educational and developmental psychology

What is morality? Discovering the development of ethics in childhood

April 3, 2024

What is morality?

The morality is the set of principles or ideals that help the individual to distinguish good from evil, to act in accordance with this distinction and to be proud of the virtuous and guilty behavior of the behavior that violates its norms.

The internalization it is the process of adopting the attributes or rules of other people; Take these standards as your own

How morality is seen by the students of development

Each of the three main theory of moral development focuses on a different component of morality: Moral affections (Psychoanalysis), moral reasoning (Theory of cognitive development) and moral behavior (Theory of Social Learning and the processing of information).

Psychoanalytic explanations of moral development

Sigmund Freud says that babies and children who start walking lack superego and act according to their egoistic impulses unless the parents control their behavior. However, once the superego emerges, it acts as an internal sensor that makes the child feel proud or ashamed of his behavior.

Freud's theory of oedipal morality

The superego develops in the phallic stage after the Oedipus Complex or Electra. It is then when the child internalizes the moral values of his or her same-sex parent. For Freud, the internalization of the superego in a girl is weaker than in the case of boys.

Evaluation of Psychoanalysis

IN FAVOR	AGAINST
Moral emotions such as pride, shame or guilt are potential determinants of ethical conduct Internalization is an important step towards moral maturity Parents with severe disciplines often have children who misbehave. Children do not develop the superego stronger than girls Internalization may have begun before the Oedipus complex	Parents with severe disciplines often have children who misbehave. Children do not develop the superego stronger than girls Internalization may have begun before the Oedipus complex.

Theory of cognitive development

For cognitive development theorists, both cognitive growth and social experience are determining factors for moral development.

Piaget's theory of moral development

The first works of Piaget on morality they focused on respect for rules and conceptions of justice.

The premoral period: The first 5 years of life, when children show little respect or interest in the rules defined in a social way

Heteronomous morality (5 to 10 years): Piaget's first stage of moral development, in which children consider that the rules of authority figures are sacred and unalterable. They tend to focus on the consequences. Immanent conduct: unacceptable behavior will invariably be punished and justice is always present in the world

Autonomous morality (10-11 years): Children realize that rules are arbitrary agreements that can be challenged and modified with the consent of the people who govern them. They tend to focus on the intention. Reciprocal punishment: so that you understand what you have done.

The movement from heteronomous morality to autonomous morality occurs when children learn to situate themselves in the point of view of others.

IN FAVOR

AGAINST

Children all over the world are more likely than older children to present heteronomous morality

Children who take part in group activities as leaders tend to make more mature moral judgments.

Children assign more weight to the consequences, but that does not mean that they overlook intentions.

Piaget believes that children think of rules as sacred prescriptions. Actually, children see the rules in 2 ways: moral rules (focus on welfare and basic rights such as hitting, etc.) or conventional social rules (regulate behavior in certain situations such as eating in class, etc.). They consider the former as much more serious, and already at age 6 they are capable of questioning adult authority.

Parents can impede the moral development of children when they adopt an autarchic approach, although they rarely use this type of discourse on moral values. At 6 or 7 years, children already make moral judgments, as long as parents instill them without challenges.

Kohlberg's theory of moral development

For Kohlberg , moral development is not yet complete at 10-11 years. For him, the development takes place in an invariable sequence (requires cognitive development) of 3 levels that is divided into 2 stages each. Each stage represents a kind of moral thought and not a moral decision.

level	Stage
Level 1: Preconventional morality. The rules are not yet internalized. The child obeys the rules imposed by authority figures to avoid punishment or obtain personal rewards. The right thing is what is achieved without punishment.	Stage 1: Orient towards punishment and obedience . Evil or kindness or goodness depends on its consequences. "If you do not get caught, it's not bad" Stage 2: Naive hedonism. The rules for personal rewards are followed. The other is taken into account, but only for personal reasons
Level 2: Conventional morality. Moral judgments are based on the desire to obtain approval or to preserve the laws that maintain social order.	Stage 3: Orientation of the good child or good girl . Moral behavior is one that pleases, helps or is approved by others. The actions are evaluated with the intention of the author. The main objective is to be considered a good person. Stage 4: Morality of maintenance of social order . Generalization of the individual. The will of society reflects the law. The reason to conform is the social order.
Level 3: Postconventional morality . Moral rules are based on social contracts, democratic laws or universal ethical principles.	Stage 5: The orientation of the social contract. Laws are instruments to express the will of the majority of people and stimulate human values. Laws that compromise human values or dignity are considered unfair. Stage 6: Morality of the individual principles of consciousness . Good and evil are defined by individual ethical principles and transcend any law or social attribute.