Chapter 14 Moral Development I Moral Judgment A Piaget s Theory of Moral Judgment Inherently connected to cognitive development 1 2 Characteristic of invariant stages a Set sequence through stages of moral development 3 Piaget s Stages a The Stage of the Morality of Constraint Heteronomous Stage i Present in preoperational children ii Justice is defined by authorities and authorities punishment is always iii Consequences more important for judging morality as opposed to justified intentions iv Based on parents definitions of right and wrong and the rules surrounding those ideas b The Transitional Period i Age 7 to age 10 ii Begin to value fairness and equality iii something from another s perspective c The Stage of Autonomous Morality Based on increased interaction with peers and increased ability to view i Begins around age 11 ii Children question justice of implemented rules and regulations iii iv Incorporation of intentions in discerning right from wrong Full understanding that rules are a construct not a physical being 4 Evaluation of Piaget s Theory a Support i Relatively consistent findings across countries and ethnic groups ii Morality also influenced by Parental strictness b Criticisms Interaction with peers i Quality of peer interaction not presence of it influences moral development ii When morality vignettes are more clearly depicted in video children as young as 4 can recognize the difference between good and bad intentions Vaish video experiment 3 yr olds saw an actor who Was harmful Tried but failed to be harmful Was accidentally harmful Was helpful Kids later help actors who were accidentally harmful and were helpful Displays consideration of intentions in 3 year olds B Kohlberg s Theory of Moral Judgment 1 Invariant stages a Set sequence through stages of moral development 2 Moral development continues over life span 3 Moral development influenced by biological maturation and socialization 4 Emphasized reasoning in moral judgment over simple response 5 Kohlberg s Stages a Preconventional moral reasoning Centered around earning rewards and avoiding punishment i Stage 1 ii Stage 2 i Stage 3 ii Stage 4 i Stage 5 ii Stage 6 Centered around self interest b Conventional moral reasoning Focused on the good or nice thing to do Beginning of perspective taking and intentions Centered around duties laws and other codes of conduct c Postconventional moral reasoning Focused on benefit for society Utilitarian perspective Centered around ideals and principles not considering the law d Each stage contains two levels e People progress through stages in same order but not everyone reaches postconventional moral reasoning 6 Critique of Kohlberg s Theory a Cultural differences i People of Eastern cultures do not develop as far as Western individuals according to Kohlberg s Theory ii Buddhist monks placed in lower stages than laymen b Development is continuous not discontinuous i People use different stages of reasoning in different contexts ii Multiple stages do not have to be consecutive c Nature vs nurture d Gender differences i Underestimates nurture of moral development i Boys socialized to focus on principles and values ii Girls socialized to focus on compassion for others iii Movement led by Carol Gilligan Intuition e i Moral dilemmas involve moral emotion and intuition ii Reasoning develops later in life iii Movement led by Jonathan Haidt C Prosocial Moral Judgment 1 Prosocial behavior a Voluntary behavior intended for the benefit of another person b Based on altruism sharing and empathy 2 Levels of prosocial moral reasoning a Self focused orientation i Judgment based solely on personal desires b Needs based orientation i Expression of concern for others needs c Approval stereotyped orientation i Doing something because it is good d Self reflective empathic orientation i Development of perspective taking abilities e Transitional level i Values responsibilities and norms internalized to a degree but not strongly expressed with acuity f Strongly internalized stage poignantly D Domains of Social Judgment 1 Moral judgments i Values responsibilities and norms fully internalized and may be expressed ii Includes belief in the rights dignity and equality of all individuals a Pertain to issues of right and wrong fairness and justice 2 Social conventional judgments a Pertain to customs or regulations regarding social coordination and organization b Includes standard practices for politeness 3 Personal judgments a Pertain to actions mainly governed by individual preferences 4 Children s Use of Social Judgment a Age 3 moral violations more wrong than social conventional violations 5 Cultural and Socioeconomic Differences a Children from interdependent cultures more likely to view obligations to others as b Children from independent cultures more likely to view obligations to others as c Children from low income families less likely to view personal issues as a matter moral duty personal choice of choice II The Early Development of Conscience A Factors Affecting the Development of Conscience 1 2 year olds display some regard for rules 2 Temperament a More fearful children display more guilt at a young age than less fearful children i Gentle discipline works well for fearful children b Fearless children more motivated by desire to please parent than by fear of her i Gentle discipline not effective for fearless children A Prosocial behavior in preschool predicts amount of prosocial behavior into early III Prosocial Behavior adulthood B Altruistic motives morals 1 Empathy 2 Sympathy 1 Empathy sympathy for others and desire to act consistently with conscience and C The Development of Prosocial Behavior a Emotional reaction to another s emotional state or condition b Involves identification of emotion in others and being able to recreate that emotion within oneself a Concern for another in reaction to another s emotional state or condition 3 Young children may confuse another s distress for their own 4 Frequency and applicability of prosocial behavior increase around age 2 D The Origins of Individual Differences in Prosocial Behavior 1 Biological Factors a Humans are biologically predisposed to be altruistic b Prosocial behavior more consistent between MZ twins than DZ twins c Assertiveness i More assertive children more likely to act out prosocial behaviors than nonassertive children 2 The Socialization of Prosocial Behavior a Modeling and the communication of values i Children likely to