PSYC1030 Moral Development

Social learning theory

-children learn by Imitating adults
-Shape behaviour and social learning by rewards/punishments
-Parents influence

Problems with social learning theory

-Children can be more moral than parents and Children learn morals from other sources

-Moral reasoning goes through changes over course of development: morphing and increasing with complexity along w cognitive ability

Main theorist involved in social learning theory

Albert Bandura

what did bandura’s bobo doll experiment find

If adult punches and hits bobo doll then children adopt behaviour

 Children not exposed to aggressive modelling did not display same behaviour

Children will model any adults

Main theorist involved in cognitive learning of morals

-Jean Piaget
-Lawrence Kohlberg

Piaget and Kohlberg agree that

-Reasoning of moral dilemmas the focus not the outcome

Piaget's stages of moral development and ages they occur

-Heteronomous morality stage (4-8)
-Autonomous morality stage (8+)

Heteronomous morality stage (Piaget)

-Focus on rules or laws
-Rules have innate authority
-Rules not negotiable
-Rules don't serve a purpose
-Outcome focused
-Motivated by fear of punishment

Autonomous morality stage (Piaget)

-Laws relative
-Laws socially constructed
-Rules are negotiable
-Rules do serve a purpose
-Intention focused
-Not motivated by fear of punishment
-Internalised sense of morality

Kohlberg developed three levels of morality by testing 84 males

-Preconventional Morality
-Conventional Morality
-Postconventional Morality

Name all 6 stages of Kohlberg's moral development

1. Punishment orientation
2. Self interest
3. Social perspective
4. Authority and social order
5. Social contact orientation
6. Universal ethical principles

Kohlberg's Preconventional Morality: Two stages and what age

1. Punishment orientation
2. Self interest

-Progress through both by age 9

Kohlberg's Preconventional Morality: Stage 1: Punishment orientation

-Individual perspective
-Egocentric
-Concrete tangibles

would argue that $ should be given to dad bc if it is not joe will be punished. Operating using another person's law.

Kohlberg's Preconventional Morality: Stage 2: Self interest

-Individual perspective
-Egocentric
-Fairness

 Joe shouldn't give $$ to dad bc it is his money

Kohlberg's Conventional Morality: Two stages and what age

3. Social perspective
4. Authority and social order

Between adolescence and adulthood

Kohlberg's Conventional Morality: Stage 3: Social perspective

-Social and interpersonal perspective
-Perspective of contributing member of society.

joe shouldn't give $$ because he sacrificed and worked hard and father lied. Social, interpersonal perspective.

Kohlberg's Conventional Morality: Stage 4: Authority and social order

-Reasoning re interpersonal orientations
-Reasoning about society as a whole
-Common rights people have
-Societal expectations of possession
-Principles dictate behaviours.

very justice system-y

Kohlberg's three levels of morality

-Pass at any age BUT
-Sequential
-Linear

Kohlberg's Postconventional Morality: Two stages

5. Social contact orientation
6. Universal ethical principles

Kohlberg's Postconventional Morality: Stages 5 and 6 commonalities

-Appliable for minority of adults
-Universal kinds of morals
-Applicable regardless of culture
-Prior-to-society perspective

Kohlberg's Postconventional Morality: Stage 5: Social contact orientation

-Free individual as long as it does not infringe upon others rights

-Basic fundamental human right

Kohlberg's Postconventional Morality: Stage 6: Universal ethical principles

-Mother Theresa.
-Personal conscience.

Limitations with what Kohlberg's experiment

-Only tested boys and men in his task.

In modern approaches to how we think about moral reasoning people have examined:

-Specific domains of reasoning within moral reasoning

-Role of parents

Carol Gilligan's view on morality

-Repeated Kohlberg's study
-Challenged his theory
-Tested men and women
-Kohlberg overestimated importance of progressing through the stages
-There are different kinds of moral reasoning that vary across people

What did Carol Gilligan find in women compared to men

-Women: stage three
-Men: stage four
-Women: Cooperative orientation
-Men: Justice orientation

Moral rules pertain to our concepts of:

-Harm and welfare
-Fairness
-Universal

Social conventional rules

-Social order
-Organisation
-Subjective
-Arbitrary
-Doesn't directly reflect our principles

can social conventional rules and moral rules intersect

yes. social conventions can be there to preserve moral rules

Baumrind's axes of parenting style

-Indulgent parents
-Authoritative parents
-Neglectful parents
-Authoritarian parents

Low control and low sensitivity

Neglectful parents

Low level of control and high sensitivity

Indulgent

High level of control and low sensitivity

Authoritarian parents

High level of control and High level of sensitivity

Authoritative parents

Authoritarian parents

-Punishment and reward orientation
-Thus children also have this

Indulgent and neglectful parents

-lack social responsibility
-Parents don't correct child's actions
-Children don't contribute to groups or partners
-Problems with authority

Authoritative parents

-Socially responsible
-Altruistic

Why do authoritarian parents have children less moral reasoning compared to authoritative parents

-Authoritative: Correction, control, sensitivity, understanding

-Authoritarian: Punishment, control, no sensitivity, no understanding

Cultural difference between Western and Eastern with morals

Western: Authoritative parents
Eastern: Authoritarian parents

both eastern and western parenting styles produce similarly healthy children because

Parenting styles + culture + child= healthy child

not just one or the other