ABSTRACT
The infant begins life with a completely egocentric view of the world. Moral development involves a decentering—an overcoming of self-centeredness—and an increasing appreciation of the views and rights of others. To comprehend this process the authors trace the development of morality though the major stages and crises of childhood. The ideas of Piaget will prove useful in comprehending the role of intellectual stage in relation to moral development. More recent work by Lawrence Kohlberg, a contemporary psychologist who has extended Piaget's earlier speculations on moral development, and the work of Jane Loevinger on ego development, will lead us to an expanded outline of the major stages of moral reasoning. Competence and admiration are very important motives and they play their role in the growth of conscience and morality. Conscience and morality derive their motivational power from the emotions originally a part of external relationships.
