ABSTRACT
Moral codes, norms, values, and beliefs provide the framework for how individuals make decisions about how to treat one another and how to coexist in nonaggressive and communal ways. For a long time, morality has been the province of philosophers. For instance, according to Kant’s rationalist view, the acceptance of moral norms is the rational output of processes of practical reasoning. Conversely, Hume’s theory of moral sentiments suggests morality results from one’s emotional and affective experiences. The first empirical research into the psychological bases of moral judgment and decision-making emerged in the mid-twentieth century. Drawing on the Kantian rationalist tradition, most early moral psychologists posited that morality is based on reasoning and develops through the maturation of children’s cognitive functions as the child interacts socially (Kohlberg, 1969; Piaget, 1932/1965; Turiel, 1998), although others like Bandura (1986) in the social-leaning theory of moral development emphasize the importance of adult reinforcement and imitation. In line with the rationalist perspective (Figure 6.1a), Piaget (1932/1965), the pioneer in the study of moral development, investigated the development of children’s moral competencies by probing their ability to justify their judgments about moral dilemmas. Using this method, Piaget described two stages of moral development. Before 7-8 years of age, children are at the first stage of morality: they strictly respect rules dictated by authorities such as adults. They consider these rules as given and accept that authorities have the right to reward those respecting the rules and to punish those transgressing them. At this
Marine Buon et al. Moral Development
stage, children base their moral judgment on the consequences of an action without considering the intentions behind it. Children then reach the second stage of morality (autonomous morality) around the age of 11-12. At this stage, children consider moral rules to be modifiable and based on social agreement. They also believe adults are sometimes unfair in their punishments. So at this stage, children do not solely base their moral judgments on the consequences of their actions, but also consider the agent.
