Theories and studies of adult development are largely confined to adult male career development and ignore a moral or faith dimension of adult development. To determine the faith and moral dimension of adult couples, three hypotheses were examined, i.e.,: (1) religion is a significant dimension in their consciousness; (2) the family is integrally…

Reviews Kohlberg's research on moral development and criticizes standard issue scoring, a measure of individual developmental stages of moral judgment. Discusses problems with the Moral Judgment Interview's content and scoring, suggesting longitudinal, comparative, and gender-related research needed to resolve problems of validity and reliability.…

This study investigated the joint impact of cognitive induction and type of model on adolescents' preferences for different stages of moral reasoning. A multiple-choice adaptation of the Kohlberg moral development interview was used at pretesting, at intervention/posttesting, and at delayed posttest. (Author/PN)

Reports a study involving students who were exposed to an educational intervention curriculum designed to facilitate moral development. Describes a means of promoting moral reasoning through conceptualizing and integrating essential philosophical concepts. Concludes that the curriculum is effective in stimulating moral development and principled…

Consistency of moral judgment across different dilemmas and social contexts and the relationship between the structure and content of moral judgment was studied for 40 men given hypothetical dilemmas. Findings demonstrate that type of dilemma may affect the structure of moral reasoning and illustrate various stages of moral reasoning. (SLD)

Failure to separate judicial reasoning (the application of rules) from legislative reasoning (the justification of rules) in earlier studies is claimed to invalidate most previous developmental research using moral dilemma interviews. Two studies used a novel method of scoring moral dilemma interviews that separates judicial from legislative…

Piaget's test for moral judgment is more influenced by the personal relationship to others than is Kohlberg's. Kohlberg's test seems to a larger extent to measure the subjects' norms and emotional reactions connected to internalization of norms. Moral behavior is more closely related to Kohlberg's measure. (Author/CM)

A linear regression model was used to test the relationship between the knowledge of Kohlberg's theory and moral stage development. A multiple regression analysis was used to test the multivariate relationship between one dependent and five independent variables. Neither analysis demonstrated a statistically significant relationship. (Author/PN)

Reviews studies examining differences in moral schema development, using techniques that range from measuring implicit knowledge (such as the defining issues test) and explicit knowledge (such as with the moral judgment interview). Finds significant differences in the comprehension of moral narratives based on age/education and level of expertise.…

Reports on a study of views of friendship among 20 5- and 6-year-old British students. Finds that boys and girls were able to interpret friendships as transactions. Also finds differences between boys and girls on their understanding of "bad friends." (CFR)

A replication of earlier research, this study investigates the relationship between moral reasoning and classroom conduct. According to Kohlberg (1978), children who reason at preconventional levels (Stages 1 and 2) would be likely to disrupt a classroom, while children who reason at the conventional levels (Stages 3 and 4) should cause less…

It was hypothesized that (1) classroom conduct problems decline with increasing moral maturity, and (2) Stage 1 and Stage 3 levels of moral reasoning are associated with fewer conduct problems. In a study involving fourth and eighth graders, children with moral reasoning at Stage 1 and Stage 3 had fewer conduct problems than other children. (LB)