Moral development

Question 1

What are the 3 main researchers that I need to know about and their theories for moral development?

Answer 1

-Piaget
-Kohlberg
-Hamlin

Question 2

What are some questions to ask when considering our moral intuition?

Answer 2

• Do we really operate according to principles which can be stated easily
• Do we even operate consistently in different situations?
• Are we morally ‘rational’ or ‘irrational’?

Question 3

What are 3 different moral problems?

Answer 3

• The trolley problem
  -The Surgeon problem
  -The A-bomb problem

Question 4

What is the Trolley problem?

Answer 4

The common intuition is that it is OKAY to flip the switch

Question 5

What is the surgeon problem?

Answer 5

Question 6

What is the A-bomb problem?

Answer 6

Question 7

What can we take from the different answers to these problems?

Answer 7

• The consequences of an action are all that matter? I guess not‘
• The doctrine of the double effect’ – there is a moral difference between intending harm and foreseeing that it will will happen as a result of your intentions (in spur, your friend dies)
• But people think it is less OK to nuke your own cities
• Perhaps we do NOT have a set of easily-explainable moral principles!

Question 8

What was the suggestion by Mikhail about morality?

Answer 8

• Instead we have hardwired moral intuitions resulting from evolutionary processes (Mikhail, 2011; Haidt 2001; Singer 2009)
• The responses to some of these kind of dilemmas are very consistent across culture (Mikhail, 2007)

Question 9

Define morality and define moral reasoning

Answer 9

• Morality: a set of principles for action which derives from social ideas of
  right and wrong
• Moral reasoning: cognitive processes underlying the consideration of
  moral rules, their basis, and their conflicts (complex problems)

Question 10

What did Piaget do to examine moral reasoning?

Answer 10

Piaget (1932) examined children’s moral reasoning using clinical interviews:

• Interviewing about games and rules
• Posing moral dilemmas

Piaget approached children in the playground and:

• Asked them to teach him the rules of the game
• Played the game with them
• Watched them playing together
• Asked where the rules come from and if they could be changed

Question 11

What are the 3 stages of moral development as proposed by Piaget?

Answer 11

• 0 – 5 years: ‘amoral’ / ‘premoral’* Played game, but didn’t understand there were rules
• 5 – 10 years: Heteronomous morality / moral realism* Understood rules, but did not understand that they were just rules. “Rules arerules”. “Rules have to be obeyed”. New rules “would be cheating”.
• 10 years +: ‘Autonomous morality’ / ‘moral relativism’* Understood that rules are conventional and alterable by social consent

Question 12

Jon accidentally broke 15 cups. Henry purposely broke one cup. Who is
naughtier?
What would heteronomous and autonomous children say about this?

Answer 12

• Heteronomous children (5-10 years) say John is naughtier because he broke more cups, i.e. focus on the consequences of actions.
• Autonomous children (10 years +) say Henry is naughtier because he intended to break the cup, i.e. focus on the intentions of actions.

Question 13

What is the piagetian shift?

Answer 13

The big movement for Piaget is when children start to understand that intentions can be separate from consequences ( heteronomous - autonomous)

• This comes with understanding that rules are social agreements, not inviolable truths
• They also start to understand that the principle behind the rule might matter more than the rule

Question 14

How did Kohlberg differ from Piaget- what did this allow him to develop?

Answer 14

• Kohlberg (1984) posed more complex dilemmas which allowed extension of the stage-theory into adulthood eg there are some stages that some people may not even reach
• Controversially claimed that cognitive development drives moral reasoning.

Question 15

What is the Heinz dilema?

Question 16

What are the 3 different levels that Kohlberg proposed that there are to moral reasoning?

Answer 16

• Pre-conventional
  -Conventional
  -Post-conventional

Question 17

What are the two stages in the pre-conventional level?

Answer 17

1. Heteronomous morality (obedience and punishment orientation). About avoiding punishment
2. Individualist, instrumental morality -Self-interest orientation ( Whats in it for me) - Shift towards rewards

Question 18

What ages are in the pre-conventional stage?

Answer 18

• Most children are in these two stages

Question 19

What stages are in the conventional level?

Answer 19

3. Interpersonally normative morality: Interpersonal accord and conformity (Appearing like a ‘good boy’)
4. Social system morality: Authority and maintaining social-order (Law and order)

Question 20

What ages are in the conventional level?

Answer 20

• We get here some time around adolescence
• Start to be concerned with the approval of others

Question 21

What stages are in the post-conventional stage?

Answer 21

5. Human right and social welfare morality: evaluating that laws are in

accord with human rights & values- legally right does not equal morally right (Uphold the spirit of social contract)

6. Morality of the Universalizable, Reversible, Prescriptive General Ethical Principles: Universal ethical principles (Principled conscience)

Question 22

What ages are in the post-conventional level?

Answer 22

• Not all adults reach stage 5, very few reach stage 6
• More sophisticated cognition ( so its not just morality, it requires more cognition to think though some of these levels)

Question 23

Do Kohlberg’s levels and stages even have any support?

Answer 23

• Research supports the move from punishment to social rules to ethical principles (Walker 1988)
• However it has also found we move from one to the other depending on the situation
• So it might be more like acquiring a skill than reaching a stage?

Question 24

What are the problems in term of Kohlberg’s stages of development in terms of gender?

Answer 24

• It’s worth noting that Kohlberg only studied boys
• Gilligan (1982) suggested there were gendered differences:
• Men see morality in terms of justice and abstract rules
• Women see morality in terms of compassion
• But we also need to be wary of gendered expectations based on one
  culture…

Question 25

What are the problems in term of Kohlberg's stages of development in terms of culture?

Answer 25

* Making this a universal claim is a problem across cultures (Simpson 1974) * Different cultures may have differing emphasis on liberty and freedom vs obedience and community, making them appear as though they are in different stages

Question 26

Who came up with the idea of a moral core?

Answer 26

Hamlin

Question 27

What is the concept of a moral core?

Answer 27

- suggests that young children and even babies have a ‘moral core’, evolved in order to facilitate cooperation. - She argues that some aspects of morality must emerge without much experience - If there is a cognitive core, can’t there be a moral core?

Question 28

How is toddler morality evidenced?

Answer 28

- Even young children (2-3 years) are implicitly aware of the rules of the game, even when they have not been explicitly told anything (Rakoczy, 2008). - When given a choice to take a treat from a good puppet or a naughty puppet, most 1 year-olds take from the naughty puppet - 3 year olds show awareness of rules and an understanding that rules may change

Question 29

Evidenced in infant morality, what are the 3 abilities of moral sense an infant should encompass

Answer 29

- **Moral goodness:** feeling concern for others despite moral costs(empathy). - **Moral evaluation:** identifying and disliking uncooperative others – this involves analysing others’ behaviours - **Moral retribution:** punishing those who misbehave.

Question 30

How have infants evidenced moral goodness?

Answer 30

By 13-14 months, we can see prosocial behaviour - designed to help someone else – such as sharing, showing, comforting a child in distress(Hastings, 2007)

Question 31

How have infants evidenced moral evaluation?

Answer 31

- Morality plays for 6-8 month olds(Hamlin, Wynn & Bloom 2007) - Display phase: baby watches aprotagonist trying but failing to reach agoal, plus helper & hinderer agents. - Test phase: Babies are allowed to reach for the helper or thehinderer. - 14/16 10-month-olds and 12/12 6-month-olds chose the helper - Conclusion: babies show moral evaluation.3 month olds avoid the hinderer; 6 month olds positivelyevaluate the helper, too. - Conclusion: some development of moral evaluation from 3- 6mo. (Hamlin et al 2011)

Question 32

How have infants evidenced moral retribution?

Answer 32

Hamlin et al 2011 showed infants prefer appropriately antisocial characters (who harm bad agents) to inappropriately prosocial ones (who help bad agents) - This has been demonstrated even as young as 5 months (Hamlin 2012) - Conclusion: moral retribution can be seen around 5 months