Moral Development

From childhood on, individuals develop morality, a system of learned attitudes about social practices, institutions, and individual behaviour used to evaluate situations as right or wrong

Tom is a fourteen-year-old boy who wanted to go to camp very much. His father promised him he could go if he saved up the money for it himself. So Tom worked hard at his paper route and saved up the forty dollars it cost to go to camp, and a little more besides. But just before camp was going to start, his father changed his mind. Some of his friends decided to go on a special fishing trip, and Tom's father was short of the money it would cost. So he told Tom to give him the money he had saved from the paper route. Tom didn't want to give up going to camp, so he thinks of refusing to give his father the money.

1. Should Tom refuse to give his father the money?2. Does the father have the right to tell Tom to give him

the money?3. Does giving the money have anything to do with

being a good son?4. Is the fact that Tom earned the money himself

important in this situation?5. The father promised Tom he could go to camp if he

earned the money. Is the fact that the father promised the most important thing in the situation?

6. In general, why should a promise kept?7. Is it important to keep a promise to someone you

don't know well and probably won't see again?8. What do you think is the most important thing a

father should be concerned about in his relationship to his son?

9. In general, what should be the authority of a father over his son?

10. What do you think is the most important thing a son should be concerned about in his relationship to his father?

11. In thinking back over the dilemma, what would you say is the most responsible thing for Tom to do in this situation?

Judy was a twelve-year-old girl. Her mother promised her that she could go to a special rock concert coming to their town if she saved up from baby-sitting and lunch money to buy a ticket to the concert. She managed to save up the fifteen dollars the ticket cost plus another five dollars. But then her mother changed her mind and told Judy that she had to spend the money on new clothes for school. Judy was disappointed and decided to go to the concert anyway. She bought a ticket and told her mother that she had only been able to save five dollars. That Saturday she went to the performance and told her mother that she was spending the day with a friend. A week passed without her mother finding out. Judy then told her older sister, Louise, that she had gone to the performance and had lied to her mother about it. Louise wonders whether to tell their mother what Judy did.

Dilemma II

1. Should Louise, the older sister, tell their mother that Judy lied about the money or should she keep quiet?

2. In wondering whether to tell, Louise thinks of the fact that Judy is her sister. Should that make a difference in Louise's decision?

3. Does telling have anything to do with being a good daughter?

4. Is the fact that Judy earned the money herself important in this situation?

5. The mother promised Judy she could go to the concert if she earned the money. Is the fact that the mother promised the most important thing in the situation?

6. Why in general should a promise be kept?7. Is it important to keep a promise to someone you

don't know well and probably won't see again?8. What do you think is the most important thing a

mother should be concerned about in her relationship to her daughter?

9. In general, what should be the authority of a mother over her daughter?

10. What do you think is the most important thing a daughter should be concerned about in her relationship to her mother?

11. In thinking back over the dilemma, what would you say is the most responsible thing for Louise to do in this situation?

Kohlberg divides development into three “levels”

The central concept is justice, mortality as a balance of individual rights and responsibilities

Level 1 is preconventional morality in which decisions about right and wrong are based on avoiding punishment and obtaining benefits

Stage 1.  Reward and punishment stage.  Good or bad depends on the physical consequences:  Does

the action lead to punishment or reward?  This stage is based simply on one's own pain and pleasure, and doesn't take others into account.

Stage 2.  Exchange stage.  Increased recognition that others have their own interests

and should be taken into account.  Those interests are still understood in a very concrete fashion, and the child deals with others in terms of simple exchange or reciprocity.  Children in this stage are very concerned with what's "fair" (one of their favourite words), but are not concerned with real justice.

Level 2 is conventional morality in which societal rules are internalised and children conform to avoid the disapproval of others

Stage 3.  Good boy/good girl stage.  Seeks to live up to the expectations of others, and to seek

their approval.  Now they become interested motives or intentions, and concepts such as loyalty, trust, and gratitude are understood.  Children in this stage often adhere to a concrete version of the Golden Rule, although it is limited to the people they actually deal with on a day-to-day basis.

Stage 4.  Law-and-order stage.  Children now take the point of view that includes the social

system as a whole.  The rules of the society are the bases for right and wrong, and doing one's duty and showing respect for authority are important.

Level 3 is postconventional morality in which a person moves beyond fixed rules and laws, and judgments are based on one’s perception of societal needs

Stage 5.  Social contract stageBeing aware of the degree to which much of so-called

morality is relative to the individual and to the social group they belong to, and that only a very few fundamental values are universal.  Morality is a matter of entering into a rational contract with one's fellow human beings to be kind to each other, respect authority, and follow laws to the extent that they respect and promote those universal values.  Social contract morality often involves a utilitarian approach, where the relative value of an act is determined by "the greatest good for the greatest number."

Stage 6.  Universal principles stage.  At this point, the person makes a personal commitment to

universal principles of equal rights and respect, and social contract takes a clear back-seat:  If there is a conflict between a social law or custom and universal principles, the universal principles take precedence.

Piaget found young children’s ideas about morality to be rigid and rule-bound

The first stage, premoral judgement, lasts from birth until about five years of age. In this stage, children simply do not understand the concept of rules and have no idea of morality, internal or external.

The second stage, called moral realism, lasts from the approximate ages of five to nine.

Children in this stage understand the concept of rules, but they are seen as external and immutable.

Children obey rules largely because they are there. Since a rule tells you what you're not supposed to do, moral realist children evaluate wrongdoing in terms of its consequences, not the intentions of the wrongdoer.

The third and final stage is called moral relativity. This stage begins at about seven years of age, so it overlaps at first with moral realism.

Children who have reached this stage recognise that rules are not fixed, but can be changed by mutual consent, and they start to develop their own internal morality which is no longer the same as external rules.

A major development is that actions are now evaluated more in terms of their intentions, which most people would see as a more sophisticated view of morality. Piaget also thought it was during this stage that children develop a firm concept of the necessity that punishment specifically fits the crime.

Self-oriented morality Only interested in self-gratificationOthers are only considered in the level of how

they can help attain what the child wants, or hinder the child

Authority-oriented morality.  Blind acceptance of the decrees of authority

figures, from parents up to heads of state and religion, as defining good and bad.

Peer-oriented morality.  Morality of conformity, where right and wrong

is determined not by authority but by one's peers. 

In western society, this kind of morality is frequently found among adolescents, as well as many adults.

Collective-oriented morality.  The standing goals of the group to which the

child or adult belongs over-ride individual interests. 

Duty to one's group or society is paramount.

Objectively oriented morality. Universal principles that are objective in the

sense that they do not depend on the whims of individuals or social groups, but have a reality all their own.

ID is ruled by the pleasure principleEgo governed by reality principleSuperego controlled by the morality principleMoral development is complete by 5 or 6yrsChildren want to avoid feelings of guilt, the

painful harmful emotion

Freud’s view is now regarded as out-dated

Aimed at encouraging the child to be aware of how their misbehaviour affects others

Encouraging the child to “own” the consequences of their misbehaviour can encourage the child to refrain from future wrong-doing

Emphasis on impact can encourage empathy (emphasis on punishment could make the child overly anxious and fearful)

Individual differences – child’s temperament and readiness to feel empathy affects moral development

Empathy based guilt has been observed to influence moral development without use of coercion

That morality is taught through reinforcement and modelling

Reinforcement in the form of praise and positive responses to actions tend to encourage the child to repeat the actions

Modelling is necessary in some cases to encourage the expression of behaviour

Models are most influential during preschool years; caring adults during the formative years will have internalised pro-social rules and follow them regardless presence of model

Warmth of modelResponsiveness to people

Competence Powerful models

Consistency between assertions and behaviour

Models who possess these characteristics serve as positive role models for children, their presence will encourage the child to emit socially acceptable behaviour

Punishment is seldom an effective way to reduce aggression because

Applying punishment models aggressionChildren will feel self pity and not the

sympathetic orientation to othersAvoidance of punishment Small frequent doses lead to larger abuseCarrying the tradition of punishment…

Alternative is to use Time Out Procedure

Development of aggressionChildren are born aggressive – they cry, kick,

show frustration to get attention and have their needs met

Basic emotion: anger modified becomes aggression

Instrumental aggression: where children will push, shout at, or attack others who are in the way as they are going in a particular direction

Hostile aggression: aggression that is aimed to hurt another person- Physical- Verbal- Relational

Physical aggressionDirectly or indirectly hurting another through

physical means – kick, punch, pinch, destroy property

Verbal aggressionDirectly harming through threats of physical

aggression, name calling or hostile teasing

Relational aggressionDirectly or indirectly damaging peer relationships

through social exclusion, malicious gossip, friendship manipulation

Middle childhood – children learn to be more discerning.

Change perception from good-bad to shades of grey

Distributive justice = belief about how to divide material goods fairly

The need to share is obvious – children as young as 4yrs have been heard to verbalise about their reasons for sharingStrict equality (5-6yrs)Merit (6-7yrs): recognise that those who had done

more get moreEquity and benevolence (around 8yrs): giving

special consideration to who needs it

By school age, children learn to have a flexible approach to morality

Consider social and pro-social intentions before they act

Purpose of engaging in an action is considered, intentions and contexts of actions affect moral implications