Transcript prosocial behavior

Chapter 14
Moral Development
Moral Judgment
•Piaget-The Moral Judgment of the Child (1932/1965)
Stage 1: Morality of Constraint (less than age 7-8)
•Consequence of the action (not motive) determines if the act
was good or bad
•Whatever the authority figure says is right
Transitional Period (ages 7-8 to 10)
•Social interactions with peers
•Begin to take another’s perspective
Stage 2: Autonomous Morality (Moral Relativism)
(age 11 or 12)
•Rules can be changed
•Punishments should fit the crime
•There is a focus on fairness and equality
•Consideration of motivation and intentions
Increasing the Salience of
Intentions Can Alter Moral
Reasoning
(Figure reprinted with permission from “Factors Influencing Young Children’s Use of Motives and Outcomes
as Moral Criteria” by S.A. Nelson, 1980, Child Development, 51, pp. 823-829. Copyright © 1980
by the Society for Research in Child Development)
Kohlberg’s Theory or Moral Judgment
• Preconventional Level
Stage 1: Punishment and Obedience Orientation
Stage 2: Instrumental and Exchange Orientation
•Conventional Level
Stage 3: Mutual Interpersonal Expectations,
Relationships and Interpersonal Conformity
 Stage 4: Social System and Conscience Orientation
•Postconventional or Principled Level
 Stage 5: Social Contract or Individual Rights
Orientation
 Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles
Kohlberg’s Work
•Positives:
•Negatives
Possible sex differences in moral judgment (Carol
Gilligan)
Prosocial Moral Judgment
• Prosocial Moral Dilemmas are used to determine
prosocial behavior (voluntary behavior to help
others) (Eisenberg)
• Level 1: Hedonistic, self-focused orientation
• Level 2: Needs-based orientation
•Level 3: Approval and/or stereotyped orientation
•Level 4a: Self-reflective empathic orientation
•Level 4b: Transitional level
•Level 5: Strongly internalized stage
Children’s Social Judgments
• Moral judgments
• Social conventional judgments
• Around age 3, around age 4
Development of Conscience
• Definition: internal regulatory mechanism that
increase an individual’s ability to conform with
standards of conduct accepted in their culture
• Influences:
Parental Standards and Rules
Temperament
Altruism
• Early differences in positive moral behavior appear
to reflect later developmental differences in
children’s readiness to engage in prosocial behavior
• Altruistic Motives
Early
Later
Parts:
 Empathy
 Sympathy
Key Factor:
Perspective taking
Individual Differences in Prosocial Behavior
•Biological Factors:
•Environmental Factors:
Parents
Television and Video Games
Daily Violence and Children’s
Art
(Figure reprinted with permission from “Coping with the Consequences of Living in Danger: The Case of Palestinian
Children and Youth” by K. Kostelny and J. Garbarino, 1994, International Journal of Behavioral Development, 17, 595-611)
Antisocial Behavior
• Aggression
• Development of Aggressive Behavior:
Between 18 months and 2 years
Physical aggression increases and then decreases as
verbal skills (and verbal aggression) increase
 Preschool
Instrumental aggression
Relational aggression
Elementary School
Reactive or hostile aggression
Proactive aggression
Prevalence of self-reported violence for males and
females at different ages
At all ages, males report enacting more violence than do females. (Adapted from Coie
& Dodge,1998)
The relation of peer-nominated aggression at age 8 to selfreported aggression at age 30
Boys and girls who were nominated as high in aggression at age 8 were higher in selfreported aggression at age 30 than were those of their peers who had been nominated as
lower in aggression. (Adapted from Eron, Huesmann, Dubow, Romanoff, & Yarmel, 1987)
Where Does Aggression Come From?
•Biological Factors:
Genetic Factors
•Environmental Factors:
Parental punitiveness
Ineffective Discipline and Family Coercion
Parental Conflict
Socioeconomic Status
Peer Influences
Television and Video Games