Moral Development, Values, and Religion

 Thoughts, feelings and behaviors regarding standards of right and wrong
 Both interpersonal and intrapersonal
 When being social and when not engaged with others
 Values: beliefs and attitudes about the way things should be .

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Piaget – children’s moral development
Lawrence Kohlberg – Moral development based on moral reasoning
Studied using vignettes (11 moral dilemmas)
3 levels of moral development
 Each level has 2 stages
 Go from values being external and superficial to more internal and mature as one progresses through levels and stages
Lets look at Kohlberg’s model of moral development…

Lowest level, focused on reward and punishment
 Before age 9
 Stage 1: punishment & obedience orientation
 Stage 2: Individualism, instrumental purpose, and exchange
 What is right involves an equal exchange
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Nice to you so you will be nice to me
“What’s in it for me?”

Second, intermediate level – abide by internal standards, but there are external standards of others
 Most adolescents are reasoning in conventional ways; stage 3 with some stage 2 and stage 4
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Stage 3: Mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships, and interpersonal conformity
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Value trust, caring, and loyalty as basis of what is “right”
Often adopt parent’s values at this stage
Seek to be seen as “good”
Stage 4: Social systems morality
 Moral judgment based on social order, law and justice
 Understanding that for community to work we need laws

Highest level, morality becomes more internal
 Sees alternative moral courses
 Explores the moral options
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Decides on personal moral code
Stage 5 – early 20s and Stage 6 is questionable for various reasons
 Stage 5: Social contract or utility and individual rights
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Values, rights, and principles are basis of moral reasoning
Evaluate laws and social systems based on how they uphold and protect fundamental rights
 Stage 6: Universal ethical principles
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Moral reasoning based on universal human rights
When law and conscience conflict, individual will follow conscience
Individual takes personal risks to stand by their morality

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Stage 6 has been removed from scoring manual
Moral reasoning changes very slowly and gradually
(2009)
Moral orientation – cognitive development and exposure to appropriate social experiences
Some believe that morality develops in similar ways to cognitive development (equilibrium and conflict)
So…moral thought can be moved to higher level through exposure to models or discussion that is more advanced than the adolescent’s level
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Emphasized importance of peer give-and-take interactions in development of higher moral reasoning (including role taking and challenging conversations)
Parent-child interactions: allow & encourage conversations about value-laden topics
Critics: not enough focus on behavior
 May be able to reason, but what do they DO…

Justice vs. care perspectives (Carol Gilligan)
 Care perspective not addressed adequately in Kohlberg’s theory
 Emphasizes relationships and concern for others
 Gender
Social Conventional Reasoning : thoughts about social consensus and convention

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Processes of reward, punishment, and imitation
Social Cognitive Theory – difference between moral competence (ability to produce moral bxs) and moral performance (enactment of bxs in specific situations)
 Self-control, self-regulation
Prosocial Behavior: altruism, forgiveness, gratitude
Moral Feelings: empathy develops around 10-12 years of age
 Sympathy, empathy, admiration and self-esteem
 Anger, outrage, shame and guilt

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Supportive parenting
Encouraging to question and expand moral reasoning
Opportunity to learn about other’s perspectives
Included in family decision making process
 Higher level of moral reasoning in adolescence
 Child-rearing Techniques (discipline)
 Love withdrawal  anxiety
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Power assertion  hostility
Induction
– use of reason and explanation of consequences for others from adolescent’s behavior