Module 11-1

Moral Development

• Changes in thoughts, feelings and behaviors regarding standards of right and wrong

• Intrapersonal

• Interpersonal – regulates social interaction & arbitrates conflict

What is moral development?

Yes, similar moral prescriptions are found in all major religions.

Civilizations will not success where there are no laws against murder, theft, and lies and no regulation of sexual behavior.

Is there Universal Morality?

Humanist Psychology says No - Hoffman (1970)

Cautions against Love withdrawal (anxiety)Don’t like you; going to leave you

Cautions against Power assertion (hostility)Spanking, threatening, removing privilegesMakes parents appear to have poor self-control

Recommends Induction Reasoning, consequencesWorks best with older children, middle SES

Does moral development require parental discipline?

Some strategies work better- ThompsonWarm-responsive parent-child relationships

Secure attachment linked to conscience development

Proactive strategiesConversational dialogueOther strategies –

Be a good role modelFoster an internal sense of moralityTell them about expected behaviorsUse reason with punishment

Other Psychologists Have Different Advice

Diana BaumrindAuthoritativeAuthoritarianIndulgent (permissive-indulgent)Neglectful (permissive-neglectful)

Some Parenting Styles Work Better

Most successful StyleInvolves

acceptance of and involvement with children, warm, attentive, sensitive

reasonable control and insistence on mature behavior

gradual granting of autonomyResults in cooperative children with self-

control, high self-esteem, social & moral maturity, & good school performance

Parenting Styles - Authoritative

Low in acceptance/involvement, autonomy granting

High in coercive control – degrade, yell, command, criticize, punish

Children are anxious and unhappy. Boys become defiant. Girls become dependent.

In adulthood don’t take initiative.Controlling strategies work for low-SES,

African-American parents.

Authoritarian Parenting

Warm and acceptingOverindulging or inattentiveLittle control of the child’s behaviorChildren are impulsive, disobedient and

rebellious, overly demanding and dependent on adults

Tend to be non-achieving, especially boys

Indulgent (Permissive) Parenting

Low acceptance and involvementLittle controlGeneral indifferenceEmotionally detached, depressedMay become child neglectDisrupts attachment, cognition, and

emotional and social skills

Neglectful (Permissive) Parenting

SpankingConsidered necessary & desirable for centuries70-90% of American parents have spanked

their childrenRecent survey, 26% of parents of 3-4 year olds

spank frequently67% yell at their children frequentlyA number of countries have outlawed spanking

How about Punishment Options?

Out of control model for handling situationsThe “woodshed” was not out of control

Punishment can instill fear, rage or avoidanceThis is temporary unless the parent-child

relationship has other problems. Doe s the punishment fit the crime?

Punishment tells children what not to do rather than what to doSo? Tell them what to do along with the

punishment.

Objections to Spanking & Responses

Punishment can be abusiveAbuse is abuse. It should not be disguised as

punishment.Are we talking about spanking, or all

punishment? Remember Hoffman?Are we thinking that children are “innately

good?” Any evidence for this?Do parents believe that they have lost the right

to discipline? What is the basis of that right?

Objections to Spanking & Responses

Social Conventional ReasoningSocial rules & conventions are arbitrary &

created by people

Moral ReasoningMoral rules are obligatory, widely-accepted,

and somewhat impersonalEthics exist apart from social convention

Reasoning About Rules

Turiel – 1978, 19835-year-old children conceptualize the social

world in three separate domainsMoralSocial-conventionalPsychological (personal)

They realize that the rules for each of these have different levels of changeability.

Morality - Children & Rules

Factors (Behaviorist view)Reinforcement & punishment

Depends upon consistency & timingModels

Depends upon characteristics such as warmth & attractiveness

SituationsChildren behave inconsistently depending upon peer

pressure, likelihood of being caught, personal characteristics

Self-controlConvinced by reasoning, punishment

Moral Behavior among Children

Albert Bandura

Moral competence – knowledge, capabilities, skills, awareness of rules

Moral performance – motivation, rewards, incentives

Self-regulation – avoiding self-condemnation and fostering self-satisfaction & self-worth

Social-cognitive Theory of Morality

Sigmund FreudThe desire to avoid feeling guilty is the

foundation of moral behavior.

Superego consists of:Ego ideal – rewards by conveying a sense of pride

and personal valueConscience – punishes disapproved behaviors by

making the child feel guilty & worthless

Moral Emotion - Guilt

Responding to another’s feelings with a similar emotional response

Examples of development of empathySome infants show global empathy1-2 years, may feel discomfort but cannot

translate into actionEarly childhood – add perspective-taking10-12 may feel social or humanitarian empathy

Moral Emotion - Empathy

Heinz dilemma – Wife near deathOne drug might save herCost $200 to make; charged $2000Heinz raised $1000, offered to pay laterDruggist said noHeinz stole the drug

Kohlberg’s Theory

Level 1: PreconventionalExternal rewards & punishments

Level 2: ConventionalAbide by internal standards of others (law or

parents)

Level 3: PostconventionalRecognizes alternative codes, explores

options, chooses one

Kohlberg’s Theory

Stage 1 – heteronomousMoral thinking is tied to punishment

Stage 2 – individualism, instrumental purpose & exchange“live & let live”Equity of exchange: “I do you a favor; you

do me one.”

Kohlberg - Preconventional

Stage 3: Mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships & interpersonal conformityValue trust, caring & loyalty to others;

children like “good girl; good boy”

Stage 4: Social systems moralityUnderstanding the social order, law, justice

and duty

Kohlberg - Conventional

Stage 5: Social contract or utility and individual rightsValues, rights & principles undergird the

law; laws are evaluated by how well they protect human rights & values

Stage 6: Universal ethical principlesMoral standard based on universal human

rights; will follow conscience rather than law

Kohlberg – Post conventional

Cosmic perspectiveSee one’s self as one with the universeAlready a religious position -

Hindu, New Age

Kohlberg Stage 7?

Link between moral thought & moral behavior?

Albert Bandura – people do not usually engage in harmful conduct until they have justified the morality of their actions to themselvesSocially worthy causeGod’s will

Kohlberg’s Critics

Religion provides the assumptions which underpin moral reasoning and decisions.

Religion takes morality from individual to collective and universal.

Religion provides the authority for moral prescriptions.

Can Morality be Examined Apart from Religion?

Rest – Assessment techniquesWhat are the moral issues?

Stages 5 & 6 do not stand up across culturesExample – Buddhist monks & emphasis on

compassionIndia – social rules are inevitable

Kohlberg’s Critics

Haidt (2008) Traditionalist [collectivist] societies expect

individuals to limit their desires and play their roles within the group

“Western conservatives also seem to be morally challenged.”

Conclusion: Kolhberg has an individualist, liberal, progress bias.

Kohlberg’s Critics

Carol Gilligan – gender bias

Justice perspective – male norm that puts principles above people

Care perspective – moral perspective that views people in terms of connectedness and emphasizes relationships & caring for others

Kohlberg’s Critics

Parenthood in North America70% of N.A. couples have children

There is a pattern of delayed childbearing

Fewer children (1.8 average in the U.S.)

Parenthood is still regarded as one of life‘s most meaningful experiences.

Socioeconomic Variations in FamiliesHigher SES (Middle Class) parents:

Develop children’s initiative and delay gratification

Create home atmosphere in which children are more nearly equal participants

Less likely to use physical punishment

Less directive; more conversational with children

Neighborhood variation affects child development

Sociocultural Influences

Never Married Single ParentsLargest group is African-American young

women (60% of births)Why?

May have to do with black male unemploymentTap the extended familyOne-third marry laterStill have problems of poverty, poor school

achievement of children and antisocial behavior.

Childless Couples

DINKs - double-income, no kids

How many couples are voluntarily childless?

3-6% or 10-15%

Often has to do with career commitment

Unintended Childlessness

Career Women (Hewlett, 2002)33% were childless at age 4042% who worked in corporations were

childless49% of (6-figure) ultra-achievers were childless25% of high achievers age 41-55 (&31% of

ultra-achievers) would like to have a childNo high achiever had a child after age 39 and

no ultra-achiever after age 36

Myths of ParentingThe birth of a child will save a failing marriage.The child will think, feel, behave as the parents

did.Parents can expect the child to respect & obey

them.The child is someone who will always love them.The child is a “second chance” to achieve.Parents can mold the child into what they want.Mothers are naturally better parents than fathers.Parenting is an instinct and requires no training.

What is Child Maltreatment?

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Neglect (physical, educational, emotional)

Emotional/psychological Abuse

Profile of Maltreatment

Most common offender is a young, poor, single mother who is overwhelmed and engages in neglect and psychological abuse

Factors are social isolation, unrealistic expectations of the child, substance abuse, depression, poverty, sickly or difficult child, other life stresses

Consequences of Maltreatment

Physiological – stress hormones, abnormal brain wave patterns

Emotional – rejection, anxiety, self-blame, psychological pain

Social – discipline problems at school, poor peer relations

Eventually serious learning and adjustment problems, depression, substance abuse, academic failure, delinquency

Preventing Child Maltreatment

Research indicates that a trusting relationship with another person is the most important factor is preventing mothers with childhood histories of abuse from repeating the cycle.

Parents Anonymous

GrandparenthoodMany people become grandparents in their

40s.They like being a valued elder, child indulger,

having a form of immortality, and being able to transmit family history and values.

Grandparents may offer childcare, and even greater support to a custodial parent of their grandchildren.

Grandparents of the non-custodial parent often have to negotiate for visitation rights.

Skipped-Generation Families

Surrogate parenting: grandparents take custody of their own grandchildren because the parent is not functioning due to such factors as drug abuse, mental illness, incarceration, adolescent pregnancy, divorce.

Includes about 5.6 million children

Skipped-Generation Families

Grandparents may be tired and emotionally drained, but joyful at being of help to the children.

Children tend to fare better in school that those from single-parent or blended homes.