1. Child Psychology, A Canadian Perspective Third Edition
Younger, Adler, Vasta

2. Chapter 14 Moral Development
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

3. Learning Objectives Learning Objective 14.1:
Understand four theoretical approaches to the study of moral development.
Learning Objective 14.2:
Understand what research has found concerning children’s moral reasoning.
Learning Objective 14.3:
Understand the development of prosocial behaviour and identify its determinants.
Learning Objective 14.4:
Describe the factors that contribute to aggressive behaviour, and discuss ways of reducing aggression in children.
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

4. Morality Issues Morality involves issues of right and wrong
Moral rules:
Broad issues of fairness and justice
Social conventions:
Rules used by society to maintain order
Morality has different components
Thought processes that underlie morality are assessed in moral reasoning studies
Behaviours governed by morality are assessed in studies of moral conduct
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

5. Theories of Moral Development
Piaget’s stage theory:
Used moral dilemmas to assess children’s thoughts on morality
Stage 1 (2–4 yrs)
Children have no true conception of morality
Stage 2 (5–7 yrs)
Children understand and use rules, but are not flexible in rule use (stage of moral realism)
Objective responsibility
Children evaluate moral situations on the basis of amount of damage
Immanent justice
Inherent justice
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

6. Theories of Moral Development
Piaget’s stage theory (cont’d)
Stage 3 (8–11 yrs)
Children realize that rules are conventions and can be altered
Children in this stage now consider intention in their evaluations of morality (stage of moral relativism)
Stage 4
Children develop rules as needed and extend moral reasoning beyond their personal level
Moral reasoning develops as the cognitive structures of the child develop
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

7. Theories of Moral Development
Kohlberg’s model
Presented children with moral dilemmas and asked them to explain their reasoning
Kohlberg’s three levels of reasoning
Preconventional
A person must meet his/her own needs
Conventional
Social systems must be based on laws and regulations
Postconventional
The value, dignity, and rights of each person must be maintained
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

8. Theories of Moral Development
Evaluating Kohlberg’s Model
Invariant sequence is generally supported
Cultural critique
The universality of Kohlberg’s stages
The applicability of some moral dilemmas
Gender critique
Justice versus care
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

9. Theories of Moral Development
Turiel’s model
Children’s moral reasoning involves several different domains
Moral domain is concerned with people’s rights and welfare
Prohibitions against lying, cheating, stealing
Societal domain involves rules that guide social relations
Being polite, wearing appropriate clothing
Children’s understanding of moral and societal issues is influenced by context
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

10. Evolutionary and Biological Approaches
The evolutionary view focuses on processes that promote survival and reproduction
Altruism
Behaviours that benefit another but that may cost the person
Kin selection
A person will act to aid persons who share their genes (Mother is more likely to act to save her child than her husband; child has more of her genes)
Reciprocal altruism
Members of a group reciprocate in their altruism so that all members are more likely to survive and pass on their genes
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

11. Evolutionary and Biological Approaches
Aggression is another focus of the evolutionary approaches
Aggression is involved in predation, defending the nest (home) against intruders, and defending valuable territory
The evolutionary view is that aggression is an inevitable part of human nature
Aggression may lead to dominance hierarchies
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

12. Environmental/Learning Approaches
Reinforcement and observational processes are involved in moral development
As children develop, they internalize what they have learned to regulate their own behaviour
Sociocultural approaches
Moral development is a process of socialization
Through interactions with family and cultural institutions, children are assisted by other people in structuring and interpreting situations for themselves
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

13. Social and Family Influences on Moral Reasoning
Peer interactions force children to wrestle with moral issues
Interaction with a peer whose level of moral reasoning is higher (usually by one level) can improve moral reasoning in a child
Social learning theory suggests that moral reasoning can be influenced by modeling and imitation
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

14. Social and Family Influences on Moral Reasoning
Parents’ disciplinary practices
Power assertion
Involves the use of commands, threats, physical force
Love withdrawal
Involves the use of disapproval and withholding of affection
Induction
Refers to reasoning with the child to explain why certain behaviours are prohibited
The induction approach leads to higher moral reasoning, power assertion leads to lower levels of moral reasoning
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

15. Prosocial Behaviour
Prosocial behaviours are socially desirable and include helping, sharing, and conflict resolution
Moral emotions, such as empathy and sympathy are the roots of prosocial behaviors
Hoffman’s six stages
Empathy can be observed in infants (cry when hearing another infant cry)
Development of sympathy is related to children’s ability to understand others’ mental states
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

16. Prosocial Behaviour Hoffman’s Six Stages
Stage 1: Global empathic distress
Stage 2: Egocentric empathic distress
Stage 3: Quasi-egocentric empathic distress
Stage 4: Veridical empathy
Stage 5: Empathic distress beyond the situation
Stage 6: Empathy for distressed groups
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

17. Development of Prosocial Behaviour
Helping
Toddlers comfort those in distress
Increases with age
Sharing
Emerges by the end of the first year
Children are more likely to share with friends and those who have given them help in the past
Conflict resolution
From coercion to negotiation
Resolve conflict both verbally and nonverbally
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

18. Determinants of Prosocial Behaviour
Biology
Genes influence prosocial development through temperament
Affect
Empathetic distress
Cognition
Prosocial reasoning, and children’s mental state understanding
Socialization
Parents contribute to children’s prosocial development by
providing opportunities to practice prosocial behaviurs
communicating prosocial values using inductive techniques
modelling and reinforcing prosocial behaviors.
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

19. Aggression
Aggression: behaviour that is intended to harm persons or property and that is not socially justified
Source: From Table 12.1 in Parke, R. & Clarke-Stewart, A. (2011). Social Development. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., p. 395.
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

20. Determinants of Aggression
Biological
Level of testosterone
Genetically mediated
Related to early difficult temperament
Social influences
Family processes and peer interactions
TV and video game violence
Violent environments
Cognitive and affective influences
Development of social cognition and empathy
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

21. Controlling Aggression
Different interventions for treating antisocial behaviour are employed
Catharsis
The belief that aggression can be reduced by viewing aggression or by engaging in high-energy activities
Targeting parents’ child-rearing methods
Teaching children problem-solving strategies, empathy, and perspective taking and rethinking the attributions they make of others
Education
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

22. Controlling Aggression
Sequence of steps in the processing of social information
Many aggressive children show deficits at each step in the process
Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14

23. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. All rights reserved
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Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 14