ABSTRACT
Cognitive-developmental theory has been credited with a notable contribution to the study of the development of the democratic personality. In a review of "political socialization and models of moral development," D. A. Friedman asserts that "the Kohlberg model of man, that is, the last stages toward which his system is directed, is a model which is democratic in process and goal." This chapter outlines this conception together with two other "models of man" to demonstrate that, in spite of its great utility, the cognitive-developmental theory and methodology may be improved upon by taking into account aspects found in other approaches to political psychology, especially the neo-Freudian and the attitude-structural approaches. All three approaches have been utilized to describe and explain the nature and development of the political competences, and their contributions to the theory of democratic personality may be integrated into a unifying model.
