Educational Psychology|Part 1: Human Development|Chapter 3: Personal, Gender, Social, and Moral
Development
Selections from Chapter 3 (pp. 99-106)
1. Moral Development: Acquiring a sense of Right and Wrong
A. Piaget's Theory of Moral Development
1. Morality is Following the Rules
a. 1st phase of moral development called heteronymous morality, or morality that
is subject to rules imposed by others.
b. Until approximately age 7, children generally believe that rules are inflexible
mandates provided by some higher authority. Breaking a rule, they think, will
automatically lead to punishment.
c. Young children tend to make moral judgments on the basis of how much harm
their actions will cause
d. Moral Realism - Piaget's first developmental phase of morality, at which children
see rules as absolute.
2. Morality is a Social Agreement
a. After approximately age 8, children are able to understand that rules and laws
are not absolute, but rather are formed by the agreement of groups of people.
b. Morality of Cooperation - Piaget's second developmental phase of morality, at
which children understand that people both make up rules and can change them.
c. Piaget referred to this second phase of moral development as autonomous
morality, the level at which children understand that people make up the rules
and can change the rules.
B. Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development: Levels and Stages
1. Moral Dilemmas - Ambiguous situations in which no one decision is clearly, morally
right.
Level 1: Preconvention Morality
Level 2: Conventional
Morality
Level 3: Post
conventional Morality
Stage 1: Punishment and
obedience are an individual's main
concerns. Rules are obeyed
because of the threat of
punishment for infractions.
Stage 3: Moral reasoning
is guided by mutual
interpersonal
expectations and
conformity. People try to
do what is expected of
them.
Stage 5: People
recognize and try to
balance the
importance of both
social contracts and
individual rights
Stage 2: Individual adopts an
orientation of individualism and
exchange. Rules are followed if
they are in the individual's best
interest. Deals and compromises
with others are sometimes used to
solve problems
Stage 4: Individuals place
importance on the social
system, including laws,
and on fulfilling
obligations.
Stage 6: Individuals
adopt an orientation
toward universal
principles of justice,
which exist regardless
of a particular society's
rules.
B. Level 1
1. Preconvention Morality - First level of moral development, as proposed by
Kohlberg. Individual behavior and moral decisions are based primarily on
egocentric concerns--expectations of reward or punishment.
2. Children between about ages 7 to 10.
Educational Psychology|Part 1: Human Development|Chapter 3: Personal, Gender, Social, and Moral
Development
C. Level 2
1. Conventional Morality - Second level of moral development, as proposed by
Kohlberg. Individual behavior and moral decisions are guided by interpersonal
expectations and conformity to internalized social rules.
2. Ages 10 to 16
D. Level 3
1. Postconventional Morality - Third level of moral development, as proposed by
Kohlberg. Individual behavior and moral decisions are based on an internal set of
moral absolutes, which may or may not agree with social rules.
2. Generally not achieved before the age of 16
C. Gilligan's Alternative to Kohlberg's Theory
1. Women tend to have a different conception of morality than do men.
2. Whereas men tend to focus on abstract, rational principles such as justice and respect
for the rights of others, women tend to view morality more in terms of caring and
compassion
3. Empathy - Ability to feel how another person feels.
D. Evaluating Kohlberg's Theory
1. Psychologists have found that moral development in many situations seems to proceed
roughly along the lines of Kohlberg suggested, even in other cultures, such as Turkey
and Israel
2. Criticisms:
a. The scoring of the scenarios is somewhat subjective, and can lead to errors of
interpretation
b. Stages of moral development seem to be less domain general than Kohlberg's
theory suggests.
c. Kohlberg's own finding that people can regress in their behavior points out the
weak link that often exists between thought and action.
d. Although some investigators have found cross-cultural support for Kohlberg's
theory, others have found that in certain circumstances what is viewed as a
"higher" level of morality differs form the value system suggested by Kohlberg.
2. Implications for Teaching
A. Expect a level of moral thought and behavior that is appropriate to the child's age
1. Expert teachers know they can fail to challenge students at a level appropriate to their
development if they set their expectations either too high or too low
B. Help challenge students' moral reasoning by holding classroom discussions of moral
dilemmas
1. These explorations of moral issues may arise from the academic subject matter or from
inside or outside the classroom. Kohlberg & Kramer believed discussion of moral
dilemmas could help a child develop expertise in moral reasoning by exposing the child
to thinking at higher stages
C. Use self-assessment to help assess your own level of moral development so that you can
better understand how you perceive the thinking and behavior of your students.
1. Teachers need to understand themselves and their own thinking
D. Realize that no one theory of moral development is universally excepted
1. All of the theories appear to apply only to some-rather than to all-individuals
E. Encourage and develop thinking that is not just moral, but wise
Educational Psychology|Part 1: Human Development|Chapter 3: Personal, Gender, Social, and Moral
Development
1. Such thinking has as its aim the attainment of a common good-what is ultimately in
everyone's best interests
F.
How teachers Might Apply The Implications at Different Educational Levels
Implications Preschool and
Primary Grades
Elementary
School
Middle School
Expect a
level of
moral
thought
and
behavior
that is
appropriate
to the
child's age
Young children often
consider
consequences more
important than
intentions in judging
others. Teachers
might use everyday
examples, such as
spills or playground
accidents, to help
point out to
students that
causing some
damage on purpose
is different than
doing so
unintentionally
Students in the upper elementary
grades and in middle school are
often in the second of Kohlberg's
moral levels, using conventional
moral reasoning. They may enjoy
setting some of the rules of the
classroom "society" in class
meetings
High school
teachers can
challenge
students to
consider whether
there are any
universal
principles.
Subjects such as
literature and
social science
make an easy
context for moral
discussion, but
even science
classes, for
example, offer
students
opportunities to
ponder the
existence of
global rules
Discussions
of moral
dilemmas
might help
children
develop
their moral
reasoning
skills
Younger children's
decisions are
generally based on
egocentric concerns
about their own
punishment or
rewards. Teachers
should challenge
young students to
sometimes see how
individual actions
affect other people.
Stories or real-life
examples from the
classroom could be
used to provide
opportunities for
Class meetings
provide
opportunities to
bring up moral
dilemmas
students are
actually facing
and encourage
discussion of
possible choices
Current events in
many subjects,
such as scientific
advances leading
to cloning or
discoveries about
the "true" nature
of historical
figures or events,
can provide the
basis for
discussions of
values and ethics
in many different
classes
In some school
districts, it may be
acceptable to
encourage
students to
discuss issues that
are being brought
to their minds by
the changes of
puberty, such as
personal sexual
standards. Be sure
to check the
district's
guidelines before
initiating any
discussions of
High School
Educational Psychology|Part 1: Human Development|Chapter 3: Personal, Gender, Social, and Moral
Development
taking another's
perspective
Teachers
should be
aware of
cultural and
gender
influences
on morality
Children whose
cultural
backgrounds value
interdependence
may be
uncomfortable away
from their families
for the first time.
Teachers may be
able to help by
encouraging family
members to visit, or
even volunteer
regularly, at school
and by initiating
frequent contact
with families,
designed to
promote
cooperation in
helping the child
adjust to school
sensitive topics
Cooperative
learning tasks,
such as team
science or social
science
projects,
encourage
students who
are oriented to
independent
achievement to
also learn to
value working
for the sake of
the group.
Some classes may
wish to
participate in civic
projects that
show students
how their
individual
knowledge could
be sued to help
their whole
community. For
example, one
junior high school
science class, on
learning that bats
eat biting insects,
installed bat
houses in a local
park to make the
park more
comfortable for
the whole
community.
In some schools,
competition for
grades may
become fierce as
students strive to
impress college
acceptance
committees.
Teachers may
wish to point out
the value of study
groups for
cooperatively
boosting the
achievements of
all members.