How does moral judgment develop?

The morality of a certain action is not always obvious. The reasoning behind certain behavior is crucial for determining whether that behavior is moral or immoral.

What is the idea behind Piaget's theory?

Piaget's theory on moral judgment refers to the fact that interaction with peers has a higher contribution to the moral reasoning of children than the interaction with adults. According to Piaget, there are two phases children go through in the development of moral reasoning, with a transitional period between these two phases:

Heteronomous morality: it takes place when a child is younger than seven years old. The child is taught what is right and wrong on the basis of the consequences instead of motives or intentions. In this period, children think that rules are unchanging. Parental control is one-sided and compelling, so children have indisputable respect for the rules of adults. In addition, cognitive immaturity leads to the believe that rules are 'real' things, rather than a product of the human mind.

Transitional period: occurs when a child is between seven and ten years old. The child takes a more active role in reasoning about what is right or wrong. Interactions with peers are helpful for this transition.

Autonomous morality: this phase begins when the child is between eleven and twelve years old. The child no longer is blind adopting the rules. The child will consider motives and intentions when assessing behavior. 

This vision has received support from empirical research. However, there has also been criticism. For example, there is little evidence that interactions with peers stimulate moral development. Here, the quality of interactions seems to be important. In addition, Piaget underestimated the ability of children to be aware of intentionality. Very young children can already distinguish between an adult who tries to help (but fails) and an adult who does not want to help.  

What does Kohlberg's theory say?

Kohlberg's theory of moral judgment states that the development of moral reasoning takes place in a specific series of stages which are discontinuous and hierarchical. Each level is divided into two stage of moral judgment. Only very few people reach the sixth phase of post-conventional moral reasoning. People differ in how many phases they ultimately finish or achieve successfully. Here is the complete model: 

Level 1: Preconventional Level: this phase is self-centered. The focus is on getting rewards and avoiding punishment. 

• Phase 1: Punishment and obedience orientation. Obeying authorities and avoiding punishment. The child is not aware of the interests of others.
• Phase 2: Instrumental and exchange orientation. Do what is best for themselves or equal exchange between people, through tit-for-tat exchanges. 

Level 2: Conventional Level: this phase focuses on social relations, where the focus is on compliance with social rights and laws. 

• Phase 3: Mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships and interpersonal conformity. 'Being good' is important, such as having good motivations and Caring for others.
• Phase 4: Social system and conscience. Doing a good job, keep the social system going and contributing to society.

Level 3: Post-conventional or Principled Level: this phase is focused on ideals; the focus is on moral principles. 

• Phase 5: Social contracts or individual rights orientation. Best interest for the group, while you also recognize some values and rights such as life, liberty and basic human rights.
• Phase 6: Universal ethical principles. Dedication to self-chosen ethical principles. If laws violate these principles, the individual acts in accordance with these principles instead of in accordance with the law.

Kohlberg's work is important because it shows that the moral reasoning of children changes relatively systematically as they develop. However, there is also criticism of the theory. Kohlberg, for example, would not have made a good difference between moral issues and issues of social conventions. In addition, there are cultural differences: this theory is based on Western norms and values. Another criticism concerns Kohlberg's argument of change to be discontinuous. Research shows that in different situations everyone uses different levels of morality. Finally, there are gender differences: men and women morally reason in different ways. This theory is mainly based on men and less on women. Men value rights and justice, while women take more account of other people and their values. However, despite the fact that the phases may not be as invariant in order as Kohlberg claims, they do describe the changes in the moral reasoning of children in many Western societies.

What does prosocial-moral judgment mean?

Kohlberg presented children with dilemmas. They had to choose between two actions that were wrong. This is called prosocial-moral dilemmas. Prosocial behavior is voluntary behavior that benefits someone else, such as helping someone, sharing something with someone else or comforting others. Children who are not yet attending school show self-reasoning in prosocial-moral dilemmas. From 2-4 years they begin to realize that certain behavior is wrong, even if authorities do not see the behavior. At the primary school, children are increasingly concerned about social approval. In late childhood and adolescence, judgments are increasingly based on explicitly taking a perspective and on morally relevant emotions that should be the consequences of certain behaviors. With age, moral justification becomes increasingly abstract and based on internalizing values ​​and norms. 

How does conscience develop?

The conscience is an internal control mechanism that increases the ability of an individual to conform to standards of behavior accepted in their culture. The conscience limits antisocial behavior or destructive impulses and promotes compliance with the rules and norms, even if no one sees the behavior. It can also promote prosocial behavior by giving a sense of guilt if, for example, certain internalized values ​​are not met. Because conscience is linked to cultural norms, for a long time the idea existed that morality has been learned. However, new evidence suggests that people have an innate drive to prefer actions that help others over actions that bother others.  

When toddlers are two years old, they begin to recognize moral norms and rules and show a sense of guilt when they do something wrong. As they get older, children start to take over more of the moral values ​​of their parents, especially if they share a secure, positive parent-child relationship. Children with different temperaments develop their conscience in different ways. For example, toddlers who are easily feared of unknown people and situations show more guilt than less frightened children. The effects of parenting on the conscience of children also varies with the genes influencing temperament.

Which are the different domains of social judgment?

Children make different choices every day of their lives. These choices can relate to different types of judgments:

• Moral judgements: decisions relating on what is right and what is wrong, honesty, and justice.
• Social-conventional judgements: decisions relating to regulations that ensure social coordination and social organization, such as choices about dress codes and way of greeting. 
• Personal judgements: decisions relating to actions in which the preference of the individual is central.

The ability to distinguish between these three types of judgments develops around the same age in all kinds of cultures. However, what is seen as a moral, social or personal justification differs between cultures.

What is meant by prosocial behavior?

The degree of prosocial behavior at a young age predicts the degree of involvement with others at a later age. Prosocial behaviors can have different meanings. Altruistic motives describe the reasons to help someone because of empathy or sympathy for others, and later because of the desire to behave consistently with the own consciousness and moral principles. 

How does prosocial behavior develop?

Prosocial behavior is based on the ability to show empathy and to feel sympathy. Empathy is an emotional reaction to other people's emotional state/ condition. Sympathy is a feeling of being worried about the other person because of his/ her emotional state/ condition. Although sympathy is often a result of empathizing with an emotion or situation, sympathy distinguishes itself from empathy by the element of care: people who experience sympathy do not only feel the emotions of the other person. To show sympathy and empathy, children must be able to take the perspective of someone else. Children can experience sympathy and empathy approximately in their second year of life. When they are about three years old, children begin to understand social norms, allowing them to act on their feelings of sympathy. Cooperation is a form of pro-social behavior that is driven by sympathy and a child's sense of honesty. In middle childhood and adolescence, the levels of moral reasoning and the ability to take perspective of others increases, leading to a more frequent expression of prosocial behavior.

What is the origin of differences in prosocial behavior?

People would be biologically predisposed to be prosocial. Also, someone helping others is more likely to receive help by others. However, this evolutionary explanation does not explain the individual differences in sympathy, empathy and prosocial behavior. Specific genes have been identified that could be responsible for these differences. In addition, genetic factors can influence sympathy, empathy and prosocial behavior through temperament.   

There are three ways in which parents stimulate prosocial behavior to their children:

• Modeling and communication of values. Predominantly, children imitate the pro-social behavior of adults with whom they have a positive relationship, whereby parents play an important role. Parents not only influence whether children are prosocial, but also to whom they are. An effective way to teach children prosocial behavior is to have discussions that appeal to their ability to sympathize.
• Organize opportunities for prosocial activities. Parents can do this by, for example, letting children participate in the household or let them do voluntary work. This increases their self-confidence that they are skilled to help others and it teaches them to take the perspective of others.
• Discipline and parenting style. High levels of prosocial behavior and sympathy are associated with constructive and supportive parenting, including authoritative parenting style. Physical punishment and authoritarian parenting style are associated with low levels of prosocial behavior and a lack of sympathy. Voluntary prosocial behavior is shown more often when parents use discipline with reasoning. The child learns the consequences for others of the behavior and takes perspective.   

Through relationships with other children, children learn to put moral principles into practice. Children with the highest levels of moral reasoning were the best in conflict resolution.

The amount of prosocial and antisocial behavior that children show can be influenced by the culture in which they live. Children from traditional societies help, share and give more support to others (mainly family members) than children in the US, for example. Children in these cultures have learned more that they are responsible for others. Children with a lower level of abuse and reprimand often live in cultures where fathers are closely involved with their wives and children. In contrast to the US, countries such as China and Japan have a strong emphasis on teaching children how to share and to teach them responsibility. However, this emphasis seems to be reducing in recent studies. 

What is meant by antisocial behavior?

Antisocial behavior is disturbing, hostile or aggressive behavior that violates social norms or rules and that damages others or takes advantage of others.  

How does aggression and antisocial behavior develop?

Aggression is behavior that aims to hurt others physically or emotionally. Aggression can already be seen before the age of 12 months, for example trough like pulling others objects away. Physical aggression can be seen around the age of 18 months. An example is hitting, which increases in frequency from the age of 2-3 years. Once children can talk, they also use verbal aggression. At an early age instrumental aggression can often be observed. This is aggression aimed at the desire to reach a concrete goal. Sometimes relational aggression happens also at a young age. Older children often use a form of aggression aimed at damaging someone's peer relations or being motivated by the need to protect themselves. The relational aggression can often be hostile. Children who are most aggressive and begin to show conduct problems in middle childhood, were more aggressive and delinquent in adolescence than children who developed conduct problems at a later age. Children who are aggressive at a young age often have underlying neurological deficits, such as hyperactivity and attention problems.

A popular, effective school intervention to promote knowledge about the socialization of helping and sharing is Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS). PBIS and other programs can be divided into three levels:

• Primary prevention aimed at everyone, for example by posters that communicate behavioral rules and the pricing of good behavior.
• Secondary prevention aimed at children at risk, by giving them extra attention and monitoring.
• Tertiary prevention aimed at children who show persistent negative behavior, by setting up a special plan for them.

An oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is a disorder characterized by persistent expressions of angry, challenging and irritating behaviors that are not appropriate of the age. Conduct disorder (CD) is a disorder characterized by serious antisocial and aggressive behavior that can hurt other people or destroy other people's properties or rights. If a child is diagnosed with several different mental disorders, it is said that the disorders are comorbid.  

What are the characteristics of aggressive and antisocial behavior?

The characteristics of aggressive and antisocial behavior are temperament and personality, as well as social cognitions. Children who are aggressive or antisocial have a temperament exhibiting many negative emotions, have reduced self-control and do not show sympathy or empathy towards others. 

Children who are aggressive or antisocial have social cognitions in which they process social information in a negative way. Aggressive children interpret the world through an aggressive lens or bias. Here we can distinguish between reactive aggression and proactive aggression. Reactive aggression is emotionally driven, antagonistic aggression, provoked by the fact that other people's motives are perceived as hostile. Proactive aggression is a non-emotional form of aggression aimed at fulfilling a need or desire.   

What is the origin of aggressive and antisocial behavior?

There are various causes of aggressive and antisocial behavior:   

• Biological factors: aggression and antisocial behavior are partly hereditary. Additionally, a difficult temperament also has a negative influence. Neurological deficits that influence attention and regulation capacities can also contribute to aggression.
• Socialization: children who receive rough education or education of low quality are at greater risk. Hard physical discipline can lead to social cognition associated with aggression. Ineffective discipline can lead to unintentional reinforcement of aggression. Failure to monitor the location and behavior of children is associated with more aggressive and antisocial behavior. In addition, children who are more often exposed to conflicts between parents are more anti-social and aggressive.
• Influence of peers: aggressive children often socialize with other aggressive children, which in turn leads to more delinquency. The susceptibility to peer pressure is mainly high in the first and second classes.
• Socio-economic status: children from low-income families are more anti-social and aggressive than more affluent children. One of the main reasons could be the number of stressors, including family stress and violence in the neighborhood.

It is difficult to separate all these factors. It is clear that children are influenced by how the parents treat them. Interventions that focus on this aspect often showed to be effective. 

Interventions that adopt a positive youth development approach focus on the development and nurture of strengths and abilities instead of correcting weaknesses and shortages. Competences, confidence, connection, character and caring and compassion are emphasized. Service learning is a strategy for promoting positive youth development integrating school-based instruction and community involvement, in order to promote social responsibility and improve learning.