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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.