Role-taking ability and level of moral development were measured in three groups of boys and girls including 16 moderately retarded adolescents (mean chronological age 15; mean mental age 9), 16 nonretarded adolescents matched for chronological age, and 16 nonretarded children matched for mental age. (CM)

An interpretation of female moral development is presented based on Kohlberg's stages of moral development and comparison is made between male and female development. (JMF)

Manifestations of egocentrism in preschool children's language, play, and ethical judgement are discussed in relation to Piagetian theory. The importance of cognitive development grounded in Piagetian principles is elaborated. (SK)

Argues that, with the proper type of nurturing, children can emerge from their early childhood years well on their way to the development of true morals. (MP)

Multidimensional scaling and factor analysis were applied to Rest's objective test of Kohlbergian moral development. The responses of 160 junior high, senior high, college undergraduate, and graduate students were analyzed in order to investigate whether stage and item scores displayed a hierarchial sequential structure. (Author/SS)

Mean scores on the Defining Issues Test indicate that the moral reasoning capacity of some preservice teachers is below that of some junior high students and that the capacity of a much larger portion of preservice teachers is below that of many senior high students. (Author/IRT)

A factor analysis of the verbal appeals used by 70 mothers in the socialization of their young children supported the validity of characterizing the moral arguments of parents in terms of their content (type of behavior approved or disapproved) and the source of moral authority to which they appeal (parental authority, legality, justice, etc.).…

A comparison of the two leading indices of moral development, the Defining Issues Test and the Moral Dilemma Interview, was made using 215 subjects ranging in age from 12 to 25. Correlation between the two tests was low when age, socioeconomic status, and intelligence variables were partialed out. (Author/SS)

Discusses Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development and suggests procedures both for analyzing moral issues in a story and for discussing these issues with children. (DD)

Information integration in judgments of deservingness and fair shares was studied in three experiments with 76 children from four to eight years of age. Even the youngest children had a well-developed sense of equity, and no age trends were found in this respect. (Author/MP)

Used a pretest/post-test control group design involving 44 female adolescent subjects to determine whether Moral Stage 3 subjects who have attained early basic formal operations are more susceptible to attempts to stimulate moral development than Stage 3 subjects who have attained only beginning formal operations and lack the cognitive…

Twenty-two preschoolers aged 48-63 months were observed and questioned by a familiar experimenter about their spontaneous helping, sharing, or comforting behavior over a 12-week period. (JMB)

Seeks to demonstrate that age differences in the interpretation of moral judgment stimulus stories can reliably predict differences in patterns of moral evaluations. Also attempts to characterize the nature of these age-related interpretation differences. Stimulus stories represented each of Heider's levels of responsibility and varied in outcome…

This study explored the relationship between moral reasoning and moral behavior in 31 average adults. Subjects were placed in a situation demanding low-key moral conflict. The study examined subjects' decisions and the relationship between their moral reasoning (revealed by verbal responses to Kohlberg's hypothetical dilemmas) and their behavior.…