Psych 301 9 15 3 Morality and Identity How does moral behavior develop Stages of development of moral reasoning Kohlberg s moral dilemmas technique Hypothetical situations in which main character is faced with a moral choice Major stages of moral development Preconventional Reasoning based on personal benefits Conventional Reasoning based on conformity Postconventional Reasoning based on higher principles Emergence of moral emotions Emotions related to moral behavior Self conscious emotions Empathy sympathy guilt shame Form early in life but emerge later than other emotions Empathic distress Crying in response to crying of another infant Prosocial behavior Helpfulness and response to need Parental practices and children s prosocial behavior Sympathetic children Allowed to express negative emotions Learn to cope with these emotions Children high in shame Parents show frequent anger Parents are lax in discipline Parents do not respond positively to appropriate behavior from child Secure attachment style associated with effective moral emotions Physiological aspects of morality Somatic marker hypothesis Emotional responses influence reasoning Frontal lobe patients injured in infancy Deficiencies in social and moral reasoning Neglected social and emotional factors in making their own life decisions Engaged in petty crimes threatening behaviors and lying Not true for patients injured as adults Brain activity during moral reasoning fMRI data Three types of problems Moral Personal Moral Impersonal Non Moral Moral personal problems activated brain areas different from those used in normal reasoning What influences gender development and identity Gender and gender roles Gender Culturally constructed differences between males and females Separate from biologically determined sex Gender roles Behaviors that differ between men and women due to cultural influence or learning Children develop their expectations about gender through observing adults peers and the media Gender and gender identity Gender identity Self identification as male or female Complex function of biological social and cultural influences Gender schemas Cognitive structures influencing how people perceive gender related behaviors Sex typed behavior The view that there are clear distinctions between men and women Androgenous Having both masculine and feminine traits Erikson s psychosocial theory of development Eight stages Emphasizes Age related psychological processes The effects of these processes on social functioning Each stage has a developmental crisis that must be confronted before moving to new stage Identity development Adolescent egocentrism Adolescent anxiety about personal appearance and behavior Consequence of intense self scrutiny during identity formation Identity status Theory about patterns of identity development Identity formation requires a crisis and commitment to a personal identity Development of ethnic identity Ethnic identity Psychological association between people and their own ethnic or racial group By age 4 children can sort dolls and pictures into racial categories Stages of ethnic identity formation Unexamined Exploration Achievement
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