This study examined children's emotion attributions and moral judgements to hypothetical procedural justice outcomes when the candidates were equal in merit but different in need. Children (7 to 11 years old, N = 88) were presented with four vignettes depicting resource-rich and resource-poor candidates losing educational materials and…

This study was initiated to explore the decline in the demonstration of moral and ethical behavior among young people in many public school settings. Media reports of verbal and physical aggression, bullying, and defiance of adults in authority have been reported in some of the larger urban school districts. Several research studies have provided…

Claims that Campbell and Christopher's literature on moral development construes the cognitive-developmental and domain approaches too narrowly, overinterprets the influence of Kant, excludes other equally important non-Kantian philosophical influences, and ignores much of the research evidence. Describes the need for drawing distinctions in…

This study was designed to discover why young children fail to respond to fables in the same way as older children and adults. The paper describes a model of fable comprehension and appreciation which posits that the moral lesson of a fable is specified by the nature of the outcome that results from the actions of the main character. Although…

Reviews the literature from the three standpoints of learning theory, psycho-analysis, and cognitive developmental theory and suggests that investigations explore specific socialization practices that contribute to both personal integration and moral maturity. (Author/AM)

Explains the Kohlberg moral stages in moral development, discusses the aims of moral and civic education, then describes the continuing experimental work at the Harvard Center for Moral Education. (Author/DW)

This study investigated whether kindergartners would advocate sharing toys equally across situations or on the basis of recipients' characteristics, and whether each group member would be counted as one unit for allocation across situations. Findings indicated that kindergartners tended to allocate more blocks to a younger child than to a same-age…

This study explored the relationship between children's sense of justice for a criminal offender and their cognitive level. Subjects were 60 children, 10 boys and 10 girls at each of the following developmental or cognitive levels: preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Each child was individually pretested for cognitive…

Most moral psychologists have come to accept two types of moral reasoning: Kohlberg's "justice" and Gilligan's "care", but there still seem to be some unresolved issues. By analysing and comparing Kohlberg's statement on some theoretical issues with some of Gilligan's statements in an interview in April 2003, I will look at some key issues in the…

This study examined the relationship between moral reasoning and altruistic behavior in 120 boys, 4- to 11-years old. Subjects were administered Damon's Positive- Justice Interview, and were presented helping and sharing tasks under five behavioral conditions corresponding to Damon's justice levels. Findings supported cognitive- developmental…

In this study of perspective taking and moral judgment 20 children (10 boys and 10 girls) at each age level between 4 and 10 years were given Feffer's Social Role-Taking Task, a spatial perspective-taking task and Damon's Test of Positive Justice. Investigated were: (1) the specific developmental sequences for role taking, spatial…

Although research on the moral development of college students is in its infancy, recent findings indicate promise for future study and institutional action. The theory of moral development is described from a cognitive developmental perspective, and research on improving thinking about justice and fairness at the college level is examined.…

Moral competence is more difficult to attain than scientific competence. Since language comprehension plays a central role in conceptual development, and moral language is difficult to learn, there is a common deficiency in moral conceptual development. This suggests a theory of non-spontaneous solutions to moral problems. (Author/MS)

Discusses the relationship between Lawrence Kohlberg's cognitive-stage theory as a further development of Piaget's moral theory. Argues Kohlberg describes moral thought and not the formation of the independent moral function. Finds Kohlberg's major interest is in the characteristics of stages of individual moral reasoning and the principle of…