Chapter 11: Moral Development

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 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

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 – 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

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