Moral Development

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Moral Development

• Piaget
• Kohlberg
• Gilligan
• Fishbein

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Is morality a topic of concern for children?

• Notions of fairness and justice in their
  environments.
• recess (playing games)--gt taking turns, following
  a set of rules. Upset this balance and the
  children get upset, it is wrong to do this
• home--gt Questions such as why can't I stay up
  as late as you?? You always get to watch what
  you want to watch.
• chores--gt participate and take part in doings
  tasks around the house, but are willing to lament
  about the fact that they have to do
  everything.
• So in everyday situations, children abide by some
  rules, they have some sense of right and
  wrong and ask questions about how this came to
  be.

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COGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY Piaget

• MORALITY--gt one's ability to distinguish between
  right and wrong, and to be able to act on this
  distinction.
• MORAL DEVELOPMENT--gt the process by which
  children acquire society's standards of what is
  right and wrong.
• 1) The most basic notion of the cognitive
  approach, is that moral development depends on
  cognitive development. We MUST understand right
  from wrong if we are to be expected to act in
  right or wrong ways.
• 2) Moral reasoning also proceeds though a set of
  invariant stages.
• 3) As with his cognitive stage theory, each
  moral stage evolves from and replaces the earlier
  stage (no skipping allowed).

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• 2 techniques
• 1) Naturalistic Observation -- then Questioning
• --what are the rules
• --who invented them
• -- can they be changed, etc.
• 2) Moral Dilemma
• After developing a sense of the developmental
  stages that exist (using above), he then began to
  question or study their sense of social justice.
  He would present children with a moral dilemma in
  a story form

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• Story A A little boy who is called John is in
  his room. He is called to dinner. He goes into
  the dining room. But behind the dining room door
  there was a chair, and on the chair there were 15
  cups. John couldn't have known that there was
  all this behind the door. He goes in, the door
  knocks against the tray, bang go the 15 cups, and
  they all get broken.
• Story B Once there was a little boy whose name
  was Henry. One day when his mother was out he
  tried to reach some jam out of the cupboard. He
  climbed onto a chair and stretched out his arm.
  But the jam was too high up and he couldn't reach
  it.... While he was trying to get it, he knocked
  over a cup. The cup fell down and broke.
• Are the children equally guilty?
• If not, who was naughtier??
• On the basis of these investigation, Piaget
  concluded that there are 3 STAGES of moral
  development.

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I. PREMORAL PERIOD (up to 4-5)

• preschool children show little awareness of rules
• purpose of the game is to take turns and have fun
• rules which exist are idiosyncratic
• Parents and older children are more tolerant of
  kids behavior
• at the end of this stage (4-5) children become
  more aware of the rules by watching older
  people and imitating their behavior.

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II. MORAL REALISM (6-10)

• child develops a strong respect for rules and a
  belief that they must be obeyed AT ALL TIMES
• Children at this stage tend to think of rules in
  terms of MORAL ABSOLUTES
• right always means following the rules.
• Piaget's dilemma -- child who broke 15 cups
  naughtier. Judgment based on objective
  CONSEQUENCES rather than intent of the person
• Why focus on consequences?? Reprimanded or
  PUNISHED DUE TO CONSEQUENCES.
• the child also believes in IMMANENT JUSTICE
• any violation of society rules will be caught
  and punished
• In SUM rules exist outside of themselves.
  Wrong is whatever adults forbid and punish.
  Rules MUST NOT be questioned.

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AUTONOMOUS MORALITY (11 on)

• older, more autonomous (independent) children
  begin to understand that social rules are
  arbitrary
• they exist because agreements have been made.
• it is at this stage that rules begin to be
  challenged
• at this stage the INTENTION of the individual
  begins to have an impact (punish kid who was
  stealing jam).

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WHAT CAUSES THESE CHANGES??

• children are increasingly away from their adult
  authority figures for much of the time and are
  spending a lot of time with equal status peers.
• Because they are free from adult authority they
  have to negotiate for themselves. They must
  argue for their own view, cooperate with others,
  participate in joint decisions.
• Through this process, children take on the role
  of governor and governed. They begin to
  understand HOW rules and standards are set and
  understand that rules can also be changed.
• THIS IS WHAT PIAGET CALLED MORAL AUTONOMY
• In this theory, morality goes from (1)
  Submissive to power of parent to (2) self control.

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KOHLBERG'S THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

• Kohlberg believed much of Piaget's theory but
  thought it should be extended into adolescence
  and adulthood.
• MORAL DILEMMAS. Each dilemma presented required
  the individual to choose between (A) obeying a
  rule, law, or authority figure, or (B) taking
  some action which conflicts with these rules or
  commands while serving the welfare of others.
• Kohlberg was less interested in what the
  subject's decision was (e.g. what Heinz should
  do), than in the underlying rationale. What is
  important is HOW they EXPLAINED their judgments.
• 1) Like Piaget, Kohlberg developed stages of
  Moral development which follow some invariant
  sequence.
• 2) Because each successive stage is built upon
  the foundation of an earlier one, each stage must
  be followed in a particular order.
• 3) Again, according to Kohlberg, each stage
  represents a METHOD OF THINKING about a moral
  dilemma rather than a particular TYPE of moral
  decision.

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Heinz dilemma

• In Europe, a woman was near death from a special
  kind of cancer. There was one drug that doctors
  thought might save her. It was a form of radium
  that a druggist in the same town had recently
  discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but
  the druggist was charging 2000, or 10 times the
  cost of the drug, for a small (possibly
  life-saving dose). Heinz, the sick woman's
  husband, borrowed all the money he could, about
  1000, or half of what he needed. He told the
  druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to
  sell the drug cheaper, or to let him pay later.
  The druggist replied No, I discovered the drug,
  and I'm going to make money from it. Heinz then
  became desperate and broke into the store to
  steal the drug from his wife.
• Should Heinz have done that?
• Kohlberg proposed 3 stages of moral development,
  with each stage consisting of 2 distinct
  substages.

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LEVEL 1 PRECONVENTION MORALITY

• at this level children conform to rules imposed
  by authority figures in order to obtain rewards
  and avoid punishment. Moral decisions are based
  on CONSEQUENCES of an act, not intentionality
• Stage 1 punishment and obedience orientation
• a) goodness or badness of an act are based on
  its consequences.
• b) child will defer to authority figure and obey
  their commands in order to avoid punishment (BUT
  there is no true conception of rules--gt it is
  only bad if you get caught).
• Stage 2 instrumental orientation
• a) person conforms to rules in order to gain
  rewards or to satisfy personal needs,
• b) doing things for others is right if the
  actor will benefit in the long run

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LEVEL 2 CONVENTIONAL MORALITY

• -- at this level, the individual strives to obey
  the rules set forth by others in order to win
  praise and recognition or to maintain social
  order.
• Stage 3 Good-boy / good-girl orientation
• a) moral behavior is that which pleases, helps,
  or is approved by others.
• b) actions are evaluated on the basis of intent
• c) one objective is to be thought of as a nice
  person
• Stage 4 Authority and social-order-maintaining
  morality
• a) accepts and conforms to social rules and
  conventions because of a belief that rules and
  laws maintain an order which is judged good or
  moral.
• LAW AND ORDER MENTALITY

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LEVEL 3 POST-CONVENTIONAL MORALITY

• --moral standards are internalized and become the
  person's own.
• Stage 5 Social contract morality.
• a) flexibility begins in moral reasoning
• b) moral actions are those that express the will
  of the majority of individuals
• c) a sense of having to live up to the law, but
  an understanding that laws can be wrong.
• Stage 6 Universal ethical principles
• a) highest stage of moral reasoning
• b) right and wrong defined on a personal belief
  or self-chosen ethics
• c) belief in abstract principles which override
  all others (life, liberty, equality)
• d) risk jail or social ostracism rather than
  violate personal ethics
• This last stage is often considered to be a
  HYPOTHETICAL CONSTRUCT because very few people
  ever demonstrate this level of saintliness.

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CRITICISMS

• scoring disagreements ( 25 of time).
• rankings may reflect verbal abilities more so
  than moral level attained (young kids cannot
  express themselves)
• Reflect a number of Biases
• political bias-- liberals tend to rank higher in
  this hierarchy (5 6) conservatives --gt who
  believe in law and order are left in stage 4
• historical/generational bias
• Validity questions Questions which are asked
  are hypothetical and somewhat artificial. The
  dilemmas are not REAL to the subjects.
• Moral talk vs. action
• gender bias
• Kohlberg only tested males
• Adult females are at stage 3, whereas adult males
  are at stage 4

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Are women less moral?

• YES -- Kohlberg (1971)-- suggests that women
  define the good as what pleases or helps others
  and is approved by them --Stage 3
• YES -- Freud (1925)-- Women show less sense of
  justice than men, that they are less ready to
  submit to the great urgency of life, that they
  are more often influenced in their judgments by
  feelings of affection or hostility.
• YES -- Piaget (1965)-- the legal sense if far
  less developed in girls than in boys
• Cylke (yesterday) - Im just a girl. SpongeBob
  RULES!

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Carol Gilligan

• Argues that the alleged inferiority of women has
  more to do with the standard by which moral
  development is measured rather than the quality
  of female's thinking.
• In terms of development, girls are taught and
  trained to be more nurturing, empathetic, etc
  than males.
• According to Kohlberg's model, the highest stages
  of moral development are defined in terms of
  traditional MASCULINE values individuality,
  rationality, detachment, impersonality
• The traditionally FEMININE values of caring,
  responsibility, welfare of others automatically
  force them to stay at level 3 and 4 because the
  dilemmas that are presented.

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• Gilligan suggests that women are trained to be
  more interpersonal-bound whereas men are raised
  to be more rule-bound.
• MAN world held together by a system of rules and
  consensus
• WOMAN world held together by human relationships
  and caring
• In the Heinz dilemma Men would view it as a
  problem of competing rights. LIFE VS.
  PROPERTY HEINZ VS. DRUGGIST
• can be resolved through LOGIC.
• Women would view this dilemma as a fracture in
  human relationships that should be resolved
  through communication.
• Rather than treat the problem in an abstract
  fashion, she focuses on the CONTEXT of the
  problem.
• A woman would consider Heinz's relationship with
  his wife, her need for him, and the needs of the
  druggist.
• Kohlbergs scoring system does not take any of
  this into account.

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• Gilligan concludes that women follow a different
  moral pathway than men.
• Responsibility and concern for others precedes
  and overrides concern for individual rights.
• WOMEN ARE NOT MORE OR LESS MORAL THAN MEN, THEY
  ARE MORAL IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAN MEN.
• Gilligans research also provided hypothetical
  but realistic dilemmas to reason about (pregnant
  women-- keep baby or abortion).
• Came up with 3 levels of moral development.
• LEVEL 1 Orientation to individual survival
• at this stage the woman's thoughts on abortion
  centers on her own needs and desires. Want an
  abortion so she can finish last year of high
  school
• TRANSITION 1 selfishness to responsibility
• conflict arises between their own wants and what
  is right Transitional conflict between
  selfishness and responsibility necessary to move
  on.

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• Level 2 Goodness as self-sacrifice
• women have adopted traditional feminine values
  and evaluate themselves in terms of interpersonal
  relationships. Orientation to please others,
  even if it causes a personal sacrifice.
• TRANSITION 2 goodness to truth
• question logic of self sacrifice. In spite of
  consequences, it is not always right to hurt
  oneself in the name of morality
• Level 3 Morality of non-violence
• an injunction against hurting becomes the basic
  premise underlying all moral judgments. Looking
  after the welfare of people is now self-chosen
  and UNIVERSAL obligation. Personal and
  interpersonal obligations are noted.
• Criticisms
• Are women and men really different??
• Arent her dilemma just as biased (albeit in the
  other direction) as Kohlberg?

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5 GENERAL FACTORS GOVERNING MORAL ACTION
FISHBEIN (1976)

• ACCEPTANCE OF AUTHORITY
• children generally accept authority around the
  age of 2
• parents are seen as figures of absolute
  authority, and it is their duty to report
  violators of the rules.
• Believe in imminent justice
• as a rule, they accept what their parent tells
  them as being right or wrong, BUT they will begin
  to test the parent's rules.
• This acceptance to authority will operate
  throughout the lifespan, once it has been
  acquired, it will remain.
• E.G. Waiting for a red light at 300 in the
  morning, using your blinkers when you are the
  only person on the road.

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• External reward / punishment
• we act morally because it leads to rewards
  (praise, smiles, medals of honor).
• we do not act immorally because it leads to
  punishment of some kind (spankings, demotion,
  prison, etc.).
• OBVIOUSLY however, no society or agent of
  authority can watch everyone at all times so this
  leads us to the next level--gt
• INTERNALIZED standards of right and wrong
• because we are not watched we often have to
  determine our behavior in ambiguous
  circumstances.
• We need some internalized (self-governed) set of
  what is right or wrong. This process of
  internalization begins in preschool and
  continues.

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• Norms of reciprocation
• we develop a sense of obligation to help those
  who have helped us in the past (sense of duty,
  etc.).
• at the same time, we develop a sense of
  obligation to injure those who have injured us in
  some manner (eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth).
• Cognitive judgments
• in order to act morally we must be able to
  UNDERSTAND right from wrong as well as WHY one
  thing is or is not right.
• just being able to verbalize the rules or
  expectations of a society does not imply that it
  is understood (e.g. the recitation of the pledge
  of allegiance). You must be able to REASON about
  the rules and why they exist.