Moral Development Flashcards
what are the divisions of moral development?
moral development –> moral development and prosocial behaviour
moral development:
Theories: Piaget and Kohlberg
• Moral emotions
• Moral behaviour
Prosocial behaviour:
Development
• Underlying factors
• Cross-cultural differences
what is morality?
Right and wrong influneces: Cognitive Behavioural Emotional
•Moral dilemmas 3 – 5 year olds give similar answers (Pellizzoni et al., 2010)
what is social learning?
•Moral rules transferred from adults to children and internalised
•Social learning theories (e.g. Bandura, 1977)
Social conditioning (reinforcement)
Observational learning
Can we use physical punishment to reinforce right and wrong?
•Causes child to respond negatively, creating cycle of violence (Patterson, 1982)
•Child may think rules apply only in the presence of an adult (Walters & Grusec,1977; Corsaro, 1990)
should child smacking be banned?
what are the three different types of discipline parents emply according to Hoffman?
Hoffman (1983, 2000) – parents central to moral development
•3 different types of discipline:
Inductive = point out effect on others
Power-assertive = physical force, threats etc.
Love-withdrawal = non-physical, disapproval
What did Dirkheim 1987 argue about moral education?
give some strngths and weaknesses to his apporoach?
Moral rules relate to the social relations or “contracts” that exist between individuals in society
•Moral development involves learning the rules that maintain social relations
•Children learn about morality through education
Strengths of Durkheim’s approach
•Moral rules are recognized as social (collective) rules
•“Society” as the source of morality
Weaknesses
•All morality imposed on children from adults
•To act morally is to follow “Society’s” rules – but sometimes we have to break the rules
outline Pigets theory of moral development
•Learning the rules of a game through social relations with peers
•Studied children playing games:
Noticed that children first practice the rules, then rules become meaningful
Also learn “consciousness” of rules: first they are flexible, then sacred, then can be changed if everyone agrees
Premoral Birth to age 5: unconcerned/unaware
Moral realism Age 6 to 10: develop concern for the rules, simple judgements of good or bad
Morality of reciprocity From age 11: understand subjective morality, appreciate equality/fairness
what is Piagets two moral world view?
Around 11 years old shift from adult dominance to society of equals
According to Piaget, children between ages 5 and 10 make moral decisions based on what an authority figure believes is right. Rules from parents or teachers are unchangeable, and the child follows them out of fear of punishment.
Piaget teaches that beginning at about age 10 children base their morality on a cooperative society. They see morality involves social agreement and rules are for the common good. They also begin to understand that others have different rules concerning morality. The child develops a sense of reciprocity and fairness, although it is initially limited.
what are the issues with Pigets vignettes?
vignette study
2 vignettes: if you thought one was more guilty than 2 you showed moral realism if you thought 2 was more guilty than 1 you showed reciprocity morals
Problems with Piaget’s vignettes
(Armsby, 1971)
Both incidents are accidental
Young children (age 6) can understand concept of intention
But seem to show a preference for consequences
what is Kohlbergs theory of development
Key features
- Cognitive-developmental theory
- Development continues into adulthood
- Three levels and six stages
- Logic drives development
Outline Heinz and the pharmacist
Heinz's wife was dying Heinz found doctor with cure couldn't pay for it all doctor says no heinz broke in children asked questions on vignette like "Should Heinz have stolen the drug" By studying the answers from children of different ages to these questions, Kohlberg hoped to discover how moral reasoning changed as people grew older. The sample comprised 72 Chicago boys aged 10–16 years, 58 of whom were followed up at three-yearly intervals for 20 years (Kohlberg, 1984).
give Kohlbergs stages of development
Level 1: Pre-Conventional 1. Obedience and punishment orientation
“I don’t want to get in trouble!”
2. Self-interest orientation
“What’s in it for me?”
Level 2: Conventional 3. Interpersonal accord and conformity Good boy/girl 4. Authority and maintaining social-order “Everyone must follow the rules”
Level 3: Post-Conventional
5. Social contract orientation
Internalised, but flexible, ethical code
6. Universal ethical principles
abstract concepts (justice, compassion, equality) + human rights
Outline the demand of Kohlberg’s model
- An individual must follow the same order
- Individuals cannot “skip” stages
- Thought cannot “undevelop”
- Can only reason at one stage at a time
- Sequence is universal
How do we test kohlberg’s model?
Colby et al. (1983)
• Large (all-male) longitudinal study from 10-36 years
• Patterns of development are consistent with Kohlberg’s model
• Few participants skip a stage or backslide (regress)
- 50% show reasoning across two stages at the same testing point
- 9% show reasoning across more than two stages at the same testing point
Snarey (1985)
• Some support for universality of the sequence across cultures
• However, Western cultures have a far higher proportion of stage 4, 5, and 6 reasoners
• Kohlberg’s theory is ethnocentric
give osme further limitations to Kohlbergs model
Gender bias? Women score at conventional stage (Gilligan, 1982)
•Rational? (Emler et al., 1983)
Ask left-wing students to imagine they have the opposite political orientation (right-wing), and complete moral questionnaire from that perspective
•Kohlberg’s model is biased towards left-wing, liberal, Western, “male” values?
