This paper explores the issue of sex bias in a contemporary major theory of moral development, cognitive moral theory. It explains critical reactions by Carol Gilligan and others questioning whether cognitive moral theory adequately accounts for female moral reasoning and behavior in its theory and research procedures. Several general…

Father-absent and father-present seveth graders were compared on moral attributes and overt aggression. Some evidence suggests that some but not all of the effects of father absence are attributable to the lack of a paternal model. Effects may be mediated in part by changes in the mother's child-rearing pattern. (NH)

Although psychologists often disagree over the definition, underlying process, and methodology associated with the study of moral development, they agree that differences disappear among individuals possessing a similar type of reasoning. To study individual personality differences among people identified as moral by the theories of Kohlberg,…

Reports on experiments that examined the extent to which children's moral orientation is affected by the gender of characters experiencing a dilemma in children's literature. Children often responded to the character's dilemma by expressing a concern for others (care orientation) or focusing on issues of rights and justice (rights orientation).…

The author offers interview data from female and male children, adolescents, and adults in support of the notion of having two distinct modes of describing the self in relation to others--separate/objective and connected--as well as two kinds of considerations used by individuals in making moral decisions--justice and care. (Author/SSH)

A study examined the relationship among gender, moral orientation, and pay. Although the participants were about equal in terms of gender, 48 males and 53 females, males tended to hold higher degrees. The researcher hypothesized that salaries would be differentiated based on gender and moral orientation. Assumptions were that care-oriented males…

Literature can be used in an elementary school curriculum to provide sound moral models for children. Through the exploration of moral problems and the adoption of the perspectives of others, children may begin to develop and refine their own morality. A male and a female morality may be identified in literature. The male morality--based on the…

Arguing that adolescence is a syndrome to be managed rather than a stage to be outgrown, this book offers suggestions from a high school principal as an insider's guide to today's teenage world. The book contends that the major task of adolescence is to gain mastery over emotion, and that a partnership between parents and educators is imperative…