Understanding Moral Understanding
Understanding Moral Understanding
Throughout time there has always been this nagging question of what is right and what is wrong. As of yet, there is no universal agreement on the correct answer to that question, which leads to wondering: how do we even begin to make the decision of morals and where do they come from? Are morals imbedded in us from birth or are they programmed into us through life, nature verses nurture? According to psychology moral understanding is a process. No one starts out knowing and understanding everything about morality and the rules the world follows. Children do not fully understand the meanings of rules or morals that are being taught to them.
An example given in Children and Their Development was a father and son playing a board game called Chutes and LaddersÒ. The rules of the game state that you can only go up the ladders and down the chutes, but in order to speed up the game the father tells the son that he can not only go up the ladders but also the chutes. But the son adamantly declares that the rules of the game say your can not go up ladders (Kail, 2004, p.369). This is a simple example of how children do not clearly understand everything about right and wrong when they are young. Compare those actions to an adult who would most definitely chose to speed the game up by going up both the chutes and the ladders and be able to comprehend that it is not against the rules if both parties agree to them.
Throughout the history of psychology there have been various theorists who have tried to explain the progression of how we as humans gain an understanding of morals. Some of these theorists are: Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg, Elliot Turiel, and Carol Gilligan, just to name a few. These individuals spent years working with a variety of people trying to identify the process by which children gain the ability to use and comprehend morals. These psychologists built off each other 's ideas and came up with the general
Throughout time there has always been this nagging question of what is right and what is wrong. As of yet, there is no universal agreement on the correct answer to that question, which leads to wondering: how do we even begin to make the decision of morals and where do they come from? Are morals imbedded in us from birth or are they programmed into us through life, nature verses nurture? According to psychology moral understanding is a process. No one starts out knowing and understanding everything about morality and the rules the world follows. Children do not fully understand the meanings of rules or morals that are being taught to them.
An example given in Children and Their Development was a father and son playing a board game called Chutes and LaddersÒ. The rules of the game state that you can only go up the ladders and down the chutes, but in order to speed up the game the father tells the son that he can not only go up the ladders but also the chutes. But the son adamantly declares that the rules of the game say your can not go up ladders (Kail, 2004, p.369). This is a simple example of how children do not clearly understand everything about right and wrong when they are young. Compare those actions to an adult who would most definitely chose to speed the game up by going up both the chutes and the ladders and be able to comprehend that it is not against the rules if both parties agree to them.
Throughout the history of psychology there have been various theorists who have tried to explain the progression of how we as humans gain an understanding of morals. Some of these theorists are: Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg, Elliot Turiel, and Carol Gilligan, just to name a few. These individuals spent years working with a variety of people trying to identify the process by which children gain the ability to use and comprehend morals. These psychologists built off each other 's ideas and came up with the general
References: Berkowitz, M. (1998). Fostering Goodness: Teaching Parents to Facilitate Children 's Moral Development. Retrieved November 15, 2006 from http://parenthood.library.wisc.edu/Berkowitz/Berkowitz.html Huxley, Ron. (2006). Child Behavior: Moral Development of Children: Knowing Right from Wrong. Retrieved November 15, 2006 from http://www.selfhelpmagazine.com/articles/child_behavior/moraldevchild.html Kail, R.V. (2004). Children and their development 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall. Kohlberg, L. (1971). Moral development and moral education. In G. Lesser, ed. Psychology and educational practice. Scott Foresman. Lovecky, D. (1997). Social and Emotional Issues. Retrieved November 15, 2006 from http://www.sengifted.org/articles_social/Lovecky_IdentityDevelopmentInGiftedChildrenMoralSensitivity.shtml Murray, M.E. (2006). Moral Development and Moral Education: An Overview. Retrieved November 15, 2006 from http://tigger.uic.edu/~lnucci/MoralEd/overview.html Piaget, J. (1965). The moral judgment of the child. The Free Press: New York. Power, F. C., Higgins, A., & Kohlberg, L. (1989). "Lawrence Kohlberg 's Approach to Moral Education." New York: Columbia University Press. Turiel, E. (1983). "The Development of Social Knowledge: Morality & Convention." New York: Cambridge University Press.