1. Chapter 11: Moral Development

2. What is moral development?
Changes in thoughts, feelings and behaviors regarding standards of right and wrong
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal – regulates social interaction & arbitrates conflict

3. What is moral development?
1. How do individuals think about moral decisions?
2. How do they behave in moral circumstances?
3. How do they feel about moral matters?

4. Can Morality be Examined Apart from Religion?
Religion provides the assumptions which underpin moral reasoning and decisions.
Religion takes morality from individual to collective and universal.
Religion provides the authority for moral prescriptions.

5. Morality - Children & Rules
Turiel – 1978, 1983
5-year-old children conceptualize the social world in three separate domains
Moral
Social-conventional
Psychological (personal)
They realize that the rules for each of these have different levels of changeability.

6. Kohlberg’s Theory Heinz dilemma – Wife near death
One drug might save her
Cost $200 to make; charged $2000
Heinz raised $1000, offered to pay later
Druggist said no
Heinz stole the drug

7. Kohlberg’s Theory Level 1: Preconventional Level 2: Conventional
External rewards & punishments
Level 2: Conventional
Abide by internal standards of others (law or parents)
Level 3: Postconventional
Recognizes alternative codes, explores options, chooses one

8. Kohlberg - Preconventional
Stage 1 – heteronomous
Moral thinking is tied to punishment
Stage 2 – individualism, instrumental purpose & exchange
“live & let live”
Equity of exchange: “I do you a favor; you do me one.”

9. Kohlberg - Conventional
Stage 3: Mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships & interpersonal conformity
Value trust, caring & loyalty to others; children like “good girl; good boy”
Stage 4: Social systems morality
Understanding the social order, law, justice and duty

10. Kohlberg – Postconventional
Stage 5: Social contract or utility and individual rights
Values, rights & principles undergird the law; laws are evaluated by how well they protect human rights & values
Stage 6: Universal ethical principles
Moral standard based on universal human rights; will follow conscience rather than law

11. Kohlberg Stage 7? Cosmic perspective
See one’s self as one with the universe
Already a religious position -
Hindu, New Age

12. Kohlberg’s Critics Link between moral thought & moral behavior?
Albert Bandura – people do not usually engage in harmful conduct until they have justified the morality of their actions to themselves
Socially worthy cause
God’s will

13. Kohlberg’s Critics Rest – Stages 5 & 6 do not stand up across cultures
Assessment techniques
What are the moral issues?
Stages 5 & 6 do not stand up across cultures
Example – Buddhist monks & emphasis on compassion
India – social rules are inevitable

14. Kohlberg’s Critics Haidt (2008)
Traditionalist [collectivist] societies expect individuals to limit their desires and play their roles within the group
“Western conservatives also seem to be morally challenged.”
Conclusion: Kolhberg has an individualist, liberal, progress bias.

15. Kohlberg’s Critics Carol Gilligan – gender bias
Justice perspective – male norm that puts principles above people
Care perspective – moral perspective that views people in terms of connectedness and emphasizes relationships & caring for others

16. Social Conventional Reasoning
Social rules & conventions are arbitrary & created by people
Moral rules are obligatory, widely-accepted, and somewhat impersonal
Ethics exist apart from social convention

17. Moral Behavior among Children
Factors (Behaviorist view)
Reinforcement & punishment
Depends upon consistency & timing
Models
Depends upon characteristics such as warmth & attractiveness
Situations
Children behave inconsistently depending upon peer pressure, likelihood of being caught, personal characteristics
Self-control
Convinced by reasoning, punishment

18. Social-cognitive Theory of Morality
Albert Bandura
Moral competence – knowledge, capabilities, skills, awareness of rules
Moral performance – motivation, rewards, incentives
Self-regulation – avoiding self-condemnation and fostering self-satisfaction & self-worth

19. Moral Emotion - Guilt Sigmund Freud
The desire to avoid feeling guilty is the foundation of moral behavior.
Superego consists of:
Ego ideal – rewards by conveying a sense of pride and personal value
Conscience – punishes disapproved behaviors by making the child feel guilty & worthless

20. Moral Emotion - Empathy
Responding to another’s feelings with a similar emotional response
Some infants show global empathy
1-2 years, may feel discomfort but cannot translate into action
Early childhood – add perspective-taking
10-12 may feel social or humanitarian empathy

21. Raising Moral Children: Parental Discipline – Hoffman (1970)
Recommends Induction
Reasoning, consequences
Works best with older children, middle SES
Love withdrawal (anxiety)
Don’t like you; going to leave you
Power assertion (hostility)
Spanking, threatening, removing privileges
Makes parents appear to have poor self-control

22. Parenting & Morality - Thompson
Warm-responsive parent-child relationships
Secure attachment linked to conscience development
Proactive strategies
Conversational dialogue
Other strategies –
Be a good role model
Foster an internal sense of morality
Tell them about expected behaviors
Use reason with punishment