Moral Development in Late Childhood

Reported by: CJ Fajilan

Moral Development in Late Childhood

• Piaget’s Three Stages of Moral Development

• Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development• Eisenberg’s Model of

Pro-social Reasoning• Developing Empathy

Morality- from the Latin word moralitas

(manner, character, proper behavior)- to know right from wrong behavior

and to engage in the former - the quality of being in accord with

standards of right or good conduct

Jean Piaget• Three Stages of Moral

Developmentmethods:-Rules

-Moral Stories

Rules

Piaget believed that rules were the key to moral understanding and marbles was ideal since children played the game without adult interference.

Moral StoriesA little boy who is called John is in his room. He is called to dinner. He goes into the dining room. But behind the door was a chair, and on the chair there was a tray with 15 cups on it. John couldn’t have known that there was all this behind the door. He goes in, the door knocks against the tray, bang go the fifteen cups, and they all get broken!

One day a little boy called Henry tried to get some jam out of the cupboard when his mother was out. He climbed onto a chair and stretched out his arm. The jam was too high up and he couldn’t reach it. But while he was trying to get it he knocked over a cup. The cup fell down and broke.

Who is the naughtier one? Explain the reason.

Moral Stories

Piaget’s Three Stages of Moral Development

1) Pre-moral (up to 4 years)children simply do not understand the concept of rules and have no idea of morality.

Piaget’s Three Stages of Moral Development

2) Heteronomous morality or Moral Realism ( 4 to 9 or 10)

2) Autonomous morality or Moral Relativism ( from 9 or 10)

Piaget’s Three Stages of Moral Development

Lawrence KohlbergSix Stages of Moral

Development

Lawrence Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development

Level II: Conventional MoralitySeen in a few older elementary school

students, some junior high school students, and many high school students

Stage 3: Good boy/girl- people make decisions based on what actions will please others

- concerned about maintaining relationships through sharing, trust, and loyalty, and they take other people's perspectives and intentions into account when making decisions

Nancy EisenbergModel of

Pro-social Reasoning

Nancy Eisenberg’s Model of Pro-social Reasoning

Scenario:

On her way she comes across a child who has fallen and suffered an injury. The dilemma being, does Mary stop and help and as a result miss the party, or does she ignore the injured person and continue on her way?

Nancy Eisenberg’s Model of Pro-social Reasoning

Situation:

Five Main levels of Pro-social Reasoning

Age 0 to about 7 (pre-school and primary school children)

1) Hedonistic (self-focused) orientation (pre-school children)- child only cares only for itself

2) Needs of others orientation (some pre-school and primary school children)

- the needs of others are being recognized but only to a limited extent

Age about 7 to adolescence (primary to secondary school children)

3) Stereotyped approval-focused orientation (primary and many high school children)- the child acts in a way that will make them liked

Five Main levels of Pro-social Reasoning

Adolescence onwards

4) Empathic orientation (a few high school children and most secondary school children)

- the child now starts to show genuine empathy by putting themselves in the shoes of others

o Transitional level (a few secondary school children)

- the child’s actions are now explained in terms of wider social values and the need to protect the dignity and self-esteem of others

Five Main levels of Pro-social Reasoning

Adolescence onwards

5) Internalized orientation (rare in children)- the child now has a full set of values and understands their responsibilities towards others

Five Main levels of Pro-social Reasoning

DevelopingEMPATHY

EMPATHY

• Empathy is frequently defined as a largely involved response to the emotional cues from other people or their situations.

• It is not simply to understand the feelings of others but to act to that understanding through thoughts and deeds to benefit the other.

Sources:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality Retrieved: January

7, 2014http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morality

Retrieved: January 7, 2014http://psychology4a.com/cognitive_development.htm#Moral development

Retrieved: February 18, 2014http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kohlberg's_stages_of_moral_development

Retrieved: February 18, 2014