CLASS 16

Morality -how do children learn right from wrong?

Beyond the reach of psychology? Philosophers say: “one can’t convert “is” to “ought”

Kohlberg’s Answer: Children get more morally mature as they age They improve in 6 stages Most people stop before stage 6 therefore, we can evaluate adult morality

-- it’s a kind of cognitive development i.e., the ability to think about complex moral issues

Three levels Pre-conventional morality (reward-punishment) Conventional morality (social stability) Post-conventional morality (universal principles)

Measured by: Set of ethical dilemmas Hypothetical dilemmas with difficult moral choices  e.g., stealing vs. loyalty Not your choice but your reasoning

Four alternatives to Kohlberg’s theory

1. PSYCHO-DYNAMIC VIEW Shame  External valued audience Guilt  Internal audience  Id misbehaves  Superego administers self-punishment

2. TRAIT PSYCHOLOGY Consistent with our beliefs about others Among the Big Five  Conscientious people are moral (sort of) Ashton-Lee Big Six  Added Factor 6 = honesty

3. SOCIAL LEARNING VIEW - morality is conditioned - involves both behavior and emotional aspects

- society declares a set of inappropriate behaviors - punishment reduces their frequency - instrumental conditioning A. Moral Behavior

B. Moral Emotions classical conditioning  We associate that behavior with negative feelings creates an anxiety during future temptation  Warns us with a negative emotion Also makes us judge others

Mischel’s contribution: Resisting temptation Ability to delay of gratification Varied level of temptation anyone can be dishonest

The Marshmallow Test

Hartshorne and May (1928) Searched for the honest child lying vs. cheating vs. stealing RESULTS different children misbehaved in the 3 different situations

Summary of SLT View no honest personality match between previous conditioning and current context morality is anxiety In short, no glory

4. HAIDT’S EVOLUTIONARY THEORY Built-in reactions to distress in others We convert to reality and institutionalize into our culture

Care; Fairness vs. Purity; Respect; Loyalty Politics determined by relative weights Explains why political arguments are so heated

SUMMARY: 5 approaches to morality 1. Kohlberg-- cognitive development 2. Freud -- guilt 3. Trait psychology -- high C or factor 6 4. Social learning -- behavior and anxiety 5. Evolutionary psych – hardwired empathy

MIDTERM EXAM In class on Friday February 12, multiple choice questions Worth 35% of your course mark About 30 items from text; 20 from lectures