In order to unify two major theories of moral judgment, a novel task is employed which combines elements of Kohlberg's stage theory and of the theory of information integration. In contrast to the format of Kohlberg's moral judgment interview, a nonverbal and quantitative response which makes low demands on verbal facility was used. Moral…

The article explores the dilemma of young gifted children (ages 4-8 years) in the evolution and resolution of their own system of morality. The author explains that research and observation has revealed a systematic appearance and disappearance of magical thinking (the hallmark of the onset of reasoning) in four stages. (PHR)

Subjects who previously participated in a study of stage transition in moral judgment were reinterviewed after a period of 1 1/2 to 2 years. The hypothesis that the conflicts and contradictions evident on the first testing would be resolved through structural reorganization was confirmed. (Author/JMB)

Articulates Kohlberg's position that moral understanding and moral reasoning provide motivation for moral action, contrasting it with traditional conceptions of motivation. (Author/BB)

Third- and sixth-grade children rated nine single stories which combined three levels of intentions and consequences and which varied by order in which intention and consequence information was presented. Subjects also made choices for three story pairs which varied in terms of the order of presentation of intention and consequence information.…

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…

This paper discusses developmental theories of morality exemplified by the writings of Piaget and Kohlberg which emphasize cognitive processes in moral judgment. Aspects of Piaget's and Kohlberg's theories are summarized, with particular attention to the stage concept and the role of intention in moral judgment. Relevant criticisms of the…

Sophomore and senior female students from traditional and progressive high schools were interviewed to determine stage of moral development (Kohlberg scale) and epistemological development (Perry scale). On both scales, progressive school seniors scored higher than traditional school seniors. Seniors' mean scores were significantly higher than…

By omitting the private and positive dimensions of morality and focusing on a single dimension of moral experience, interpersonal value conflict, Lawrence Kohlberg's Moral Development Program presents a one-sided interpretation of ethics--one which in educational practice is likely to produce morally imbalanced students. (Author/LC)

Alcohol consumption was not found to affect the stage of moral reasoning of the subjects, but an inverse relationship was found between the amount of alcohol consumed and the subjects' discrimination of relevant from irrelevant information in their moral reasoning. (BH)

This is the second in a series of six units for administrators and teachers to serve the Environmental Goal, one of Pennsylvania's Twelve Goals of Quality Education. The environmental goal states that quality education should help every student acquire the knowledge and attitudes necessary to maintain the quality of life in a balanced environment.…

A study was undertaken (1) to determine if a relationship existed between preadolescents' levels of reading comprehension as defined by T. C. Barrett's Taxonomy of Reading Comprehension and their levels of moral development according to Lawrence Kohlberg's stage sequence and (2) to discover if females demonstrated higher levels of reading…

This study examined the issue of how groups of students attempting to solve problems can be taught to consider moral aspects of the problem at a mature level. Classes in Swiss cantons (N=42) were given one of three different moral problems. Each class was divided into eight groups. The three treatments were: (1) provision of additional background…

Moral desperation has traditionally been defined as an individual's lack of social adjustment patterns in regard to his/her particular stage of cognitive development. Based on the assumption that the overall behavior patterns of adolescents differ in different social class settings, moral desperation was hypothesized to be a complex,…

The literature on the moral judgment and moral development of mentally retarded individuals is reviewed. The relative contribution of mental age, chronological age, cognitive functioning, social experience, and environmental factors to the moral characteristics of this population is discussed. (Author/RM)