedience It’s OK to do it if you don’t get caught
example- its OK to do it if you dont get caught
2. Self-interest (egocentric)
example- If it feels good, do it.
- Conventional
stage 3. Comply with social expectations Moral behaviour that pleases, helps, or
approved by others.
example- Moral behaviour that pleases, helps, or approved by others. - Uphold Social-order
example- Do your duty, social rules and laws and worth preserving.
level 3. Post- conventional
stage 5. Social-contract
example- Distinction between morality and legality.
- Individual principles of conscience
example- One’s own ethics, universal justice, dignity.
heinz example-
Heinz’s wife is dying from rare cancer, but new drug very expensive. Heinz borrows money but can’t get enough. What should Heinz do? (a) Steal the drug and not go to prison as this is unfair? (b) Not steal the
drugs since he would be breaking the law? (3) Steal the drug and accept any prison sentence?
Conventional stage:
Not steal the drug as he would be breaking the law.
Post-conventional stage:
Steal the drug but should not go to prison as
unfair.
critical evaluation of kohlbergs theory
- Age bias?
=>Not as applicable to young children (complex dilemmas).
=> Heavy focus on legal issues. - Cultural bias?
=>Post-conventional morality not found to exist in some societies.
=> Highest stages are Western ideals. - Gender bias?
=>Theory developed from sample of only male participants.
=>Carol Gilligan argues different gender-typing and expectancies lead to
different moral orientations.
=> Boys – ‘Morality of Justice’; Girls – ‘Morality of Care’
what is aggression?
Defined as any form of behavior intended to injure or harm a living being who is
motivated to avoid such treatment
(Dodge et al., 2006).
aggression- intentionally
- Acts where harm was intended.
=> Even if act not carried through (e.g., violent kick that misses target). - Excludes accidental harm (eg enjoyable play with no harmful intent)
what are the two broad types of aggression>
- hostile aggression- goal is to harm
- instrumental aggression- means to another end
hostile aggression: intent to harm
- overt aggression: direct, physical
By 2 ½ - 3 years old, males are
more physically and verbally
aggressive than females. - Rougher play with parents.
- More negative parental
reaction to aggressive
behaviours of daughters. - Gender-typing of toys
relational aggression: indirect, psycho-social
* females are more relationally aggressive
is aggression a stable attribute?
- Aggressive toddlers likely to be
aggressive 5 year olds. - Aggression between 3 years and 10
years old predicts aggression and
antisocial behavior later in life.
Huesmann, Eron, Lefkowitz, & Walder (1984)
what are the two types of aggression?
- Reactive – driven by emotion.
- impulsive; hostile, retaliatory aggression; high arousal; wary of others.
- Proactive – driven by goals.
- planned or considered aggression; requires forethought and delayed behaviour; produces tangible benefits, eg. enhances self-esteem; rewarding; bullying.
moral reasoning and aggression
“Many acts of aggression are clear
moral transgressions, and in turn,
many moral transgressions involve
either physical or verbal aggression.”
(Arsenio & Lemerise, 2004, pg 987)
Aggression can result from immature moral reasoning:
Egocentric bias is pronounced:
- Individual places own concerns as
central and most important. - Normal among young children but
with maturation children should shift
from ‘self-centred’ to ‘other-centred’
to take other perspectives.
Self-serving ‘Cognitive distortions’:
=>provide justification for aggressive
behaviours
- Hostile Attribution Bias (assuming the
worst)
- Blaming others and external causes
- Minimise feelings of guilt and regret by
creating own labels and interpretations
Moral Disengagement:
- a process of convincing yourself that ethical
standards don’t apply to you at a certain time or in a particular context – dissociation. - Cognitive re-framing of aggression as being morally acceptable under certain circumstances.
=> Displacement: actions are dictated by a separate authority and are not one’s
own
=> Diffusion: in a group setting can believe others to be equally responsible.
=>Dehumanisation: victim no longer considered a person with feelings and thoughts, seen more as an object than a living being.
Moral development as a cultural construct
- Children learn about morals and values from family, friends, community.
- Early morality concepts were universal (Kohlberg).
- But can be culturally specific: different self-concepts, emotional
expectations, and value orientations. ‘Moral identity’.
=>Micro (family, immediate community) and macro (region, country) levels
Moral reasoning and aggression cont
- Constructed view of the world based on past experiences and own interpretation.
- More favourable attitudes to aggressive behaviour predicts actual aggressive behaviour.
Individual «» Environment
general aggression model
refer to slides Allen et al., (2018)
