mod 48
Note: all responses should be in bold or colored font.
cognitive development
developing morality
2 crucial asks of childhood and adolescence: discerning right from wrong and developing character
to be a moral person is to think morally and act accordingly
Lawerence Kolberg
Moral reasoning, intuition..
moral reasoning the thinking that occur as we consider rights and wrong
moral intuition: he mind makes moral judgments as it makes aesthetic judgements—quickly and automotacially
moral action; our moral thinking and feeling surely affect our moral talk-morality involves doing the right thing, and hat we also do also depends on social infliences
Please complete the stages of moral development as presented in the class lecture.
preconventional morality
Stage #1: avoids punishment
Stage #2: gains reward
Conventional Morality: morality in early adolescence
Stage #3: gains approval. Avoids disapproval
Stage #4:rules and laws of society determine moral behavior
Postconventional Morality: takes on he perspective of all individuals
Stage #5: individual right determine behavior (there are election to rules and laws, they are flexible tools )
Stage #6; abstract autonomous principle—taking the perspective of every person or romp who is affected by decision making process
Kohlberg Application
Choose one of the following moral dilemmas and apply it to Kohlberg's stages below. All response should be in bold or colored font:
Cheating on a test
Exceeding a 55 mph speed limit
Preconventional Morality
Stage #1: you want to avoid punishment of being late
Stage #2: your pleasing people by being on time-getting there quicker
Conventional Morality
Stage #3 peer pressure-friends in the car and gaining approval; avoiding punishment from your boss and the cars behind you approval
Stage #4 going the speed limit is going too slow, going faster on the highway making it okay to speed
Postconventional Morality
Stage #5:the speed imit is an exception
Stage #6 Driving someone whose about to have a baby- an ambulance or police officer
Moral Dilemmas: choose 1
Joe is a fourteen year old boy who wanted to go to camp very much. His father promised him he could go if he saved up the money himself. So Joe worked hard at his paper route and saved up the forty dollars it cost to go to camp and a little more besides. But just before his camp was going to start his father changed his mind. Some of his friends decided to go on a special fishing trip, and Joe’s father was short on the money it would cost. He told Joe to give him the money he had saved from his paper route. Joe didn’t want to give up going to camp, so he thinks of refusing to give his father the money.
Should Joe refuse to give his father the money? Why or why not?
Joe should refuse to give his father the money because if he’s not allowed to go to the camp he should have the right to use his own 40 dollars.
Does Joe’s father have the right to tell him to give him his money?
Joe’s father doesn’t have the right to tell him to give him he money because Joe worked for it and saved up so it is his money.
Does giving the money have anything to do with being a good son?
No it doesn’t because Joe is a good son for even getting a job to help with his dads financial situation when it comes to summer camp
Is the fact that Joe earned the money himself important to the situation? Why or why not?
It is important because Joe made the money through spending his time getting the money rather than hanging out with friends or spending it on other things he may have wanted.
Is Joe’s father’s promise important in this situation? Why or why not?
Yes Joe’s father’s promise is important because he had promised Joe that if he saves up enough money he can go to that camp- and by changing his mind and wanting to go on a fishin trip it ruins Joe’s trust with his dad.
Judy was a twelve year old girl. Her mother promised her she could go to a special rock concert coming to town if she saved up enough money babysitting and lunch money to buy a ticket to the concert. She managed to save up fifteen dollars, which was the cost of the ticket, and another five dollars for meals. Judy’s mother then changed her mind and told Judy she had to use that money on new clothes for school. Judy was disappointed but decided to go to the concert anyway. She bought a ticket and told her she was only able to save five dollars. On Saturday she went to the concert but told her mother she was spending the day with her friend. A week passed without her mother finding out. Judy then told her older sister, Hannah, that she had gone to the concert and lied to her mom about it. Hannah wonders whether to tell her mother what Judy did.
Should Hannah tell her mother Judy’s lie or keep it a secret? Why or why not?
In wondering whether or not to tell, Hannah thinks of the fact that Judy is her sister. Should that make a difference in Hannah’s decision?
Does telling have anything to do with being a good daughter?
In thinking back over this dilemma what would you say is the most responsible thing for Hannah to do?
Create your own moral dilemma
Directions: Provide your own example of a moral dilemma--it could be a quick one, like the examples of speeding or cheating on a test, or a longer one like the scenarios presented above. Using the dilemma you create, identify how an individual would work through it using the six stages of Kohleberg’s theory.
Scenario: _____Cuting class to skip a test ___________________________________________________________
Preconventional Morality
Stage #1: getting a bad grade
Stage #2: have a stress free day
Conventional Morality
Stage #3: gain approval from peers bc they think your cool
Stage #4 everyone else skips, its okay bc your using the time to study for it
Postconventional Morality
Stage #5 attendance
Stage #6 needs to please colleges- raises class average