Download Moral Development - Gordon State College

What is moral development?
• Changes in thoughts, feelings and behaviors
regarding standards of right and wrong
• Intrapersonal
• Interpersonal – regulates social interaction &
arbitrates conflict
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?
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.
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.
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
Kohlberg’s Theory
 Level 1: Preconventional
 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
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.”
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
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
Kohlberg Stage 7?
 Cosmic perspective
 See one’s self as one with the universe
 Already a religious position  Hindu, New Age
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
Kohlberg’s Critics
 Rest –
 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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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