The assumption that high level functioning is characterized by a great deal of autonomy is central to some major theories of moral development [Kohlberg (in T. Lickona (ed.) "Moral development and behavior: Theory, research and social issues," 1976); Piaget ("The moral judgment of the child", 1932)] and to the self-determination theory of…

Argues that teachers of literature should bring into the open for careful scrutiny the implied moral attitudes and social values in the literature they present. (HOD)

Black and White college students (N=232) were given either the Defining Issues Test (DIT) or a revised DIT in which the protagonists were Black. Racial manipulation did not appear to affect the emotional distance of White subjects from the dilemmas; emotional responses of Black participants were more intense and stressful when the dilemma…

Author reflects upon her own professional development, how psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg influenced the formation of a new kind of educator, and how her current interest in the valuing process of college students and professionals has been shaped. (Author)

Gains in moral judgement, as measured by the Defining Issues Test (DIT), correlate strongly with advancing education. Curricula that are strongly biblically based may not promote, and students with a strong fundamentalist orientation may not demonstrate, such moral growth. Students at an interdenominational, but very conservative seminary,…

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between moral judgment and personality or attitude toward authority; variation of attitude toward authority through adolescence; and bias of Kohlbergian moral development toward a liberal political philosophy. Results were discussed in terms of the political and psychological features of…

Examined the theoretical relationship between moral development and black racial identity development among 182 African American college students at a predominantly white institution. Student surveys indicated that racial identity and moral judgements were linked and that emotionality embedded within black racial identity statuses differentially…

Applying Snyder and Feldman's 1984 consolidation-transition model to moral judgement development has enabled further understanding of how moral judgement translates to moral functioning. In this study, 178 college students were identified as being in consolidated versus transitional phases of moral judgement development using Rest's Defining…

Responses of 127 rural high school sophomores and juniors were used to examine 3 factors influencing judgments and disciplinary decisions of adolescent peer juries. The factors were levels of moral reasoning, gender of offender, and severity of the offender's act. Subjects first responded to a questionnaire testing moral development. The 113…

For more than 30 years, Kohlberg's theory of moral development has been tested across the world. This paper reports on two studies that investigated people's state of moral thinking and whether or not there are phenomena that cannot be explained in terms of Kohlberg's theory. The first study examined the moral thinking of a group of students, ages…

Two studies of the development of children's moral relationships with nature addressed such questions as: (1) What does it mean to say that we have an obligation not to harm the natural environment? (2) Does the natural environment feel pain? (3) Does it have rights? or (4) Is moral obligation an inappropriate construct by which to understand the…

This final report describes the development of personal, social, and moral values, as well as the development of moral judgments of West Point cadets. The values of cadets at entrance and throughout their four years at the United States Military Academy were assessed. The basic research evaluated how cadets become socialized into the military…

Some researchers argue that males and females develop moral reasoning in the same manner, while others contend that males tend toward moral judgements based on the concept of "Justice" and women base their judgements on "Care." A third school argues that neither such cognitive elements as justice and care are as important as…

The moral judgment is assessed of high school students from three regular high schools and from three alternative high schools. Students from the alternative schools made and reinforced rules and settled issues in weekly community meetings based on participatory democracy. The study sought to ascertain the presence of responsibility judgments in…

This study compares the moral development of college students who have been involved in repeated behavioral offenses with those who have not. Sixteen female and 13 male students from a Southern research university participated by taking the Defining Issues Test. The paper reports that a significant difference in moral development was found between…