moral development

Question 1

what are morals

Answer 1

set of principles which give us a sense of right and wrong

Question 2

what do morals inlcude

Answer 2

-avoiding hurting others
-prosocial concerns
-personal committment to abide by rules

Question 3

give an example of how feelings influence behaviour

Answer 3

feeling pride due to being rewarded so we will continue to do this behaviour causing these feelings

Question 4

what is moral reasoning

Answer 4

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

Question 5

what are the 3 moral components

Answer 5

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

Question 6

affective component

Answer 6

-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

Question 7

cognitive component

Answer 7

-children progress through stages
-cog dev plus experiences underlie moral reasoning
-piagets stage theory
-kohlberg theory

Question 8

piaget stage theory of moral dev (cog component)

Answer 8

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

Question 9

transition from heteronomous to autonomous stages

Answer 9

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

Question 10

evaluation of piaget theory

Answer 10

-underestimates moral abilities of preschool and primary age children
-is moral reasoning really fully developed by age 10-11 (kohlberg)

Question 11

what was kohlberg interested in

Answer 11

the logic and thought processes behind children coming to particular moral conclusions

Question 12

kohlberg level 1 of morality

Answer 12

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

Question 13

kohlberg level 2 of morality

Answer 13

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

Question 14

kohlberg level 3 of morality

Answer 14

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

Question 15

do people achieve all stages of kohlberg’s moral development

Answer 15

stage 6 is where moral reasoning is reached but many do not reach this stage

Question 16

what is needed to help children progress through kohlberg’s stages

Answer 16

children need different experiences

Question 17

evidence for kohlberg’s stages

Answer 17

-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

Question 18

evaluation of kohlberg theory

Answer 18

-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)

Question 19

parenting and moral development

Answer 19

-parents are the role model for observational learning
-piaget and kohlberg do not look at other factors like parenting

Question 20

what is the definition of parenting style

Answer 20

strategies parents use to raise their children

Question 21

what are the 4 parenting styles

Answer 21

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

Question 22

research for parenting styles and moral dev

Answer 22

-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

Question 23

patterns of behaviour based on parenting style

Answer 23

authoritarian: obedient children, lower happiness social competence and self esteem

authoritative: children happy capable and successful

permissive: children with no respect for authority