Happiness is one of the most important parenting goals in today's modern society. To promote a happy childhood, we need to understand what happiness means to children. Contrary to the view that young children may equate happiness with satisfying material desires and experiencing simple pleasures, in this article, I review recent developmental…

Understanding distinctions between morality and conventions is an important milestone in children's moral development. The current meta-analysis integrated decades of social domain theory research (Smetana, 2006; Turiel, 1983) on moral and conventional judgments from early to middle childhood. We examined 95 effect sizes from 18 studies (2,707…

This article aims to review and debate the concept of lying and the variables associated with it, such as the age of its emergence in infancy, developmental patterns in a life cycle, motives for lying, consequences on social relationships and contextual and educational factors. The paradoxical nature of this behaviour is also emphasized because it…

Responses to Piagetian-type stories were gathered from seven Appalachian children ranging in age from 7-14 years. Their responses were examined in two ways: (1) individually, in order to see whether each child's sense of justice had evolved in accord with the age findings of Piaget; and (2) collectively, in order to determine similarities and…

Presented at a 2-day seminar at the School of Education, University of New South Wales, Australia, this paper reviews theories and research findings concerning the development of children's sense of justice. Part I of the paper briefly discusses Jean Piaget's and Lawrence Kohlberg's theories concerning the development of children's moral…

Reviews literature related to practical efforts to cultivate desired moral development reasoning and behavior. Uses Kohlberg's concepts as a reference point to help identify issues, problems, and possibilities, and proposes several practical guidelines for moral development training in the schools. (JAC)

Reviews what is known and not known about three questions in comparative ethics: What are the ideas and concepts associated with moral thinking in normal Western adults? What are the processes resulting in a judgment that something is a vice or a virtue? Are those ideas, concepts, and processes available in different cultures and at different…

A personal area of behavior comprising matters of choice and privacy, and differentiated from convention and moral obligation, is a psychological requirement for the construction of a distinct and bounded self. Accurate investigations of this dynamic require differentiation between cultural ideology and conceptual frames of individuals. (Author)

Outlines a sociocultural perspective on the study of moral development grounded in Vygotskian theory, highlighting semiotic mediation of moral functioning via inner speech as inner moral dialog, the social origins of moral functioning, and sociocultural "situatedness" of moral development. Suggests that this perspective addresses…

Discusses the development of moral sensitivity in gifted children and its impact on identity formation and development of the self. Also addresses how the phenomenon of asynchrony manifests in moral development of gifted children and the models they develop to give form to their moral concerns. (Author/CR)

In this review, little support is found for Piaget's claim that with increasing peer group interaction adult authority becomes less legitimate to the child. It is suggested that the adult exerts increasing influence with age on children's moral judgment and, therefore, emphasis on peer-centered moral education may be misdirected. (Author/SJL)

Research on moral behavior in children is sorely lacking in the behavioral literature. Yet, behavioral research documenting effective treatment of children with behavioral and emotional problems has often failed to generalize or to focus on moral behavior. Developmental psychologists have researched moral behavior and have provided models of moral…

The literature on the use of moral discussion groups to promote moral development in young people with behavior disorders is reviewed, and the use of the intervention is analyzed. Limitations and recommendations for applying the approach are discussed. (MSE)

Four articles debate the issue of character education: "Historical Perspective on Character Education" (Field); "Can Virtue Be Taught?" (Sockett); "Character Education: Some Observations" (Foshay); and "Mind, Character, and the Deferral of Gratification" (Goldman). (SK)

Discusses the developmental challenges faced by children in wartime and similar circumstances. Reviews studies made in several scenes of conflict from World War II to the present. Adults' political ideologies can be sustaining and supportive but may prolong communal violence and curtail moral development. (DM)