Chapter 13 – Moral Development, Values, and Religion A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development, 7th edition John W. Santrock Chapter 13 – Moral Development, Values, and Religion Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Domains of Moral Development Changes in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors regarding standards of right and wrong Intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions Piaget’s theory Heteronomous morality (Ages 4-7) Rules and justice as unchangeable, removed from people’s control Transition from ages 7-10 years Autonomous morality (Ages 10+) Aware that rules and laws are created by people, and in judging action, consider intentions and consequences Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Domains of Moral Development Kohlberg’s theory Universal stages of moral development Perspective taking and experience of conflict between one’s stage and higher moral reasoning of others advances moral development Preconventional reasoning Lowest level of moral reasoning Good and bad interpreted according to external reward and punishment Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Domains of Moral Development Stage 1: Heteronomous morality Moral thinking is tied to punishment Stage 2: Individualism, instrumental purpose, and exchange Individuals pursue their own interests but also let others do the same Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Domains of Moral Development Conventional reasoning Intermediate level in Kohlberg’s theory Individuals apply certain standards that are set by others, such as parents or government Stage 3: Mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships, and interpersonal conformity Individuals value trust, caring, and loyalty to others as basis of moral judgment Stage 4: Social systems morality Judgments based on understanding social order, law, justice, and duty Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Domains of Moral Development Postconventional reasoning Highest level in Kohlberg’s theory Individual recognizes alternative moral courses, explores options, then decides on a personal moral code Stage 5: Social contract or utility and individual rights Individuals reason that values, rights, and principles undergird or transcend the law Stage 6: Universal ethical principle Individuals develop a moral standard based on universal human rights Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Heinz Steals the Drug In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman’s husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: “No, I discovered the drug and I’m going to make money from it.” So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man’s store to steal the drug for his wife. Should the husband have done that? (Kohlberg, 1963, p. 19)

Domains of Moral Development Levels and stages occur sequentially and are age-related Before age 9, children use stage 1 preconventional reasoning Most adolescents reason at stage 3 By early adulthood, a small number of individuals reason in postconventional ways Moral stages appeared somewhat later than Kohlberg envisioned Reasoning at higher stages, especially stage 6, is rare Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Domains of Moral Development Kohlberg’s theory criticized for placing emphasis on moral thought and not enough on moral behavior Some critics claim that his theory is culturally biased As Kohlberg predicted, individuals do move through stages in sequence Stages 5 and 6 have not been found in all cultures Cohort effects in moral reasoning Postconventional reasoning has declined in college students down to lowest level Declines in prosocial behavior in recent years in Western cultures Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Domains of Moral Development Parents may play larger role in moral development than Kohlberg imagined Parent-child communication, discipline techniques, and other aspects of parental relationship influence children’s moral development Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Domains of Moral Development Gilligan’s theory Kohlberg’s theory is based on male norms that put abstract principles above relationships and concern for others Justice perspective at the heart of morality Care perspective emphasizes connectedness with others, interpersonal communication, social relationships, and concern for others Girls consistently interpret moral dilemmas in terms of human relationships Base interpretations on listening and watching other people Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Domains of Moral Behavior Processes of reinforcement, punishment, and imitation have been used to explain how individuals learn moral behavior Effectiveness of reward and punishment depend on consistency and timing Effectiveness of modeling depend on characteristics of the model and cognitive skills of observer Individuals do not consistently display moral behavior in different situations Behavior is situationally dependent Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Domains of Moral Behavior Social cognitive theory of morality Distinguishes between moral competence and moral performance Moral competence – ability to perform moral behaviors Moral performance – performing of moral behaviors Moral development is best understood by a combination of social and cognitive factors Especially self-control Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014

Domains of Moral Behavior Freud’s perspective Guilt and desire to avoid feeling guilty are foundation of moral behavior Ego ideal Component of superego that rewards the child by conveying a sense of pride and personal value when acting in accordance to ideal standards approved by parents Conscience Punishes the child for behaviors disapproved by parents Makes the child feel guilty and worthless Freud’s claims cannot be verified Copyright McGraw-Hill Education, 2014