Final Exam Wednesday April 21 12:00 - 3:00 CSE - C

Previous Topics for Final 7 multiple choice questions 1 Short answer question Learning Theory (Lecture #2) Stages of Prenatal Development (Lecture #3) Development of Walking; Brain Development (Lecture #4) Depth Perception; Shape & Object Perception (Lecture #5) Object Permanence (Lecture #6)

Moral Development Learning to understand and follow the rules of society Two types of rules: Moral Rules -- such as not killing or stealing Social Etiquette (Conventions) -- saying please or thank you

Moral Development Rules change in different contexts (home, school, friends) Study two aspects of moral development: Moral conduct Moral reasoning

Theories: Cognitive- Developmental Because the issues of which morality is concerned are complex, it is proposed that moral development depends on cognitive development Piaget Studied moral development by observation of children in naturalistic settings and by experimental methods of presenting moral dilemmas (stories)

Piaget’s Stories A little boy is called to dinner. He goes into the dining room, but behind the door is a chair and on the chair is a tray of 15 cups. The boy did not know the cups were there, but when he opens the door he knocks the tray and the cups fall and all break! Another boy, while his mother was out, tried to get some jam out of the cupboard. He climbed on a chair, but the jam was too high. While he was trying to get it, he knocked over a cup and it broke.

Piaget’s Stories What did the first boy do? He broke 15 cups And the second boy? He broke a cup by moving roughly Is one of the boys naughtier than the other? The first one because he broke 15 cups If you were the daddy, which one would you punish most? The one who broke 15 cups

Four stage model 1) 2-4 years No conception of morality Play does not follow any set of rules 2) 5-7 years Following rules emerge Rules are absolute, externally dictated, and cannot be changed - Moral Realism Cognitive-Developmental: Piaget

2) Display objective responsibility - morality is relative to physical and objective consequences Immanent justice - always believes that a punishment will result from doing something wrong

Cognitive-Developmental: Piaget 3) 8-11 years Realizes one does not simply follow someone else’s rules but there is a personal decision to cooperate Rules are set up to help and safeguard Can adapt rules, they are no longer absolute Person’s motives and intentions are taken into account - moral relativism

Cognitive-Developmental: Piaget 4) Older than 11 years Can make new rules Move beyond self-centered to moral reasoning about society as a whole With cognitive development and move away from egocentric thinking and social experience, child can consider less concrete information and perspectives in evaluating morality

Cognitive-Developmental: Kohlberg Presented stories in which a character must choose between obeying a rule or not The child then indicates what the character should do and why Three developmental levels: Preconventional, Conventional, & Postconventional Within each are two stages each of which has a social perspective and moral component

Kohlberg’s Story Henry needs a particular drug to help his dying wife. The pharmacist who controls the supply of the drug refuses Henry’s offer to give him all the money he has now and pay the rest later. Henry must decide whether to steal the drug to save his wife. That is, obey the laws of society or violate them to save his wife. What should Henry do and why?

Cognitive-Developmental: Kohlberg The social perspective indicates the point of view from which decision is made Like Piaget, advances in this are thought to be due to cognitive development Moral component is thought to develop through experience with moral situations Similar to Piaget in that movement from stage to stage follows an invariant sequence and is universal

Cognitive-Developmental: Kohlberg Stage 1: Heteronomous morality S.P.: Tend to be egocentric and cannot consider another’s perspective M.C.: Equivalent to Piaget’s moral realism, morality is absolute and concrete Stage 2: Individualism and instrumental purpose S.P.: Other’s have different views but cannot take that view - guided by self-interest M.C.: Obey rules in order to gain in return

Cognitive-Developmental: Kohlberg Stage 3: Interpersonal conformity S.P.: Agreement between people is more important than serving the self-interest M.C.: Conform to what is considered right, done so that you will be approved Stage 4: Law and order S.P.: Social order and morality from the view of society M.C.: Adherence to social laws, which apply to everyone

Cognitive-Developmental: Kohlberg Stage 5: Social Contract S.P.: Understand that others have different values but still have rights M.C.: Protect human rights and the social system, behaviour that harms society even if legal is wrong Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles S.P.: Moral decisions based on fairness and justice because all members of society have worth M.C.: Respect for human dignity and life

Learning Argues against a universal stage model Instead moral behavior develops individually, depending on personal experiences and social environment Focused on moral conduct rather than reasoning Bandura - child will produce behaviors (anti- or pro-social) that are rewarded and inhibit behaviors that are not rewarded

Learning Crucial for moral development is observational learning, especially parents and peers Also interested in how media, television and books, affect moral conduct

Ethological Relate behavior of other species to moral conduct of humans Altruism Behavior that benefits others but not the individual Paradox of altruism - those who are not selfish would seem to be less likely to survive

Ethological To compensate, added Kin selection increasing chances of survival of a relative’s genes Reciprocal altruism Some day they will return the favor Social group’s genes will be passed on

Ethological Aggression Function is to insure survival of one’s genes Done by helping to obtain food, protecting the young, marking and preserving territorial boundaries In some species, dominance hierarchy exists Each member of the social group falls somewhere on a dominance ladder Dominance hierarchy in children’s social interactions

Evaluating Models In Piaget’s stories, damage caused is mentioned last (after character’s intentions) Because cognitively, they have trouble processing a lot of information, they may best remember the last thing they heard If intentions are mentioned last, children as young as 5 years may base their evaluation on motives rather than physical properties Piaget underestimated children’s abilities

Evaluating Models In order for a younger child to assess factors other than physical in moral judgments, these factors need to be salient Put them at end of story Add pictures Training child to examine the relevant aspects Have child describe the intentions

Evaluating Models An aspect of Kohlberg’s model is that cognitive development and perspective taking are required Studies cannot prove a causal link, but only that they develop at the same time Stage-specific and invariant sequence through stages do not hold May use reasoning from an adjacent stage May regress to earlier stage or skip a stage May follow more like Siegler’s Waves Theory

Evaluating Models Essentially universal but some cultural differences Non-industrial societies rarely get to stage 5 Chinese do not choose between self and society but compromise Kohlberg had concluded that females’ moral reasoning was less advanced than males’ Carol Gilligan indicated that they are equal but where males are concerned about justice, females are concerned with responsibility and care

Evaluating Models Kohlberg suggested that stage movement was due to cognitive conflict of a moral dilemma that cannot be resolved by reasoning at current stage Leads to reorganization Children are better at understanding arguments at lower stages but agree with arguments at higher stages

Moral Reasoning Peer Interactions Positive correlation in that more popular children are rated as more morally mature When peers are paired and given moral dilemmas Individual at lower level advances more than the higher level individual

Moral Reasoning Modeling Parents use higher levels of reasoning as child gets older Can model regression - if model moral reasoning that is lower than the child’s, the child will then use that level on other dilemmas

Moral Reasoning Parents’ Disciplinary Practices Will determine how children learn to avoid wrong behaviors and learn to enforce rules Power assertion: Commands, threats, & physical force Love withdrawal: Verbal disapproval, ridicule, & withholding love Induction: Reasoning, explanation Induction method leads to highest level of moral reasoning, then love withdrawal, then power assertion Not universal across cultures and countries

Prosocial Behavior: Altruism Actions and behaviors that society deems positive and desirable Three types: Sharing, cooperation, & helping 1-year-olds will share toys and food, become more frequent by 2 years and then decline in preschool Toddlers will comfort someone in distress and will help parents in tasks

Prosocial Behavior In general, these altruistic behaviors increase with age Younger children can be as helpful as older if informed that they have the knowledge and skills Age differences are not always found in naturalistic settings In general, no gender differences

Prosocial Behavior Determinants: Moral reasoning level No definitive correlation Perspective taking Empathy - feels the emotions of another Truly emerges around 2-3 years Later childhood, can be empathic for entire groups Reinforcement Modeling and Media

Antisocial Behavior: Aggression Behavior that is intended to cause harm to persons or property and that is not socially justifiable Based less on consequences and more on intentions Types: Verbal, hostile (cause pain), instrumental (to obtain, and relational (damage social relationships)

Aggression Between 18 mos and 5 years, no relation between age and overall aggession Physical and instrumental are greater at younger ages Verbal and hostile are more common at school ages Overal aggression decreases from first to fifth grades

Aggression: Gender In preschool and elementary school, boys show more aggression than girls From preschool to adolescence, girls display more relational aggression than boys, and typically directed toward girls Late elementary, physical aggression between boys increases, but by boys towards girls decreases significantly

Aggression: Determinants Aggression is stable with age Aggression at 8 years is predictive of level at 30 Identical twins are more similar than fraternal twins Hormones Strong relation between aggression and testosterone level

Aggression: Determinants Temperament Difficult babies is predictive of aggression in childhood and adolescence Dominance Chidren display hierarchy established by aggression

Aggression: Determinants Family processes Parents use power assertion and excessive physical punishment Parents may be modeling aggressive behavior Aggressive children come from negative home environments (coercive family process) Television Sat morning, 23 violent scenes/hour hours of TV watching per day Age 21, watched approximately 8,000 murders

TV & Aggression TV violence does result in more aggressive children They imitate (especially if violence is performed by the “good guys”) Makes them more tolerant of aggression In turn, it makes them watch more violence Amount of violence watched at age 8 is predictive of crime level at age 30

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