m
 

 
 

  

 

 „
    




 


Notions of fairness and justice in their environments.
‡
‡ recess (playing games)--> taking turns, following a set of rules. Upset this
balance and the children get upset, it is ³wrong to do this´
‡ home--> Questions such as ³why can't I stay up as late as you?? You always
get to watch what you want to watch. ´
‡ chores--> participate and take part in doings tasks around the house, but are
willing to lament about the fact that they ³have to do everything´.

‡ So in everyday situations, children abide by some rules, they have some sense
of ³right´ and ³wrong´ and ask questions about how this came to be.
°
NITIVE-DEVEL ENTAL THE Y: iaget
‡  ALITY--> one's ability to distinguish between right and wrong, and
to be able to act on this distinction.

‡  AL DEVEL ENT--> 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 UST understand
right from wrong if we are to be expected to act in right or wrong ways.

‡ 2) oral 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).
 ‡ 2 techniques

‡ 1) Naturalistic bservation -- then Questioning

‡ --what are the rules
‡ --who invented them
‡ -- can they be changed, etc.

‡ 2) oral 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:
‡ 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: nce there was a little boy whose name was Henry. ne 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??
‡ n the basis of these investigation, iaget concluded that there
are V

 
    
 I. E AL EI D (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
± arents and older children are more tolerant of kid¶s
behavior

‡ at the end of this stage (~4-5) children become

more aware of the ³rules´ by watching older
people and imitating their behavior.
 II.  AL EALIS (6-10)
‡ child develops a strong respect for rules and a belief that they must be
obeyed AT ALL TIES
‡ °hildren at this stage tend to think of rules in terms of  AL
ABS LUTES
± ³right´ always means following the rules.

‡ iaget's dilemma -- child who broke 15 cups naughtier. Judgment

based on objective ° NSEQUEN°ES rather than intent of the person

‡ Why focus on consequences?? eprimanded or UNISHED DUE T

° NSEQUEN°ES.

‡ the child also believes in „  
„


± any violation of society rules will be caught and punished

‡ In SU: rules exist outside of themselves. Wrong is whatever adults

forbid and punish. ules UST N T be questioned.
 AUT N  US  ALITY (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 „„ of the individual begins to

have an impact (punish kid who was stealing jam).
 WHAT °AUSES THESE °HAN
ES??
‡ children are increasingly away from their adult authority figures for
much of the time and are spending a lot of time with ³equal 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 ³governor´ and

³governed´. They begin to understand H W rules and standards are
set and understand that rules can also be changed.
‡ ** THIS IS WHAT IA
ET °ALLED  AL AUT N Y

‡ In this theory, morality goes from (1) Submissive to power of parent

to (2) self control.
  HLBE
'S THE Y   AL
DEVEL ENT
‡ ohlberg believed much of iaget's theory but thought it should be
extended into adolescence and adulthood.
‡  AL DILEAS. 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.

‡ ohlberg 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 H W they EXLAINED their judgments.
‡ 1) Like iaget, ohlberg developed stages of oral 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 ohlberg, each stage represents a
ETH D  THININ
about a moral dilemma rather than a
particular TYE of moral decision.
 Ä
  
‡ 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 ³No, 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?

‡ ohlberg proposed 3 stages of moral development, with

each stage consisting of 2 distinct substages.
 LEVEL 1: E° NVENTI N  ALITY
at this level children conform to rules imposed by authority figures in
order to obtain rewards and avoid punishment. oral decisions are
based on ° NSEQUEN°ES of an act, not intentionality

‡

   
      

‡ 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-->
it is only bad if you get caught).

‡

    
   

‡ a) person conforms to rules in order to gain rewards or to satisfy
personal needs,
‡ b) doing things for others is ³right´ if the actor will benefit in the
long run
 LEVEL 2: ° NVENTI NAL  ALITY
‡ -- 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.

‡

 V !" # ! $   

± 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 ³nice´ person

‡

 %  "
 
!  !

 
"
± 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 DE ENTALITY
LEVEL 3:  ST-° NVENTI NAL  ALITY
‡ --moral standards are internalized and become the person's own.

‡

 &

 
 
"
± 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.

‡

 '  
 
   
± a) ³highest´ 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

HY THETI°AL ° NSTU°T because very few people ever
demonstrate this level of ³saintliness´.
 °ITI°ISS:
‡ scoring disagreements ( ~25% of time).

‡ rankings may reflect verbal abilities more so than moral level attained
(young kids cannot express themselves)

‡ eflect a number of Biases:

± political bias-- liberals tend to rank higher in this hierarchy (5 & 6)
conservatives --> 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 EAL to the subjects.

‡ oral talk vs. action

‡ gender bias:
± ohlberg only tested males
± Adult females are at stage 3, whereas adult males are at stage 4
 h
 


‡ YES -- ohlberg (1971)-- suggests that women define the
good as ³what pleases or helps others´ and is approved by
them --Stage 3

‡ YES -- reud (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 -- iaget (1965)-- the legal sense if far less developed

in girls than in boys

‡ °ylke (yesterday) - ³I¶m just a girl. SpongeBob ULES!´

 °arol
illigan
‡ 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 ohlberg's model, the highest stages of moral

development are defined in terms of traditional AS°ULINE values:
individuality, rationality, detachment, impersonality

‡ The traditionally EININE values of caring, responsibility, welfare

of others automatically force them to stay at level 3 and 4 because the
dilemmas that are presented.
‡
illigan suggests that women are trained to be more interpersonal-bound
whereas men are raised to be more rule-bound.
± AN: world held together by a system of rules and consensus
± W AN: world held together by human relationships and caring

‡ In the Heinz dilemma en would view it as a problem of competing rights.

LIE VS.  ETY HEINZ VS. DU

IST
± can be resolved through L
I°.

‡ Women would view this dilemma as a fracture in human relationships that

should be resolved through communication.
± ather than treat the problem in an abstract fashion, she focuses on the ° NTEXT
of the problem.
± A woman would consider Heinz's relationship with his wife, her need for him, and
the needs of the druggist.

‡ ohlberg¶s scoring system does not take any of this into account.
‡
illigan concludes that women follow a different moral pathway than men.
‡ esponsibility and concern for others precedes and overrides concern for
individual rights.

‡ W EN AE N T  E  LESS  AL THAN EN, THEY AE

 AL IN A DIEENT WAY THAN EN.

‡
illigan¶s research also provided ³hypothetical but realistic´ dilemmas to

reason about (pregnant women-- keep baby or abortion).
‡ °ame up with 3 levels of moral development.

‡ LEVEL 1: rientation 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

‡ TANSITI N 1: selfishness to responsibility

± conflict arises between their own wants and what is ´right´ Transitional conflict
between selfishness and responsibility necessary to move on.
‡ Level 2:
oodness as self-sacrifice
± women have adopted traditional feminine values and evaluate themselves
in terms of interpersonal relationships. rientation to please others, even
if it causes a personal sacrifice.

‡ TANSITI N 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: orality 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 UNIVESAL obligation. ersonal and interpersonal obligations are
noted.

‡ °riticisms:
± Are women and men really different??
± Aren¶t her dilemma just as biased (albeit in the other direction) as
ohlberg?
 5
ENEAL A°T S
VENIN
 AL
A°TI N: ISHBEIN (1976)
‡ A°°ETAN°E  AUTH ITY
‡ children generally accept authority around the age of 2
‡ parents are seen as figures of absolute authority, and it is their ³duty´ 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.
. Waiting for a red light at 3:00 in the morning, using your blinkers when you
are the only person on the road.
‡ 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.).
‡ BVI USLY however, no society or agent of authority can
watch everyone at all times so this leads us to the next level-->

‡ INTENALIZED 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.
‡ 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).

‡ °ognitive judgments
‡ in order to act morally we must be able to UNDESTAND 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 EAS N about the rules and why they exist.