Moral Development free essay sample

The biological perspective on moral development assumes that morality is grounded in the genetic heritage of our species, perhaps through prewired emotional reactions. Humans share many morally relevant behaviours with other species, and the ventromedial area of the frontal region of the cerebral cortex is vital for emotional responsiveness to others’ suffering. Nevertheless, human morality cannot be fully explained in this way, since morally relevant emotions require strong caregiving supports and cognitive attainments for their mature expression. Morality as the Adoption of Societal NormsDescribe and evaluate the psychoanalytic perspective on moral development. * Both psychoanalytic and social learning theories regard moral development as a matter of internalization: the adoption of societal standards for right action as one’s own. Internalization is not just a straightforward process of taking over externally imposedprescriptions. Instead, it is the combined result of factors within the child and the rearing environment. * According to Freud, morality emerges with the resolution of the Oedipus and Electra conflicts during the preschool years. Fear of punishment and loss of parental love lead children to form a superego through identification with the same-sex parent and to redirect hostile impulses toward the self in the form of guilt. Although guilt is an important motivator of moral action, Freud’s interpretation of it is no longer widely accepted. In contrast to Freudian predictions, power assertion and love withdrawal do not foster conscience development. Instead, induction is far more effective and seems to cultivate children’s active commitment to moral norms. Recent psychoanalytic ideas place greater emphasis on a positive parent-child relationship and earlier beginnings of morality. However, they retain continuity with Freud’s theory in regarding emotion as the basis for moral development. Describe and evaluate the social learning perspective on moral development, including the importance of modelling, the effects of punishment, and alternatives to harsh discipline. * Social learning theory views moral behaviour as acquired in the same way as other responses: through modelling and reinforcement. Effective models are warm and powerful and display consistency between what they say and what they do. By middle childhood, children have internalized many prosocial and other rules for good conduct. Harsh punishment does not promote moral internalization and socially desirable behaviour. Instead, it provides children with aggressive models, leads them to avoid the punishing adult, and can spiral into serious abuse. Alternatives, such as time out and withdrawal of privileges, can reduce these undesirable side effects, as long as parents apply them consistently, maintain a warm relationship with the child, and offer explanations that fit the transgression. * The most effective forms of discipline encourage good conduct. Parents who build a positive relationship with the child have children who want to adopt parental standards because they feel a sense of commitment to the relationship. Morality as Social UnderstandingDescribe Piaget’s theory of moral development, and evaluate its accuracy. * Piaget’s cognitive-developmental perspective assumes that morality develops through construction-actively thinking about multiple aspects of situations in which social conflicts arise and deriving new moral understandings. * Piaget’s work was the original inspiration for the cognitive-developmental perspective. He identified two stages of moral understanding: heteronomous morality, in which children view moral rules in terms of realism and as fixed dictates of authority figures; and autonomous morality, in which children base fairness on ideal reciprocity and regard rules as flexible, socially agreed-on principles. * Although Piaget’s theory describes the general direction of moral development, it underestimates the moral capacities of young children. Preschool and early school-age children take intentions into account in making moral judgments, although they interpret intentions in a rigid fashion. Furthermore, they have differentiated notions about the legitimacy of authority figures. With respect to nonmoral issues, they base authority on knowledge, not social position. When a directive is morally valid, they view it as important, regardless of whether an authority figure endorses it. Describe Kohlberg’s extension of Piaget’s theory, methods for assessing moral reasoning, and evidence on the accuracy of his stages. * According to Kohlberg, moral development is a gradual process that extends beyond childhood into adolescence and adulthood. Using moral judgment interviews, Kohlberg found that moral reasoning advances through three levels, each of which contains two stages: (1) the preconventional level, in which morality is viewed as controlled by rewards, punishments, and the power of authority figures; (2) the conventional level, in which conformity to laws and rules is regarded as necessary to preserve positive human relationships and societal order; and (3) the postconventional level, in which individuals define morality in terms of abstract, universal principles of justice. Besides Kohlberg’s clinical interview, efficient questionnaires for assessing moral understanding exist. The most recently devised is the Sociomoral Reflection Measure-Short Form (SRM-SF). * Kohlberg’s stages are strongly related to age and form an invariant sequence. In focusing on hypothetical moral dilemmas, however, Kohlberg’s theory assesses only the rational weighing of alternatives and overlooks other strategies that affect moral judgment. * Because situational factors affect moral reasoning, Kohlberg’s stages are best viewed in terms of a loose rather than strict concept of stage. Piaget’s cognitive and Selman’s perspective-taking stages are necessary but not sufficient conditions for each advance in moral reasoning. * Contrary to Gilligan’s claim, Kohlberg’s theory does not underestimate the moral maturity of females. Instead, justice and caring moralities coexist but vary in prominence between males and females, from one situation to the next, and across cultures. Describe influences on moral reasoning, its relationship to moral behaviour, and continuing challenges to Kohlberg’s theory, * A flexible, open-minded approach to new information and experiences is linked to gains in moral reasoning. Among experiences that contribute are peer interactions that resolve conflict through negotiation and compromise; warm, rational child-rearing practices; and years of schooling. * Cross-cultural research indicates that a certain level of societal complexity is required for Kohlberg’s higher stages. Although his theory does not encompass the full range of moral reasoning, a common justice morality is evident in individuals from vastly different cultures. * Maturity of moral reasoning is moderately related to a wide variety of moral behaviours. Many other factors also influence moral behaviour, including emotions, temperament, personality, history of morally relevant experiences and moral self-relevance-the degree to which morality is central to self-concept. * Moral judgment maturity appears to be achieved at Stages 3 and 4, as young people grasp ideal reciprocity. Because Kohlberg’s dilemmas are remote from the experiences of children and not clearly understood by them, his theory overlooks moral-reasoning capacities that develop in early and middle childhood. Moral Reasoning of Young ChildrenExplain how children separate moral imperatives from social conventions and matters of personal choice, and trace changes in their understanding from childhood into adolescence. * Even preschoolers have a beginning grasp of justice in that they distinguish moral imperatives from social conventions and matters of personal choice. From actively making sense of people’s everyday social experiences and emotional reactions, children in diverse cultures come to view moral transgressions as wrong in any context, regardless of whether rules or authorities prohibit them. Gradually, children clarify and link moral imperatives and social conventions, taking into account more variables, including the purpose of the rule; people’s intentions, knowledge, and beliefs; and the context of their behaviour. * The personal domain emerges with self-awareness in the early preschool years and strengthens from middle childhood into adolescence. It supports young people’s moral concepts of rights and freedom. Describe the development of distributive justice reasoning, noting factors that foster mature understanding. Children’s concepts of distributive justice change over middle childhood, from equality to merit to benevolence. Peer disagreements, along with efforts to resolve them, make children more sensitive to others’ perspectives, which fosters their developing ideas of fairness. Development of Self-ControlTrace the development of self-control from early childhood into adolescence, noting the implications of individual differences for cognitive and social competencies. * The emergence of self-control is supported by self-awareness and by the representational and memory capacities of the second year. The first glimmerings of self-control appear in the form of compliance. The ability to delay gratification increases steadily over the third year. Language development and sensitive, supportive parenting foster self-control. * During the preschool years, children profit from adult-provided self-control strategies. Over middle childhood, they produce an increasing variety of strategies themselves and become consciously aware of which ones work well and why, leading to a flexible capacity for moral self-regulation. Individual differences in delay of gratification predict diverse cognitive and social competencies. Development of self-control appears to be governed by two processing systems: an emotional, reactive hot system that eventually is dominated by a cognitive, reflective cool system. The Other Side of Self-Control: Development of AggressionDiscuss the development of aggression from infancy into adolescence, noting individual, family, community, and cultural influences, and describe successful interventions. * Aggression first appears in late infancy. Physical forms are soon replaced by verbal forms. Whereas instrumental aggression declines, hostile aggression increases over early and middle childhood. Two types of hostile aggression are evident: overt aggression, more common among boys, and relational aggression, more common among girls. * Although teacher- and peer-reported aggression decline in adolescence, delinquent acts increase, especially for boys. However, only a few youths sustain a high level of aggression from childhood to adolescence, becoming involved in violent crime. Impulsive, overactive children are at risk for high aggression, but whether or not they become so depends on child-rearing conditions. Strife-ridden family environments and power-assertive, inconsistent discipline promote self-perpetuating cycles of aggressive behaviour. Children who are products of these family processes develop social-cognitive deficits and distortions that add to the long-term maintenance of aggression. Widespread poverty, harsh living conditions, and schools that fail to meet students’ developmental needs increase antisocial acts among children and adolescents. Among interventions designed to reduce aggression, training parents in child discipline and teaching children alternative ways of resolving conflict are helpful. Social-cognitive interventions that focus on improving social information processing and perspective taking have yielded benefits as well. However, the most effective treatments are comprehensive, addressing multiple factors that sustain antisocial behaviour. | Learning Objectives| After completing Chapter 12, you should be able to: * Describe and evaluate the biological perspective on morality. * Describe and evaluate he psychoanalytic perspective on moral development. Describe and evaluate the social learning perspective on moral development, including the importance of modelling, the effects of punishment, and alternatives to harsh discipline. * Describe Piaget’s theory of moral development, and evaluate its accuracy. * Describe Kohlberg’s extension of Piaget’s theory, methods for assessing moral reasoning, and evidence on the accuracy of his stages. * Describe influences on moral reasoning, its relationship to moral behaviour, and continuing challenges to Kohlberg’s theory. Explain how children separate moral imperatives from social conventions and matters of personal choice, and trace changes in their understanding from childhood into adolescence. Describe the development of distributive justice reasoning, noting factors that foster mature understanding. * Trace the development of self-control from early childhood into adolescence, noting the implications of individual differences for cognitive and social competencies. * Discuss the development of aggression from infancy into adolescence, noting individual, family, community, and cultural influences, and describe successful interventions. |