Download Moral Reasoning

Moral Development
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Children’s moral development—an
understanding of right and wrong—and
ultimately a child’s behavior-is influenced by:
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Affective or emotional component: guilt, empathy, sense
of conscience
Cognitive component: how we think about right and
wrong
Behavioral component: how we actually behave we
experience temptation to lie, cheat, or violate moral
rules
Affective Component
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Probably least understood
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Freudian theory or guilt
Temperament of child
Parenting styles
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E.g., warmth-love, disciplinary approach
Behavioral Component
Can be quite independent of both affect
and understanding (e.g., Clinton)
 Again, is highly related to both personality
and parenting
 Again, the not well understood
 E.g., knowledge vs behavior– teen
pregnancy
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Cognitive Component
While moral behavior depends on
socialization, it is also a process of
cognitive development
 One very influential theory was developed
by Lawrence Kohlberg
 Kohlberg presented “moral dilemmas to
children and studied how their answers
changed with development
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Story of two brothers and dad
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Joe was working hard to earn money to attend a
summer camp. He worked all year to make the
necessary $500
Just before summer his Dad (a hard working,
single father) decided he needed the money for a
camping trip with friends
He told Joe to give him the money. Should Joe
refuse?
Alex, Joe’s brother finds out that Joe really had
earned $1,000 not $500. Should Alex tell the
father?
Conscientious Objector?

During a time of war, should people be
allowed out of the military because they
morally do not believe in killing?
Kohlberg Moral Dilemma
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In Europe, a woman was near death from cancer.
One drug might save her, a form of radium that a
druggist in the same town had recently
discovered . The druggist was charging $2,000,
ten times what the drug cost him to make. The
sick woman’s husband, Heinz, went to everyone
he knew to borrow the money, but he could get
together only about half of what it cost. He told
the druggist that his wife was dying and asked
him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But
the druggist said no. The husband got desperate
and broke into the man’s store to steal the drug
for his wife. Should the husband have done that?
Why?
Heinz Morality Story
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral
Judgment
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On basis of longitudinal research, Kohlberg
proposed that children develop moral
reasoning through a specific series of
stages that are discontinuous and
hierarchical.
Each stage reflects a qualitatively different,
more adequate way of thinking than the
one before.
Kohlberg presented children with
hypothetical moral dilemmas and
questioned them about the issues
involved.
Kohlberg’s 6 Stages
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Age-related
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Sequential
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Universal
Kohlberg’s Stages
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Level I- Preconventional
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Stage I: Rules obeyed for own sake and to
avoid punishment
Stage II: Follow rules when in doing say is in
one’s own best interest
Level II- Conventional
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Stage 3: Good boy/girl stage. One must live
up to what is expected by people close to you
Stage 4: Law and Order. Must uphold laws
Kohlberg’s Stages
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Level III: Post Conventional
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Stage 5: Being aware that people hold a
variety of values.
Stage 6: Understanding universal principles
but also the importance of following selfchosen principles
1. Punishment & Obedience
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Consequences
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Avoid punishment
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No: Stealing is a crime; will go to jail
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Yes: Drug is only worth $200, not $2000;
probably won’t be a big crime
2. Naïve Hedonism
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Consequences
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Personal rewards
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No: Druggist needs to make back what it cost
him and to make a living himself
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Yes: Doesn’t want to lose his wife
Preconventional
3. Good Boy/Good Girl
 Intentions
 Help,
please others
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No: Can’t be blamed if his wife dies; he
still loves her & tried to do everything he
could
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Yes: He’s doing it because he loves his
wife; he means well; it would be his
fault if his wife died
4. Law & Order
 Will
of society
 Laws,
rules maintain social order
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No: Always wrong to steal; must abide
by the law or everyone would steal
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Yes: Wants to save his wife, but since
he’s broken the law, must be willing to
pay the consequences
5. Social Contract
 Human
 Social
values & rights
contracts
 Legality
vs. Morality
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No: The ends don’t justify the means even
though good would come of it; must respect the
laws that people have agreed to for the sake of
society
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Yes: Even though he would be breaking the law,
in this case, it’s the only choice for saving his
6. Individual Principles of Conscience
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Abstract principles
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Universal justice, truth
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Transcend laws, social contracts
Individual conscience
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No: May be many other lives that depend on
this drug, not just his wife; what is right is what
is right for all people; must act on what is just,
not what is legally correct or emotionally
preferable
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Yes: Preserving a life is the highest moral
principle; although legally wrong, it is morally
Increasing Complexity

Will go to jail
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Doesn’t want to lose his wife
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He loves his wife; can’t be blamed
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It’s against the law
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Must respect the agreements people have
made with each other
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Preserving life is the highest moral principle,
above the law
Mean Percentage of Moral Reasoning
by Age Group
Role of Parents and Peers