HMPYC80 ASSIGNMENT 2

1. INTRODUCTION Adolescence is the period when autonomy and identity begin to establish, most adolescents now begin to experiment with substances, engage in risky behavior resulting in various problems. Although moral growth takes place throughout the lifespan and ideally culminates in a deep level of moral development and reasoning as a permanent personality characteristic, it is especially during adolescence that moral development, or the lack thereof, is reflected in specific values and ideals. The development of moral judgment during adolescence is extremely interesting and has been investigated by various theorists and researchers who will be discussed further in this proposal. Many factors seem to influence moral development during adolescence. Parental practices (such as parental warmth, parental interaction, discipline, and parental role models) and Social influences through the (media) significantly influence moral development during adolescence. The purpose of this proposal is to investigate the relationship between moral development and identity formation as affected by parental influences and social influences. The main aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between moral development and identity development during adolescence, simultaneously exploring the role of social life and parental influences on moral development of adolescents. This study will incorporate both genders, and although awareness of the gender bias debate will be taken into consideration, it hopes not to find any significant differences between genders. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW Objectives:  To investigate the relationship between moral development and identity formation -HMPYC80 Page 3  To describe the factors that influence moral development in adolescence. To explore the influence that parental practices have on the moral development of adolescents.  To explore, from the perspective of adolescents, their experiences of parental practices and to provide awareness regarding the importance of moral development in adolescence. Research method foundations in developmental psychology suggest that this field is best understood by using a variety of methods, however "methodological pluralism is difficult to obtain in practice, particularly so in the study of adolescents," (Hart & Carlo, 2005: 228). Hart and Carlo (2005) report that much of the research available relies on adolescent self-reports for data. For example, Lawford, Pratt, Hunsberger, and Pancer studied adolescents' sense if generativity by asking that participants judge the self-descriptiveness of items and rate the parenting they received so as to create a measure of parenting quality. Eisenberg, Cumberland, Guthrie, Murphy, and Shepard (2009) also made use of self report measures, as they studied responses to empathy and pro-social moral reasoning. Other studies have elicited adolescents' narratives concerning their lives, but the bulk of research undeniably makes use of self-reports as their primary sources of data, as these are generally valid and reliable indicators of attitudes, behavior, beliefs, and other psychological attributes (Hart & Carlo, 2005). Moreover, when participants are adolescents the collection of data by observation becomes difficult, as adolescents are unlikely to exhibit their typical behavior when they are aware that they are being watched. Hart and Carlo (2005) report, all of the studies presented in the Journal of Research in Adolescence are correlational in d