Download I believe that how one person thinks that murder, robbery and

I believe that how one person thinks that murder, robbery and dishonesty are
acceptable while another person believes each is never acceptable has to do with how that
person’s moral thoughts are developed. A person’s moral thought, behavior, feeling, and
personality show a lot about how that person will act. It also has to do with what kind of
parenting and education that person has. Whether there are some behaviors that should
never be accepted as morally correct or incorrect depends on depends on the outcome of
that behavior. I think that killing someone should never be accepted as morally correct,
just as I believe that volunteering to help someone in need should never be accepted as
morally incorrect. The values a person holds as well as the well-being of others should
be considered.
Moral development involves thoughts, behaviors, and feelings regarding
standards of right and wrong. A person that believes that murder, robbery, and
dishonesty are acceptable may not be fully morally developed. It needs to be understood
how adolescents think or reason about what is ethical, how they behave in moral
situations, and how they feel about moral matters. Lawrence Kohlberg created a theory
on how adolescents determine right from wrong. He created three levels of moral
development, each containing two stages. Internalization is the developmental change
from behavior that is externally controlled to behavior that is controlled by internal
standards and principles. This is key to understanding moral development.
The first level of Kohlberg’s theory is preconventional reasoning, which is where
the individual shows no internalization of moral values. The first stage is heteronomous
morality, where moral thinking is often tied to punishment. Basically, it is saying that
children obey adults. The second stage is individualism, instrumental purpose, and
exchange, where individuals have their own interests and let others do the same. This
means that they believe that if they are friendly to others, others will be friendly to them
in return. Most children reason at these two stages before the age of nine. The second
level is conventional reasoning, where internalization is immediate. The third stage is
mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships, and interpersonal conformity.
Individuals value trust, caring, and loyalty to others as a basis of moral judgments.
Adolescents at this stage seek approval from their parents. Stage four is social systems
morality, where moral judgments are based on understanding the social order, law,
justice, and duty. Adolescents strive to live by the laws set forth in their community. By
early adolescence, individuals reason in more conventional ways. The third level of
Kohlberg’s theory is postconventional reasoning, which is when morality is completely
internalized and is not based on others’ standards. The fifth stage is social contract or
utility and individual rights. Individuals reason that values, rights, and principles rise
above the law. They form their own personal moral code. The sixth and final stage is
universal ethical principles where a person has developed a moral standard based on
universal human rights. The person will follow their conscience in a conflict, even if it
means going against a set law.
Most adolescents reason at stage 3, with some signs of stages two and four.
Kohlberg believed that an individual proceeds through these stages as a result of
cognitive development and exposure to social experiences. Peer interaction is another
important aspect to how an individual will change their moral orientation. This theory
places a lot of emphasis on moral thought and does not take much consideration for
moral behavior. Moral development also has a lot to do with culture. This is another
concept which Kohlberg does not include in his theory. It is thought that it is important
to separate moral reasoning from social conventional reasoning. Social conventional
reasoning focuses on thoughts about social consensus and convention. Moral reasoning
focuses on ethical issues. Moral judgments involve concepts of justice, whereas social
conventional judgments are concepts of social organization.
This first part of moral development, how an individual thinks morally, can
determine how a person feels about murder, robbery, and dishonesty. However, it is not
the only thing. Many other concepts play an important role.
How an individual behaves is another indication of their morals. If an adolescent
is positively reinforced for behavior that agrees with laws and social conventions, they
are likely to repeat that behavior. They are also more likely to behave morally if they see
others, such as parents and teachers, behaving morally. It is also said that adolescents are
not likely to display consistent moral behavior in diverse social settings. How the behave
at home may not be how they behave at school or with their friends. Their moral thought
changes.
The social cognitive theory of moral development distinguishes between moral
competence and moral performance. Competencies are what an adolescent is capable of
doing, what they know, and their skills. Moral performance, or behavior, is a result of
their determination, motivation, and incentives. Bandura feels that moral development is
understood by considering a combination of social and cognitive factors, especially self
control. Individual can self regulate their conduct to doing only things that make them
feel satisfied and refraining from doing things that will violate their moral standards.
Prosocial behavior is an act of helping someone unselfishly. It has been found
that more females engage in prosocial behavior. Altruism plays a big role in this and can
be seen more in adolescence than childhood. An individual who shows prosocial
behavior is someone who is developing in a positive way.
Moral feeling is tied to the ego ideal and conscience. The psychoanalytic theory
of Freud’s promotes the development of moral feelings. The ego ideal involves ideal
standards approved by parents and the conscience involves behaviors not approved of by
parents. This is a way of establishing self control when out of range of parental control.
Positive feelings, such as empathy, also contribute to an individuals’ moral development.
Empathy is reacting to another’s feelings with an emotional response that is similar to the
other’s feelings. It has been found that both positive and negative feelings will shape an
adolescent’s moral development. These emotions can help in their gaining of moral
values, but there is more than just these emotions that will determine how an adolescent
develops.
Thoughts, behavior, and feelings can all be involved in an individual’s moral
personality. Three aspects of personality have been emphasized. The first is moral
identity, which is when moral notions and commitments are central to one’s life. This is
influenced by willpower, integrity, and moral desire. The second aspect is moral
character, which involves having the strength of your convictions, persisting, and
overcoming distractions and obstacles. This helps an individual to attain their goals and
become motivated to prioritize moral value over personal values. The third aspect is
moral exemplars, who are people that have lived extraordinary lives. These people
reflect moral excellence and commitment.
All of these concepts related to moral development, thought, behavior, feeling,
and personality, help to explain how one person could believe that murder, robbery, and
dishonesty are morally acceptable while another person does not. There are a few other
concepts that can also affect a person’s morality, such as family, school, values, and
religion.
Parents and peers play a very important role to the development of moral
maturity. It has been found that higher-level moral reasoning in adolescence is related to
supportive parenting. There are three kinds of parental discipline, love withdrawal,
power assertion, and induction. Induction is the healthiest and can promote positive
moral development.
Schools teach morality, but not through a separate course. It is displayed
everyday in the atmosphere of every school, through its rules, teachers, administrators,
and materials. Character education is taught to all students instilling in them the
importance of refraining from engaging in immoral behavior and doing harm to
themselves and others. It is important to have a code of conduct and explain to the
students that if they violate any of those rules, they should expect consequences.
Students are also encouraged to define their own values and understand the values of
others. Service learning is also very important. A student must realize that they have the
ability to help others and in the end it will make them more motivated and less selfcentered. They will make others feel good as well as themselves.
Values are beliefs and attitudes about the way things should be. Placing values on
family, friends, school, and themselves helps adolescents to create goals and strive to
reach those goals. Also, religion and spirituality are connected with positive outcomes
for adolescents. It has been found that adolescents who view religion as an important
part of their life are less likely to be involved with drugs and alcohol use, more likely to
have better grades, and are healthier.
One reason a person can believe that murder, robbery, and dishonesty are morally
acceptable because they are not morally developed. Another reason is that they have had
bad role models in parents and teachers and have not developed in a positive way. They
may not have many values or they have placed values on the wrong kinds of things. I
think the culture and environment of certain areas play a part in determining whether
certain behaviors should never be accepted as correct or incorrect. I think that most
people would agree that murder is and always will be morally incorrect. It depends on
the outcome of the act and how it will affect the well-being of others.