MORAL DEVELOPMENT milestones
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m ilestones INTERNALIZATION OF MORAL NORMS AND DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL UNDERSTANDING AGE INTERNALIZATION OF MORAL NORMS MORAL UNDERSTANDING 2–5 years Models many morally Shows sensitivity to intentions when making moral judgments relevant behaviors Shows empathy-based guilt At the end of this period, displays differentiated reactions to understanding of authority figures’ legitimacy transgressions Distinguishes moral rules, social conventions, and matters of personal choice At the end of this period, bases distributive justice on equality 6–11 years Internalizes many norms of Gives preconventional responses to Kohlberg’s moral dilemmas good conduct, including prosocial standards Understands ideal reciprocity Takes more variables into account in distinguishing moral rules, social conventions, and matters of personal choice Includes merit and, eventually, benevolence, in distributive justice reasoning; adapts concept of fairness to each situation 12 years– Increasingly gives conventional responses to Kohlberg’s moral dilemmas; they adulthood become the dominant, morally mature form of reasoning Postconventional responses to Kohlberg’s moral dilemmas appear among a few highly educated individuals The link between moral reasoning and behavior strengthens Note: These milestones represent overall age trends. Individual differences exist in the precise age at which each milestone is attained. See Chapter 10, pages 400–401, and 407, for additional milestones related to the morally relevant emotions of empathy and guilt.
Transcript of MORAL DEVELOPMENT milestones
B E G I N N I N G S O F S E L F - C O N T R O L
The beginnings of self-control are supported by achievements of the second year, discussed inearlier chapters. To behave in a self-controlled fashion, children must have some ability to thinkof themselves as separate, autonomous beings who can direct their own actions. And they musthave the representational and memory skills to recall a caregiver’s directive and apply it to theirown behavior. Cognitive inhibition, supported by development of the frontal lobes of the cor-tex (see Chapter 7), is also essential (Rothbart & Bates, 1998). And as we will see shortly, emo-tional self-regulation—strategies children acquire that prevent them from being overwhelmedby negative emotion—are intimately involved in self-control (see Chapter 10).
As these capacities emerge, the first glimmerings of self-control appear in the form of com-pliance. Between 12 and 18 months, children start to show clear awareness of caregivers’ wishesand expectations and can voluntarily obey simple requests and commands (Kaler & Kopp,1990). Parents are usually delighted at toddlers’ newfound ability to comply, since it indicates
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milestonesINTERNALIZATION OF MORAL NORMS AND DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL UNDERSTANDING
A G E I N T E R N A L I Z A T I O N O F M O R A L N O R M S M O R A L U N D E R S T A N D I N G
2–5 years � Models many morally � Shows sensitivity to intentions when making moral judgments relevant behaviors
� Shows empathy-based guilt � At the end of this period, displays differentiated reactions to understanding of authority figures’ legitimacytransgressions � Distinguishes moral rules, social conventions, and
matters of personal choice
� At the end of this period, bases distributive justice on equality
6–11 years � Internalizes many norms of � Gives preconventional responses to Kohlberg’s moral dilemmas good conduct, including prosocial standards � Understands ideal reciprocity
� Takes more variables into account in distinguishing moral rules, social conventions, and matters of personal choice
� Includes merit and, eventually, benevolence, in distributive justice reasoning; adapts concept of fairness to each situation
12 years– � Increasingly gives conventional responses to Kohlberg’s moral dilemmas; they adulthood become the dominant, morally mature form of reasoning
� Postconventional responses to Kohlberg’s moral dilemmas appear among a fewhighly educated individuals
� The link between moral reasoning and behavior strengthens
Note: These milestones represent overall age trends. Individual differences exist in the precise age at which each milestone is attained. See Chapter 10, pages 400–401, and 407, for additional milestones related to the morally relevant emotions of empathy and guilt.
12 M O R A L D E V E L O P M E N T
complianceVoluntary obedience to requestsand commands.
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