Developmental Psychology - year three

Altruism

A genuine concern for the welfare of others and a willingness to act on that concern.

Empathy

The ability to experience and understand the emotions of other people.

Morality

The ability to distinguish right from wrong and sometimes act on that distinction, experiencing pride for virtuous acts and shame for violations.

Parental importance of morality

74% of parents hope their child will acquire a strong sense of morality.

Three key moral principles

Avoid hurting others; prosocial concern; commitment to rules and personal values.

Affective component of morality

Emotional aspect of moral development, emphasised by psychoanalytic theorists such as Freud.

Cognitive component of morality

Moral reasoning, emphasised by cognitive developmental theorists such as Piaget.

Behavioural component of morality

Moral action, emphasised by social learning and social information processing theorists such as Bandura.

Piaget’s view of moral development

Based on logic, rational thought, and decision-making.

Premoral period

Preschool age; little awareness of rules, children make up their own rules.

Heteronomous morality

Ages 5–10; rules are fixed, authority-based, judged by consequences not intent.

Autonomous morality

From age 10–11; rules are flexible agreements, intent matters, punishment is tailored.

Piaget cup scenario

Child breaking more cups judged naughtier in heteronomous morality; intent judged more in autonomous morality.

Main criticism of Piaget

Underestimates children’s ability to understand intentionality and Theory of Mind.

Killen et al. (2011) finding

Children aged 3–7 judge intentional harm as worse than accidental harm.

Morally relevant Theory of Mind (MoToM)

Ability to consider intentions and outcomes when making moral judgments.

MoToM cupcake scenario

Child judges whether a transgressor intended harm when discarding another child’s property.

Kohlberg’s theory

Expansion of Piaget’s theory to adolescence and adulthood using moral dilemmas.

Heinz dilemma

Moral dilemma involving stealing a drug to save a dying wife.

Preconventional morality

Moral reasoning focused on avoiding punishment and self-interest.

Conventional morality

Moral reasoning focused on obeying laws and social rules.

Postconventional morality

Moral reasoning based on abstract principles and justice beyond laws.

Criticism of Kohlberg: age bias

Complex dilemmas not suitable for young children.

Criticism of Kohlberg: cultural bias

Postconventional morality reflects Western ideals and not universal.

Criticism of Kohlberg: gender bias

Gilligan argued males emphasise justice, females emphasise care.

Aggression definition

Any behaviour intended to injure or harm a living being.

Intentionality in aggression

Harm is intended even if not successfully carried out.

Hostile aggression

Aggression with the primary goal of harming another person.

Instrumental aggression

Aggression used as a means to achieve another goal.

Overt aggression

Direct and physical aggression.Relational aggression

Gender differences in aggression

Males show more physical aggression; females more relational aggression.

Stability of aggression

Aggression in early childhood predicts later antisocial behaviour.

Reactive aggression

Impulsive, emotion-driven, retaliatory aggression.

Proactive aggression

Planned, goal-driven aggression producing tangible benefits.

Aggression and morality link

Many aggressive acts are moral transgressions (Arsenio & Lemerise, 2004).

Egocentric bias

Placing one’s own concerns as central and most important.

Self-serving cognitive distortions

Justifying aggression by blaming others and minimising guilt.

Hostile attribution bias

Assuming others have hostile intentions.

Moral disengagement

Convincing oneself that moral standards do not apply in a specific context.

Cognitive reframing

Redefining aggressive behaviour as morally acceptable.

Displacement

Attributing responsibility for actions to authority figures.

Diffusion of responsibility

Believing responsibility is shared among a group.

Dehumanisation

Viewing the victim as less than human to justify harm.

Moral development as cultural construct

Moral values are learned from family, community, and culture.

Moral identity

How morality is integrated into the self-concept at micro and macro cultural levels.