moral development Flashcards
what are morals
set of principles which give us a sense of right and wrong
what do morals inlcude
-avoiding hurting others
-prosocial concerns
-personal committment to abide by rules
give an example of how feelings influence behaviour
feeling pride due to being rewarded so we will continue to do this behaviour causing these feelings
what is moral reasoning
children develop principles of reflection (as cognition develops) which explains why adolescents have strong feelings towards issues to do with justice e.g animal rights
what are the 3 moral components
1.affective component: feelings that surround right or wrong actions and motivate moral thoughts and actions
2.cognitive component: way we conceptualise right and wrong and make decisions on how to behave
3.behavioural component: how we actually behave when we experience temptation to lie, cheat or violate other moral views
affective component
-developed by freud
-children internalise moral standards of same sex parent in phallic stage (resolving oedipus/electra complex)
-toddlers in secure attachment have mutaully responsive relationship with their parents, more likely to display compliance
cognitive component
-children progress through stages
-cog dev plus experiences underlie moral reasoning
-piagets stage theory
-kohlberg theory
piaget stage theory of moral dev (cog component)
1.pre moral
–first 5 yrs
–children have little respect for socially defined rules
2.heteronomous
–5-10 yrs, first stage of moral dev
–children view rules of authority as sacred
3.autonomous morality
–10-11yrs, 2nd stage of moral dev
–children realise rules are agreements that can be challenged and changed
transition from heteronomous to autonomous stages
1.cog maturation: decline in egocentrism, dev of role taking skills
2.social experience: equal status contact with peers, childs respect for adult authority decreases, self respect and respect for peers increases, illustrates rules are arbitrary agreements
evaluation of piaget theory
-underestimates moral abilities of preschool and primary age children
-is moral reasoning really fully developed by age 10-11 (kohlberg)
what was kohlberg interested in
the logic and thought processes behind children coming to particular moral conclusions
kohlberg level 1 of morality
Pre-conventional morality
–moral judgements based on punishments or rewards
stage 1: punishment and obedience training = goodness and badness of an act depends on consequences
stage 2: naive hedonism = indiv conform to rules in order to gain rewards
kohlberg level 2 of morality
Conventional morality
–indiv strives to obey social rules and norms to gain approval or maintain social order
stage 3: good boy/girl orientation = child internalises idea of being good
stage 4: social order maintaining morality = considers perspectives generalised by others
kohlberg level 3 of morality
Post conventional morality
–moral judgements based on social contracts and democratic law or universal principles of ethics/justice
stage 5: social contract orientation = indiv sees laws as tools for expressing will of majority of human welfare
stage 6: morality of indiv principles of conscience = indiv defines right and wrong on basis of self chosen ethical principles of conscience
do people achieve all stages of kohlberg’s moral development
stage 6 is where moral reasoning is reached but many do not reach this stage
what is needed to help children progress through kohlberg’s stages
children need different experiences
evidence for kohlberg’s stages
-colby 1983: researched same children as Kohlberg over 20yrs and found moral stages do follow sequence as suggested by kohlberg
-research shows social experience with peers in advanced education settings contributes to moral development
evaluation of kohlberg theory
-underestimates ability of young children, kohlberg started his research of children age 10+, what happens before this age?
-culture specific
-few people actually reach the higher stages of dev so is it actually appropriate as a developmental stage
-gilligan 1982: argues theory doesnt represent female moral reasoning as kohlberg focused on males (morality of justice for males vs morality of care for females)
parenting and moral development
-parents are the role model for observational learning
-piaget and kohlberg do not look at other factors like parenting
what is the definition of parenting style
strategies parents use to raise their children
what are the 4 parenting styles
authoritarian: parent driven, strict rules, punishment
authoritative: supportive, clear rules/expectations, discuss rules with children
uninvolved: little nurture/guidance, few rules, children raise themselves
permissive: rarely give/enforce rules, only punish serious problems
research for parenting styles and moral dev
-thompson 2009: increasing emphasis on the role of parenting on moral dev
-SLT suggests moral behaviours are learned in the same way other social behaviours are (reinforcement etc)
-dev can be promoted by exposing children to appropriate model of moral reasoning
-cowell and decety 2015: sensitivity to empathy and injustice may influence moral dev
patterns of behaviour based on parenting style
authoritarian: obedient children, lower happiness social competence and self esteem
authoritative: children happy capable and successful
permissive: children with no respect for authority
