Lawrence Kohlberg, a developmental psychologist associated with Harvard University, has drawn from Piagets theory of cognitive development and applied it to moral development. Moral development is the development of the individuals sense of right and wrong. A high level of moral development is built on a foundation of cognitive development. But. of course, more is involved.
Prior to Kohlbergs actual research with subjects, theories of moral development were based largely on speculation. The philosophers Plato and Immanuel Kant believed that the moral sense is inborn, that it is a given of the human mind.
On the other hand, the philosophers Aristotle and John Locke assumed that moral development requires learning and experience. Kohlbergs approach tends to favor the learning hypothesis. Human beings acquire a moral sense by learning to think dearly, by the example of role models, and by sodal reinforcement.
According to Kohlberg, there are three prindpal levels of moral development:
(1) the premoral level, (2) the conventional level, and (3) the prindpled level. (There are six stages assodated with the three levels, two stages to each level. The differences between the stages are subtle, and they will not be spedfied.)
The premoral level is assodated with early childhood (from about two to seven years old). The theme of this level is power orientation, meaning that to a child thinking at this level, might makes right. The parents are seen as right because they are bigger and stronger than the child. Five-year-old Kenneth is considering whether or not he should steal a one-dollar bill from his mothers purse.
His hesitation, if there is any, is based on the fear of being caught, not on guilt. He is amoral, meaning that he has no actual moral sense, no internal feeling that he is wrong to do something that is forbidden.
The conventional level is assodated with late childhood and adolescence (seven to eighteen years old). Also, many, probably most, adults continue to operate at the conventional level, never progressing to the prindpled level. The theme of the conventional level is law and order. Right is right because human beings have codes of conduct and written laws. Fifteen-year-old Sally identifies with her family. The family has a certain religion, certain attitudes, and well-defined notions of what is and is not sodally acceptable behavior. Sally doesnt question the familys values. She doesnt examine or challenge them. She is operating at the conventional level. Thirty-four-year-old Kelvin pays his taxes, has earned an honorable discharge from the army, and thinks of himself as a good dtizen. Kelvin, like Sally, is operating at the conventional level.
The principled level is associated with a relatively small percentage of adults.
These are people who think for themselves about what is right and wrong. They
are not chaotic in their thought processes. They are logical and clear sighted. In
certain cases, they may decide that a law or a group of laws are unjust, and they
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may rebel. The founding fathers of the United States, men such as George Washington
and Thomas Jefferson, fall in this last category. Saints, great leaders, and
prophets also fall in the principled category.
It is dear that not all adults outgrow even the first level, the premoral level.
Dictators who rule by brute force, who punish in accordance with their personal whims, operate at the premoral level.
Parental Style: Becoming an Effective Parent
Whether it be psychosexual. psychosodal, cognitive, or moral, development is greatly influenced what parents say and do. The general approach taken toward child rearing by a parent is called parental style. Research conducted by developmental psychologists such as Stanley Coopersmith and Diane Baumrind, both affiliated with the University of California, suggests that there are two primary dimensions of parental style. These are: (1) authoritarian-permissive and (2) accepting-rej ecting.
The authoritarian-permissive dimension consists of bipolar opposites. At the one extreme, parents who manifest an authoritarian style are highly controlling, demanding, possessive, and overprotective. At the other extreme, parents who manifest a permissive style are easygoing, overly agreeable, detached, and easily manipulated by the child or adolescent. Such parents tend to avoid setting well-defined limits on behavior.
The accepting-rejecting dimension also consists of bipolar opposites. At the one extreme, parents who manifest an accepting style provide the child with unconditional love, meaning that love is not withdrawn when a childs behavior is unao^ptable. The child is loved for being himself or herself, and affection does not stop just because the parent is sometimes disappointed in something the child has done. There is much confusion about this particular point. Unconditional love does not mean unconditional acceptance of all behavior. It is possible to reject unao^ptable behavior without rejecting the whole person.
Parents who manifest a rejecting style provide the child with either conditional love or no love at all. Conditional love is characterized by providing the tokens of love (e.g., kisses, hugs, and praise) only when they have been earned by certain behaviors such as getting good grades, doing chores, and being polite. A parent who provides no love seldom, if ever, brings forth demonstrations of love in either words or actions. The child acquires the impression that the parent wishes he or she had never been bom.
The two dimensions generate five distinct categories of parental style:
(1) authoritarian-accepting, (2) permissive-accepting, (3) authoritarian-rejecting,
(4) permissive-rejecting, and (5) democratic-accepting. The first four styles are all flawed, and each of them is likely to generate difficulties in the child's adjustment to life. The fifth style is the optimal style. The word democratic is used to indicate an optimal midpoint on the authoritarian-permissive dimension. Parents who manifest a democratic style give a child real options. The child is allowed to make choices and important dedsions. However, the democratic parent also sets realistic limits. If the child's choices are unao^ptable and likely to create eventual problems for the child, then the democratic parent draws a line and is capable of being firm.
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Research suggests that a parent who manifests a democratic-accepting style tends to induce optimal sodal behaviors in the child. This style tends to nurture the intelligence, creativity, emotional adjustment, and self-esteem of the child.
TEST
The basic unit of heredity is the
a. chromosome
b. gene
c. trisomy 21 pattern
d. ribonucleic add (RNA) anomaly
From seven weeks to birth, the new being is called
a. a fetus
b. an embryo
c. a zygote
d. a neonate
According to Freuds usage, psychosexual energy is referred to as
a. libido
b. erotic ambivalence
c. metabolism
d. genital potency
a. The Oedipus complex is assodated with what psychosexual stage?
a. The oral stage
b. The anal stage
c. The genital stage
d. The latency stage
A toddler with a particular positive psychosodal trait will be interested in exploring the immediate world and display an interest in novel stimulation.
What is this trait?
a. Autonomy
b. Identity
c. Intimacy
d. Generativity
An older person with a particular positive psychosodal trait can face approaching death with a certain amount of acceptance. YChat is this trait?
a. Generativity
b. Isolation
c. Identity
d. Integrity
What method did Piaget use to study the child's mind?
a. The experimental method
b. The survey method
c. The phenomenological method
d. The correlational method
Magical thinking, anthropomorphic thinking, and egocentrism are assodated with what stage of cognitive development?
a. Trust versus mistrust
b. The sensorimotor stage
c. The formal operations stage
d. The preoperational stage
What level of moral development is assodated with a law and order orientation?
a. The premoral level
b. The preconventional level
c. The conventional level
d. The prindpled level
Research suggests that a parent who manifests what style tends to induce optimal sodal behaviors in the child?
a. Authoritarian-accepting
b. Demccratic-arceptmg
c. Permissive-accepting
d. Authoritarian-rejecting
True or False
T F If a fertilized egg contains an XX chromosome pattern, the resulting infant will be a female.
T F According to Freud, the five stages of psychosexual development are:
(1) oral. (2) anal. (3) phallic. (4) latency., and (5) genital.
T F In psychosocial development, the stage of identity versus role confusion is associated with old age.
T F Cognitive development focuses primarily on the emotional adjustment of the child.
3. T F An authoritarian parent tends to be easygoing, overly agreeable, detached, and easily manipulated by the child or adolescent.
Self-check
define developmental psychology:
describe fetal development;
explain Freuds theory of psychosexual development;
specify key features of Eriksons theory of psychosocial development;
identify the four stages in Piagets theory of cognitive development;
identify the three levels in Kohlbergs theory of moral development;
describe the two basic dimensions of parental style.
