Lifespan Social Cog and Moral Development (Ch 13) Flashcards
Kohlberg’s Theory - Levels
moral growth progresses through a universal and invariant sequence of three broad moral levels
Each of which is composed of two distinct stages
Each stage grows out of the preceding stage and represents a more complex way of thinking about moral issues
Level I: Preconventional morality
Level II: Conventional morality
Level III: Postconventional morality
Kohlberg Level I (stages)
Level I: Preconventional morality - punishment and reward
Stage 1: Punishment and Obedience orientation
Stage 2: Instrumental hedonism
Kohlberg Level II (stages)
Level II: conventional morality - following rules
Stage 3: good boy or good girl morality
Stage 4: Authority and social order maintaining morality
Kohlberg Level III (Stages)
Level III: Postconventional morality - what you believe is right or wrong
Stage 5: Morality of contract, individual rights, democractically acceptable laws
Stage 6: Morality of individual principles of conscience
Social cognition
is thinking about perceptions, thoughts, emotions, motives, and bx of the self, other ppl, grps, and social systems
Theory of mind
Understanding that people have mental states such as desires, beliefs, and intentions, and these mental states guide bxs
Social perspective taking
The ability to adopt another person’s perspective and understand their thoughts and feelings in relation to your own
Important aspect of social cog development
Developmental scientists focus on 3 basic components of morality
- Affective
- Cognitive
- Behavioral
Affective component of morality
Consists of feelings that surround right or wrong actions and that motivate moral thoughts and actions
Cognitive component of morality
Centers on how we conceptualize right and wrong and make decisions about how to behave
Behavioral component of morality
Reflects how we behave when, for example, we experience temptation to cheat or are called upon by a needy person
Moral affect
positive and negative emotions related to matters of right and wrong - can motivate bx
Piaget’s theory of moral development includes three aspects
- premoral period,
- heteronomous morality, and
- autonomous morality
Premoral period
Piaget’s theory of moral development - first aspect
During the preschool years, children show little awareness or understanding of rules and cannot be considered moral beings
Heteronomous morality
Piaget’s theory of moral development - Second aspect
Children 6 to 10 years old take rules seriously, believing that they are handed down by parents and other authority figures and are sacred and unalterable.
They judge rule violations as wrong based on the extent of damage done, not paying much attention to whether the violator had good or bad intentions
Autonomous morality
Piaget’s theory of moral development - Third aspect
At age 10 or 11, most children enter a final stage of moral development in which they begin to appreciate that rules are agreements between individuals – agreements that can be changed through a consensus of those individuals
In judging actions, they pay more attention to whether the person’s intentions were good or bad than to the consequences of the act
Influences on moral thinking - Freud
Emphasized role of the parents
Influences on moral thinking - Piaget and Kohlberg
two main influences on moral development are
- cognitive growth and
- social interactions with equals
Cognitive growth
- At the conventional level, the ability to take other people’s perspectives is required
- At the postconventional level, formal-operational thinking is required
Social interactions with equals
- Negotiations to work out differences in perspectives
- Advanced schooling
- Participation in a complex, diverse, democratic society
Moral bx according to social learning theory
According to social-learning theory, moral behavior is learned in the same way that other social behaviors are learned: through observational learning and reinforcement and punishment principle
Bandura emphasized that moral cognition is linked to moral action through self-regulatory mechanisms that involve
- Monitoring and evaluating our actions
- Disapproving of ourselves when we contemplate doing wrong
- Approving of ourselves when we behave responsibly or humanely
Evolution theorists and moral bx
Evolutionary theorists focus on how moral thought, emotion, and behavior may have helped humans adapt to their environments over the course of evolution Prosocial behaviors (cooperation, altruism) and mechanisms for controlling and inhibiting harmful behaviors may have evolved because they enhanced survival
The Adolescent – Changes in Moral Reasoning
The main developmental trend in moral reasoning during adolescence is a shift from preconventional to conventional reasoning
- During this period, most individuals begin to express a genuine concern with living up to the moral standards that parents and other authorities have taught them and ensuring that laws designed to make human relations just and fair are taken seriously and maintained
- Postconventional reasoning does not emerge until adulthood, if it emerges at all
Hoffman (2000) compared childrearing approaches that foster moral behavior and moral thought and affect - 3 approaches
- Love withdrawal
- Power assertion
- Induction
Love withdrawal
withholding attention, affection, or approval after a child misbehaves (creating anxiety by threatening a loss of reinforcement from parents)
Power assertion
using power to threaten, chastise, administer spankings, take away privileges (using punishment)
more often associated with moral immaturity than with moral maturity
concluded that mild power assertion tactics such as a forceful “No,” a reprimand, or the removal of privileges can be useful occasionally
Induction
explaining to a child why the behavior is wrong and should be changed by emphasizing how it affects other people
more often positively associated with children’s moral maturity than either love withdrawal or power assertion
works well because it breeds empathy
Effective parents use …
proactive parenting strategies
- Tactics designed to prevent misbehavior and reduce the need for correction or discipline (e.g., distraction for younger children and explicit teaching of values for older children)
Kochanska and colleagues found that children are easiest to socialize if…
- They are by temperament fearful or inhibited (likely to experience guilt and distress)
- They are capable of effortful control, and therefore are able to inhibit their urges to engage in wrongdoing
dual-process models of morality
New approach to morality
- both (1) deliberate thought and (2) emotion/intuition inform decisions about moral issues and motivate behavior
Religiosity
or religiousness
- generally been defined as sharing the beliefs and participating in the practices of an organized religion
Spirituality
- involves a quest for ultimate meaning and for a connection with something greater than oneself
- Spirituality may be carried out within the context of a religion (some people are both religious and spiritual) or outside it (some people say they are spiritual but not religious)
Certain abilities are considered important early signs of a theory of mind…
- Infant’s ability to engage in JOINT ATTN
- First mos of life - begin to understand ppl have their own intentions, etc. partly from their own actions
- 1-2 yrs - PRETEND PLAY
- Able to IMITATE OTHERS
- Display EMOTIONAL UNDERSTANDING (eg comforting crying playmate)
Formulating a theory of mind has consequences for development…
- more advanced social skills and better social adjustment
- understand others better
Theory-of-mind skills also can be used for inappropriate purposes such as…
bullies and good liars often are adept at “mind reading”
Describing and Evaluating Other People - younger than 7 or 8
physical appearance, possessions, and activities
Describing and Evaluating Other People- Around age 7 or 8
beginning to think about people in terms of enduring psychological traits (“nice,” “funny,” “bossy”)
Describing and Evaluating Other People- 11 or 12
more use of psychological traits to explain why people behave as they do (“. . . because he is mean”)
Describing and Evaluating Other People- adolescents
describe others in psychological terms – traits, interests, values, and feelings
- Adolescents can incorporate seeming inconsistencies into their understanding of others
Eg “She brags but it is because she is insecure and wants to hide her insecurities”
Selman (1976) described the development of social perspective-taking abilities in stages
- 3 to 6 = egocentric; tend to assume that others share their point of view
- 8 to 10, as concrete-operational cognitive abilities solidify = appreciate that two people can have different points of view even if they have access to the same information
- age 12 = formal-operational stage of cognitive development become capable of mentally juggling multiple perspectives
Some researchers have detected deficiencies in the social-cognitive skills of older adults - reason
Declines in basic cognitive functions such as working memory and processing speed can take a toll on social-cognitive performance
- It is mainly when elderly people become socially isolated or inactive that their social cognitive skills become rusty
moral reasoning
– the thinking process involved in deciding whether an act is right or wrong
- believed to progress through an invariant sequence
Social-learning theorists believe moral behavior is believed to be strongly influenced by …
- situational influences -
- what we do (moral performance) is not always reflective of our internalized values and standards (moral competence)
