Explores Gibbs's (1977, 1979) hypothesis that mature levels of moral reasoning are related to affirmative coping with human needs while conventional reasoning is related to abortive coping. In one study of 28 women and another of 70 adults, an interview questionnaire was used to assess ability to deal with Fromm's existential needs. (Author/CB)

The cognition/conduct problem is outlined as it arises in cognitive-developmental moral theory. A model of the connection between stage of moral reasoning and behavior is developed, involving two separate steps (from reasoning to judgments and from judgments to behavior).(Author/RH)

Describes a program for moral education designed for the education of democratic citizens who will make important decisions about what to do with their lives. The purpose of the suggested program is to develop reasoning skills and thought habits rather than to impart specific moral beliefs. (JOW)

Investigated the effects of gender, gender role, and type of moral dilemma on moral maturity and orientation of university students. Found that females were more consistent than males in moral stage; males were more consistent in moral orientation. Findings suggest that a more interactional model of moral judgment than the models of L. Kohlberg…

Reflects on the ways in which children develop character as well as ways to foster moral development in elementary education communities. Includes a brief discussion of Robert Coles' documentation of moral intelligence in children, and lists several ways to aid the moral life of children in Montessori classrooms. (EV)

Examined whether amount of experience in day care affects children's ability to distinguish moral rules from conventional school-based and home-based rules. Preschoolers were questioned about legitimacy of authority of abolishing a rule and their rating of behaviors permitted and prohibited by an authority. Results revealed that previous day-care…

Observes that the Kohlbergian model of morality does not give a good account of the ways in which people make moral decisions in their everyday lives. Argues that a functional model of moral judgment and moral behavior derived from evolutionary theory may supply a better account of real-life morality. (DSK)

Notes that moral decisions include both moral concepts and factual beliefs. Considers possible sources of variation in factual beliefs and presents research into children's and adults' thinking about practices based on factual beliefs different from their own. Discusses how individuals take these differences into account when judging the seemingly…

This paper explores Max Weber's study of the origins of the secularization of the Puritan work ethic and examines the hybridized category of secular science expert. The hybrid construct provides an opening for the critical analysis of the concrete activity of development from two perspectives, the structural and the individual. The individual…

Although the theory and research of Lawrence Kohlberg have been the dominant approach in the study of moral reasoning and moral development, his procedures have been criticized in three areas: (1) reliability and validity; (2) applicability to daily experience; and (3) inadequate sampling. To examine the characteristics of moral problems…

Kohlberg's developmental theory of moral reasoning hypothesizes that the socially unacceptable moral behavior of many juvenile delinquents is related to immature moral reasoning. A sizeable minority of delinquents, however, has been shown to reason at age-appropriate levels. This study examined issues related to those juvenile delinquents who were…

According to Gilligan (1982) there are two different orientations for describing moral development: a justice orientation characteristic of males, and a care orientation characteristic of females. Gilligan claims that the care orientation is confounded with the justice orientation in Kohlberg's (1983) conceptualization of Stage 3: mutual…

Reports on a study (n=30) designed to determine the relationship between student teachers' level of moral development and their success in teaching performance. Results support the claim that moral judgment relates to teaching performance, though the effect is not large. (JDH)

Discusses problems in Pratt, Golding, and Hunter's investigation (in this issue) of two propositions central to Gilligan's (1982) thesis on the mismeasurement of women's moral orientation and development. Describes research addressing the problems and indicates directions for further research. (RH)

The hypotheses that moral judgment increases with age and that the maturity level of values and reasons for perceiving them as values increases with older age groups in the population of mentally subnormal children were tested. The hypotheses were only partially confirmed. (Author/AM)