Social and Moral development

lecture 4

what is social development?

• Forming bonds with people

• Learning to behave in socially acceptable ways

• Learning to be good friends and allies

• Learning to deal with adversaries

attachment (revisited) - john bolwby

Attachment – “an emotional and social bond between infant and caregiver that spans both time and space.” John Bowlby (1969)

achieving social development

• Social Learning Theory (e.g bobo doll study)

  idea that we learn by watching others - know what to do because of others (child swearing as parents do)

• Cognitive Developmental Theory

  must be able to function (cognitive), intellectually —> drives social (other forms of relationship)

• Parents

  causal effect on children

parenting style

• Parenting is a two-way street

emotional development (ASD)

expressing emotions

• basic emotions are present from early on

• others take time to emerge (e.g embarrassment)

understanding others feelings (ASD)

is the ability to recognize and interpret the emotions of others. This skill can be challenging for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), affecting social interactions and relationships.

emotional regulation (ASD)

• infants are reliant on adults to soothe them

• self-soothing ability develops over time

• display rules govern the degree to which emotions need to be regulated in a given situation

moral development (case)

behaviour that conforms to a generally accepted set of rules

Not doing wrong (MD)

• initially entirely guided by consequences

• internalisation of rules (know what is good vs bad automatically)

• Principle of Minimal Sufficiency (consequence should be sufficient to change the behaviour but not so much their behaviour feels forced)

Doing right (MD)

• empathic distress

• offers of help are initially egocentric (get upset, then help out —> start off with think they want —> then things you want)

• prosocial behaviour might leave you worse off (giving up time for others that is necessary for you.)

Kohlberg’s theory of moral development

• Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987)

• Studied boys aged between 10 and 17 years

• Presented subjects with scenarios (a moral dilemma)

Example: Heinz’s wife is dying of cancer, and can be treated only by a medication discovered by a local pharmacist. Heinz cannot afford the price that the pharmacist demands.

Should Heinz steal the drug? Why/why not?

Pre-conventional level (1)

—> of moral reasoning, all about you

Behaviour based on external sanctions, such as authority and punishment

• Stage 1 – Punishment and obedience:

  Obeying authority and avoiding punishment. (he’ll get in trouble if he does or doesn’t do it)

• Stage 2 – Instrumental hedonism

  Behaviour guided egocentrically by the pleasantness of its consequences to them/fulfilment of needs. (should or shouldn’t because it will make you feel happy)

conventional level (2)

—> maintaining good relations and social consideration

Includes an understanding that the social system has an interest in people’s behaviour.

• Stage 3 – Maintaining good relations

  Wanting to be regarded as good, well-behaved people.

• Stage 4 – Maintaining social order

  Laws and moral rules maintain social order and must be obeyed. (reason for them —> should or shouldn’t according to laws and the rest of society)

post-conventional level (3)

Moral rules have some underlying principles that apply to all situations and societies.

• Stage 5 – Social contracts Rules are social contracts, not all authority figures are infallible, individual rights can sometimes take precedence over laws. (can break some laws to fit certain situations)

• Stage 6 – Universal ethical principles Rules and laws are justified by abstract ethical values, such as the value of human life and the value of dignity. (form own rules to fit values)

evaluating SD/MD

• Effect of wording changes on response (if you specify she will die, more people will say he should steal the drug)

• Stages may not be coherent entities, but do reflect a progression

• Cultural and gender biases? (e.g being seen as a good neighbour)

  (more likely to do things because of what other people think of them)

• Correlation between moral reasoning and moral conduct (not a focus on decision, rather on what you actually do in a situation - cheating in a real situation)

What does social development mean? What are some of the different components of social development?

2. What are the different types of social bonds that we form?

3. What is attachment? How is it studied? Why do we care?

4. What is social learning theory? What are some examples you can come up with in your own life?

5. What is cognitive developmental theory? Describe some ways in which cognitive development might drive social development.

6. How do we study parenting style? Is the association between parenting style and child behaviour likely to be one-directional or bidirectional?

7. When we talk about emotional development, what are the different things that children need to learn? Describe the trajectory for each.

8. What is moral development?

9. How did Kohlberg study moral development?

10. What are the levels and stages of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development.

11. Think about the Heinz dilemma. Make up a response that would fit into each of the stages from 1 to 5 (a. should he steal the drug? and b. why?/why not?)

12. What are the primary criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory?