LECTURE 5: CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES ON
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Learning Objectives
- Understand the distinction between a cultural view and cognitive
perspective on moral development
- Evaluate and critique Kohlberg’s theory of moral development.
- Understand contemporary perspectives and research on moral
development among adolescents
Trolley Problem 1
- There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead
there are 5 people tied to the tracks. You are standing near a lever
that will switch the trolley to a different track where 1 person is tied.
-
- Should you pull the lever to divert the runaway trolley onto the side
track?
Trolley Problem 2
-
- A trolley is hurtling down a track towards five people. You are on a
bridge under which it will pass, and you can stop it by putting
something very heavy in front of it. There is a very fat man next to
you – your only way to stop the trolley is to push him over the bridge
and onto the track, killing him to save five. Should you proceed?
A moral dilemma is a conflict in which you have to choose between two or
more actions and have moral reasons for choosing each action.
- Trolley Problem 1:
o Utilitarianism (greatest good) vs. Deontological ethics (moral
action regardless of consequence)
- Trolley Problem 2:
o Utilitarianism vs. Deontological ethics
Morality – highly potential topic for multidisciplinary scientific
research
- Scientific interests in morality
o Evolutionary psychology: biological foundations of morality
(Frans de Waal).
o Neuropsychology: the moral brain.
- Societal interests in morality
o Financial crisis and the ecological crisis are moral crises.
o Antisocial (and prosocial) behavior in adolescence.
o Continuity of our society.
, No morality jeopardizes the continuity of society
Nature-nurture debate on moral development
- Biological/evolutionary viewpoint:
o Developmental process of maturation
o Nature of the human being is ‘good’.
o We need to be able to get along, otherwise we won’t survive
- Cultural viewpoint:
o Developmental process of interiorization / internalization
Of the norms and values of our society
o Nature of the human being is ‘bad’.
EX baptism take away the original sin of the child
- Interactionist viewpoint:
o Nature of the human being is morally neutral, neither good nor
bad.
We help them along the way to become good or bad
The Cultural versus the Cognitive Developmental Approach
- The cultural approach and the cognitive developmental approach
are based on different assumptions about moral development.
Different assumptions about socialization
- Cultural approach: focus is on beliefs
o Relativistic: all cultural beliefs are equally valid (human rights
are a western invention)
Following the culture is the ‘right’ thing to do
Other cultures have other beliefs
o Development is adaptation
(Context-specific)
There is no universal right or wrong
o Development is ‘caused’ by transmission
Of the older to the younger generation.
o No progression, no creativity, only copying. (narrow)
o Development is gradual
- Cognitive developmental approach: focus is on cognitions
o How people think about things, think more abstractly and
remove ourselves from the situation
o Universalistic
Human rights are and should be universal
EX we should protect children
Universal values that we all agree on
o Development is progressive: more mature is better.
We can become more mature in moral thinking, as our
cognitive abilities progress
o Development is ‘caused’ by the interaction between biological
pre-dispositions and environment.
o Human creativity in individual cognitive development and in
the history of human thinking.
Come up with solutions
, o Development is stepwise
Limitations of the cultural approach
- Cultural approach cannot explain
o Moral (r)evolution,
E.g., the abolition of slavery, change in opinion on black
pete, climate change
o The higher importance of parental ‘induction’ and ‘warmth’ for
moral development than ‘modelling’ or ‘reward’ and
‘punishment’
o Why we care when human rights are trampled in far-away
countries like North-Korea, China, Russia, Syria, etc. etc.?
- More generally
o Our society is changing very fast and transmission of values is
a too inflexible and slow process.
Moral development in adolescence seems crucial for self-
regulation
- Adolescence is a crucial period for moral development:
o Increase of behavioral options
Freedom
o Decrease of adult supervision
o Shift in relationship orientation from parents to peers (i.e.,
peer pressure as risk factor)
o Increase of self-determination
- Moral development is viewed as:
o From immature to mature moral judgment
o Development of a moral identity
Questions for today’s lecture
- What do we mean by moral development?
- How do we measure moral development?
- Are there gender differences in moral development?
- What social conditions stimulate moral development?
- Is morality culture-specific or is there universality in morality?
- What has primacy in moral judgment: cognition or affect?
- Does moral development affect behavior?
- Do adolescents care about being a moral person?
1. What do we mean by moral development?
- Moral development is:
o Development in moral judgment or moral reasoning
To reason about just or honest solutions in moral
dilemmas (interpersonal situations with conflicting
claims) Piaget, Kohlberg tradition
o Morality (refers to harm-based actions: justice, well-being)
- What is moral judgment competence?
o Competence = the capacity to make reflective decisions which
are moral
, o Competence is measured in situations that elicit the highest
stage of moral reasoning persons are capable of
What is the highest level of moral reasoning that we can
see by a person?
Introduction cognitive developmental approach to morality
- Cognitive developmental theories assume that when a child is born,
it is a morally neutral, but egocentric being (Piaget, 1932).
o EX children are not thinking about sharing (egocentric)
- Through a process of social perspective-taking (decentering) morally
relevant ‘capacities’ develop:
o Moral judgment (stages of moral reasoning)
o Empathy (cognitive/affective)
Ability to feel emotions from others
o Moral domain distinction (moral, social and psychological)
Have a moral twist, social meaning parents and child
conflict over the social meaning mostly
Social convention issue
EX clean house, the way adolescents dress
As children get older, they start to recognize these
distinctions
Emotionally independent
o Moral identity
The sense of the self as a moral being becomes more
important during adolescence (this continues during
adulthood)
- These capacities regulate behavior and have been related to anti-
social and prosocial behavior
Kohlberg’s Theory of Stages of Moral reasoning
Heinz’s moral dilemma (see textbook for full description)
Kohlberg: 3 levels, 5 (6) stages of moral judgment (justice
reasoning)
- Pre-conventional level
o Stage 1: punishment and obedience
“Obedience for its own sake”
EX I will share with my brother because I don’t want to
get in trouble
o Stage 2: individualism, instrumental goals, concrete reciprocity
(An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, you scratch my
back and I’ll scratch yours)
What is in it for me?
EX I will give you my toy, if I get a piece of candy in
return
- Conventional level (Piaget’s preoperational level, concrete cognitive)
o Being part of a social group
o Stage 3: reciprocal expectations and interpersonal conformity;
ideal reciprocity
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Learning Objectives
- Understand the distinction between a cultural view and cognitive
perspective on moral development
- Evaluate and critique Kohlberg’s theory of moral development.
- Understand contemporary perspectives and research on moral
development among adolescents
Trolley Problem 1
- There is a runaway trolley barreling down the railway tracks. Ahead
there are 5 people tied to the tracks. You are standing near a lever
that will switch the trolley to a different track where 1 person is tied.
-
- Should you pull the lever to divert the runaway trolley onto the side
track?
Trolley Problem 2
-
- A trolley is hurtling down a track towards five people. You are on a
bridge under which it will pass, and you can stop it by putting
something very heavy in front of it. There is a very fat man next to
you – your only way to stop the trolley is to push him over the bridge
and onto the track, killing him to save five. Should you proceed?
A moral dilemma is a conflict in which you have to choose between two or
more actions and have moral reasons for choosing each action.
- Trolley Problem 1:
o Utilitarianism (greatest good) vs. Deontological ethics (moral
action regardless of consequence)
- Trolley Problem 2:
o Utilitarianism vs. Deontological ethics
Morality – highly potential topic for multidisciplinary scientific
research
- Scientific interests in morality
o Evolutionary psychology: biological foundations of morality
(Frans de Waal).
o Neuropsychology: the moral brain.
- Societal interests in morality
o Financial crisis and the ecological crisis are moral crises.
o Antisocial (and prosocial) behavior in adolescence.
o Continuity of our society.
, No morality jeopardizes the continuity of society
Nature-nurture debate on moral development
- Biological/evolutionary viewpoint:
o Developmental process of maturation
o Nature of the human being is ‘good’.
o We need to be able to get along, otherwise we won’t survive
- Cultural viewpoint:
o Developmental process of interiorization / internalization
Of the norms and values of our society
o Nature of the human being is ‘bad’.
EX baptism take away the original sin of the child
- Interactionist viewpoint:
o Nature of the human being is morally neutral, neither good nor
bad.
We help them along the way to become good or bad
The Cultural versus the Cognitive Developmental Approach
- The cultural approach and the cognitive developmental approach
are based on different assumptions about moral development.
Different assumptions about socialization
- Cultural approach: focus is on beliefs
o Relativistic: all cultural beliefs are equally valid (human rights
are a western invention)
Following the culture is the ‘right’ thing to do
Other cultures have other beliefs
o Development is adaptation
(Context-specific)
There is no universal right or wrong
o Development is ‘caused’ by transmission
Of the older to the younger generation.
o No progression, no creativity, only copying. (narrow)
o Development is gradual
- Cognitive developmental approach: focus is on cognitions
o How people think about things, think more abstractly and
remove ourselves from the situation
o Universalistic
Human rights are and should be universal
EX we should protect children
Universal values that we all agree on
o Development is progressive: more mature is better.
We can become more mature in moral thinking, as our
cognitive abilities progress
o Development is ‘caused’ by the interaction between biological
pre-dispositions and environment.
o Human creativity in individual cognitive development and in
the history of human thinking.
Come up with solutions
, o Development is stepwise
Limitations of the cultural approach
- Cultural approach cannot explain
o Moral (r)evolution,
E.g., the abolition of slavery, change in opinion on black
pete, climate change
o The higher importance of parental ‘induction’ and ‘warmth’ for
moral development than ‘modelling’ or ‘reward’ and
‘punishment’
o Why we care when human rights are trampled in far-away
countries like North-Korea, China, Russia, Syria, etc. etc.?
- More generally
o Our society is changing very fast and transmission of values is
a too inflexible and slow process.
Moral development in adolescence seems crucial for self-
regulation
- Adolescence is a crucial period for moral development:
o Increase of behavioral options
Freedom
o Decrease of adult supervision
o Shift in relationship orientation from parents to peers (i.e.,
peer pressure as risk factor)
o Increase of self-determination
- Moral development is viewed as:
o From immature to mature moral judgment
o Development of a moral identity
Questions for today’s lecture
- What do we mean by moral development?
- How do we measure moral development?
- Are there gender differences in moral development?
- What social conditions stimulate moral development?
- Is morality culture-specific or is there universality in morality?
- What has primacy in moral judgment: cognition or affect?
- Does moral development affect behavior?
- Do adolescents care about being a moral person?
1. What do we mean by moral development?
- Moral development is:
o Development in moral judgment or moral reasoning
To reason about just or honest solutions in moral
dilemmas (interpersonal situations with conflicting
claims) Piaget, Kohlberg tradition
o Morality (refers to harm-based actions: justice, well-being)
- What is moral judgment competence?
o Competence = the capacity to make reflective decisions which
are moral
, o Competence is measured in situations that elicit the highest
stage of moral reasoning persons are capable of
What is the highest level of moral reasoning that we can
see by a person?
Introduction cognitive developmental approach to morality
- Cognitive developmental theories assume that when a child is born,
it is a morally neutral, but egocentric being (Piaget, 1932).
o EX children are not thinking about sharing (egocentric)
- Through a process of social perspective-taking (decentering) morally
relevant ‘capacities’ develop:
o Moral judgment (stages of moral reasoning)
o Empathy (cognitive/affective)
Ability to feel emotions from others
o Moral domain distinction (moral, social and psychological)
Have a moral twist, social meaning parents and child
conflict over the social meaning mostly
Social convention issue
EX clean house, the way adolescents dress
As children get older, they start to recognize these
distinctions
Emotionally independent
o Moral identity
The sense of the self as a moral being becomes more
important during adolescence (this continues during
adulthood)
- These capacities regulate behavior and have been related to anti-
social and prosocial behavior
Kohlberg’s Theory of Stages of Moral reasoning
Heinz’s moral dilemma (see textbook for full description)
Kohlberg: 3 levels, 5 (6) stages of moral judgment (justice
reasoning)
- Pre-conventional level
o Stage 1: punishment and obedience
“Obedience for its own sake”
EX I will share with my brother because I don’t want to
get in trouble
o Stage 2: individualism, instrumental goals, concrete reciprocity
(An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, you scratch my
back and I’ll scratch yours)
What is in it for me?
EX I will give you my toy, if I get a piece of candy in
return
- Conventional level (Piaget’s preoperational level, concrete cognitive)
o Being part of a social group
o Stage 3: reciprocal expectations and interpersonal conformity;
ideal reciprocity
