The ability of young children to distinguish between morality and convention

Table of Contents

• Question
• Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development
  • The stage model
  • Structure, justice and morality
  • Investigation and scoring of moral judgments
  • Criticism of Kohlberg's theory
• The role of emotions in early morality
  • Nancy Eisenberg's investigations of altruistic and prosocial behavior
    • The definition of altruistic and prosocial behavior
    • General methodology and results
    • Conclusions
  • Other approaches regarding the relationship of emotions to morality
  • Conclusions
• Elliot Turiel's concept of social domains
  • Definition of the social domains
  • Assessment methods and results of the domain research
    • Criterion judgments
    • Justification categories
    • Ratings and rankings
  • The acquisition of social knowledge
  • Criterion judgments versus familiarity with events
  • The relation between seriousness of transgression, criterion judgments, and justification categories
  • Emotional consequences of transgressions in social domains
  • A first comparison of Turiel's and Kohlberg's assessments and results
• Domain specifities of social judgments and authority concepts
  • Domain specifities, mixed domains and moral dilemmas
    • Mixed domain events
    • Moral conflicts and dilemmas
    • Conclusions
  • Authority concepts: Differences between legitimacy and obedience
  • Conclusions
• Conclusions
  • Emotions
    • Dilemma type
    • Emotional consequences to moral transgressions
  • Domains of social knowledge
    • Conflicts
    • Justifications
    • What one would do and what one should do
    • Legitimacy and obedience

Objectives and Key Themes

This diploma thesis aims to investigate the development of moral reasoning in young children (under the age of 10) through an examination of various approaches to morality research. It seeks to evaluate the differences between the findings of these approaches, particularly in relation to Kohlberg's theory.

• The ability of young children to make moral judgments and act morally
• The role of emotions in early moral development
• The differentiation between moral, conventional, and personal domains of social knowledge
• The relationship between moral reasoning, authority concepts, and social domains
• The potential to bridge the gap between Kohlberg's approach and other approaches that suggest an early emergence of morality

Chapter Summaries

The thesis starts with a detailed examination of Kohlberg's theory of moral development (Chapter 2), highlighting his stage model, emphasis on structure, justice and morality, and his methods for investigating moral judgments. The chapter also discusses critiques of Kohlberg's theory.

Chapter 3 explores the role of emotions in early morality. It focuses on Eisenberg's research into altruistic and prosocial behavior in children, defining these concepts and outlining her methodology and findings. The chapter also considers other perspectives on the connection between emotions and morality.

Chapter 4 delves into Turiel's concept of social domains, defining the different domains of social knowledge (moral, conventional, and personal) and examining his methods for assessing domain understanding. The chapter also explores the acquisition of social knowledge and the relationship between seriousness of transgression and justifications.

Chapter 5 investigates the domain specificities of social judgments and authority concepts, focusing on the role of mixed domains and moral dilemmas, and the distinction between legitimacy and obedience.

Keywords

The primary focus of this thesis is the development of moral reasoning in young children. The key terms include moral development, early morality, emotional development, social domains, Kohlberg's theory, altruism, prosocial behavior, and authority concepts. The thesis explores various research approaches, including Eisenberg's research on altruism, Turiel's domain theory, and Kohlberg's stage model.