Social and Moral Development

I will be explaining in this paper the stages of social and moral development children experience from early childhood through adolescents. I will also be comparing the social and emotional developments of the children in each of the age groups I have selected which is early childhood and middle childhood. There are six stages of social and moral development that children will experience from early childhood to adolescents. These six stages are broken down into three different levels. The first level is Preconventional morality, which contains stages one and two (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004). This stage is the level in which punishment-avoidance and obedience takes place in the child. The children make decisions based on what is best for them, regardless of how it may affect other peoples their feelings. The only way that a child will obey rules in this time frame is if they are set and established by a more powerful individual such as a parent or caregiver. The child is going to try to get away with whatever they can and think that their wrong behaviors are the ones that they will be punished for if they get caught (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004). The next stage is stage two and this is when these children start to recognize that other people have needs as well. Children in this stage will try to satisfy others needs if their own needs are met. In stage two, they are beginning to realize more what is right and what is wrong in terms of consequences for themselves (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004). The next level is Level two, which is Conventional morality. Level two, just like in level one has two stages that goes with it. The stages are considered stage tree and four. Stage three is the good girl or boy stage, and in this stage is when the child starts to make decisions that will please others (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004). In this stage the child is concerned with maintaining interpersonal relationships through sharing, trusting, and loyalty (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004). The last