Moral development Flashcards
Piaget’s theory
Piaget proposes a cognitive developmental theory of moral development in which the moral concepts of the child evolve in an unvarying sequence. From an early stage (the stage of moral realism or heteronomous morality) to a more mature stage (morality of reciprocity or autonomous morality). No one could reach the stage of moral reciprocity without first having passed through the stage of moral realism. He elaborated his theory of moral development by listening to children’s reasoning when he asked them moral questions in little stories (clinical interviews).
Mature morality:
Includes children’s understanding and acceptance of social rules and their concern for equality and reciprocity in human relationships (the basis of justice)
Two ways Piaget investigated moral judgements:
- By shifts with age in children’s attitudes toward rules in common games (marbles)
- By changes in children’s judgements of the seriousness of transgressions
Moral development in preschool child
The child shows little concern for, or awareness of rules. In children’s games the child does not try to play a systematic game with the intention of winning, but the manipulation and multiple using of marbles. By age of 5, the child begins to develop great concern and respect for rules. Rules are seen as coming from external authority (usually the parents), immutable, unchanging through time and never to be questioned. Children evaluate the seriousness of an act in terms of its consequences rather than according to the good or bad intentions of the actor. Behavior is assessed in terms of objective responsibility rather than intentionality.
Moral absolutism:
reflects the inflexibility when children approach social interactions (my mommy says). If children of this age are asked if children in other countries could play marbles with different rules, they will assure the interviewer that they could not.
Immanent justice
Any deviation from the rules is seen as inevitably resulting in punishment by immanent justice. (I fell of the bike because I lied to my mom).
Moral realism/heteronomous morality
The children tend to judge nauthiness in terms of the severity of the consequence rather than in terms of motives. Two factors that contribute to young children’s moral realism are egocentrism (their inability to subordinate their own experiences and perceive situations as others would) and realistic thinking (which leads them to confuse external reality with their own thought processes and subjective experiences). Two factors that contribute to young children’s moral realism are egocentrism (their inability to subordinate their own experiences and perceive situations as others would) and realistic thinking (which leads them to confuse external reality with their own thought processes and subjective experiences).
Morality of reciprocity/Moral relativism/autonomous morality
Begins to emerge in children at about the age of 9-11. Moral judgements are now characterized by the recognition that social rules are arbitrary agreements that can be questioned and changed. Obedience to authority is neither necessary nor always desirable. Violations of rules are not always wrong, nor inevitably punished. The child considers the feelings and viewpoints of others when judging their behavior. When there is to be punishment, aspects such as the intentions of the wrongdoer and the nature of the transgression should be considered. The punishment should be in the form of restitution that will make up for harm done or help teach the wrongdoer to behave better if the situation should arise again. There should be equalitarianism in the form of justice for all.
Kohlberg’s theory
Kohlberg developed a more complete theory of stages in moral development. He based his descriptions on children’s responses to hypothetical moral dilemmas too. He was interested in the reasons children gave for their moral judgements.
Kohlberg’s stages of moral development
- Preconventional moral reasoning
- Conventional moral reasoning
- Post conventional reasoning
Instrumental relativism
What is right is what satisfies your own needs and occasionally the needs of others (e.g. familial expectations)
Preconventional moral reasoning
Throughout the preconventional level (6-9 year), a child’s sense of morality is externally controlled. Children accept and believe the rules of authority figures, such as parents and teachers. A child with pre-conventional morality has not yet adopted or internalized society’s conventions regarding what is right or wrong, but instead focuses largely on external consequences that certain actions may bring.
Conventional moral reasoning
Throughout the conventional level (around 11), a child’s sense of morality is tied to personal and societal relationships. Children continue to accept the rules of authority figures, but this is now due to their belief that this is necessary to ensure positive relationships and societal order. Adherence to rules and conventions is somewhat rigid during these stages, and a rule’s appropriateness or fairness is seldom questioned.
Postconventional moral reasoning
Throughout the postconventional level, a person’s sense of morality is defined in terms of more abstract principles and values. People now believe that some laws are unjust and should be changed or eliminated. This level is marked by a growing realization that individuals are separate entities from society and that individuals may disobey rules inconsistent with their own principles. Post-conventional moralists live by their own ethical principles-principles that typically include such basic human rights as life, liberty, and justice-and view rules as useful but changeable mechanisms, rather than absolute dictates that must be obeyed without question. Because post-conventional individuals elevate their own moral evaluation of a situation over social conventions, their behavior, especially at stage six, can sometimes be confused with that of those at the pre-conventional level. Some theorists have speculated that many people may never reach this level of abstract moral reasoning.
Obedience-and-Punishment Orientation
Preconventional: stage one focuses on the child’s desire to obey rules and avoid being punished. For example, an action is perceived as morally wrong because the perpetrator is punished; the worse the punishment for the act is, the more “bad” the act is perceived to be.
