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SOCIAL ROLES, SELF-CONCEPTIONS, AND MORAL REASONING
Title
SOCIAL ROLES, SELF-CONCEPTIONS, AND MORAL REASONING.
Creator
RICHMOND, SANDRA SAMAL, Florida Atlantic University
Abstract/Description
According to Kohlberg's (1975, 1976, 1978, 1980a, 1980b, 1981, 1985) theory of moral development, individuals progress sequentially through a series of stages as they develop more sophisticated moral reasoning skills. The purpose of this research was to consider the possible relationships between social role-playing, role conflict, self-conceptions, college experience, and level of moral reasoning. Subjects were 197 students enrolled in introductory social science courses at a public junior...
Show moreAccording to Kohlberg's (1975, 1976, 1978, 1980a, 1980b, 1981, 1985) theory of moral development, individuals progress sequentially through a series of stages as they develop more sophisticated moral reasoning skills. The purpose of this research was to consider the possible relationships between social role-playing, role conflict, self-conceptions, college experience, and level of moral reasoning. Subjects were 197 students enrolled in introductory social science courses at a public junior college in a metropolitan area in southeast Florida. The age range of the subjects in this study was from 17 to 66 years, with a mean age of 22 years. There were 78 males and 119 females involved. Rest's (1979a, 1979b) Defining Issues Test was used to measure level of moral reasoning. This test yields a "p" score representing the amount of principled moral reasoning demonstrated by the subject while taking the test. Social role-playing and role conflict were measured by a role-playing questionnaire. The number of social roles listed and the number of role conflicts reported by the subjects were counted. The social self-conception was determined through the use of the Twenty Statements Test, that is, the number of times subjects listed social roles and group memberships in answer to the question "Who am I?" Androgyny was measured by the Bem Sex-Role Inventory. College experience was measured by the question "Is this your first time in college?" Scholastic aptitude, social-economic class, age, and sex were included as control variables. The variables that were significantly correlated with the level of moral reasoning in this sample were scholastic aptitude (r =.47, p < .01), age (r =.23, p < .01), social role-playing (r =.35, p < .01), and college experience (r =.17, p < .05). Social role-playing was the only variable that significantly added to the predictability of moral reasoning when the control variables scholastic aptitude, social-economic class, age, and sex were considered. The increment to the R^2 was .03 (F (84,5) = 3.97, p < .05). Social role-playing also incremented the well documented contribution of age and scholastic aptitude in predicting the level of moral reasoning. The increment to the R^2 was .03 (F (3, 86) = 3.98, p < .05). These results suggest that social role-playing should be considered in a developmental model of moral development.
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Date Issued
1987
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/11901
Subject Headings
Social role, Self-perception, Moral development
Format
Document (PDF)
CHILDREN’S MORAL SENSITIVITY: AN EXAMINATION OF THE SUSPECTED LINK BETWEEN ALTRUISTIC PUNISHMENT AND MORAL JUDGMENTS
Title
CHILDREN’S MORAL SENSITIVITY: AN EXAMINATION OF THE SUSPECTED LINK BETWEEN ALTRUISTIC PUNISHMENT AND MORAL JUDGMENTS.
Creator
Dukes, Charles, Bjorklund, David F., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description
Developmental research on moral psychology has long been driven by the classic studies of Lawrence Kohlberg with an almost exclusive focus on reasoning. The adoption of an evolutionary perspective has opened moral psychology to investigations into the deep roots of morality. From this perspective, it is thought that group living (cooperation), evolved psychological mechanisms, disgust, emotion, and punishment make for the complex building blocks that is morality. Based on this notion, it is...
Show moreDevelopmental research on moral psychology has long been driven by the classic studies of Lawrence Kohlberg with an almost exclusive focus on reasoning. The adoption of an evolutionary perspective has opened moral psychology to investigations into the deep roots of morality. From this perspective, it is thought that group living (cooperation), evolved psychological mechanisms, disgust, emotion, and punishment make for the complex building blocks that is morality. Based on this notion, it is quite possible that morality is present early in life and driven by the forces of natural selection. Thus, moral development may be understood by taking a different approach, one that takes into account the tenants of evolution. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of third-party punishment on children’s moral sentiments using a common moral transgression (exclusion from a group). For this cross-sectional study, children in age groups 4-5, 7-8, and 12-13 years heard two short stories describing a perpetrator (matched in gender to the participant) who excludes a victim (also matched in gender to the participant). For each story, children were asked to imagine a different relationship to the victim: kin (i.e., brother or sister) or non-kin (i.e., friend/stranger). After each story, children were asked to rate the intensity of the moral transgression, choose a possible punishment for the perpetrator, identify an emotion associated with the transgression, and then offer a justification for the emotion. A total of 109 children were interviewed for the study. Results were mixed. Relationship (kin vs. non-kin) made a difference in some cases, while not in others. Overall, all children rated the treatment of the victim as wrong, deemed punishment as necessary, and reported neutral emotions. The children in the 12 to 13 age group were different on measures of wrongness and emotional responses. There is some evidence that relationship may influence moral sentiments, which is in line with an evolutionary hypothesis. Moral sentiments seem to be present early, and common moral transgressions are perceived as wrong early and consistently across age groups. This study provides some insight into the evolutionary roots of morality. Additional research is necessary to gain a greater understanding of other factors contributing to the evolutionary roots of morality.
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Date Issued
2019
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013300
Subject Headings
Moral development, Ethics, Evolutionary, Moral judgment, Children, Punishment, Moral psychology of the emotions
Format
Document (PDF)
You should be ashamed of yourself
Title
You should be ashamed of yourself: a study of moral development and moral emotion.
Creator
Bright, Justin., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Abstract/Description
Research on Kohlberg's theory of moral development has examined moral development by examining individuals' justice operations. However, how the moral emotions are related to moral development has been neglected. In a sample of mostly undergraduates (N=53), moral development (measured using an index of higher-level moral reasoning and one of reasoning consistency from the Defining Issues Test) and the moral emotions of guilt, shame, empathy, and self-esteem were measured. Shame was positively...
Show moreResearch on Kohlberg's theory of moral development has examined moral development by examining individuals' justice operations. However, how the moral emotions are related to moral development has been neglected. In a sample of mostly undergraduates (N=53), moral development (measured using an index of higher-level moral reasoning and one of reasoning consistency from the Defining Issues Test) and the moral emotions of guilt, shame, empathy, and self-esteem were measured. Shame was positively related to higher moral reasoning (r=.26, p<.10); guilt was not (r=-.02, ns). Empathy was also positively correlated with higher moral reasoning (r=.19). Moral consistency was positively related to shame (r=.31, p<.05) and guilt (r=.32, p<.05). Existential theory was used to explain the differentiation between shame and guilt in their correlations with higher moral reasoning. The correlations between moral consistency and guilt and between moral consistency and shame are discussed with respect to the inhibitive nature of shame and guilt.
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Date Issued
2008
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/77659
Subject Headings
Moral development, Social ethics, Emotions, Moral and ethical aspects, Emotions and cognition
Format
Document (PDF)
Attentional basis of deontic reasoning about permission rules in 3-5 year-old children
Title
Attentional basis of deontic reasoning about permission rules in 3-5 year-old children.
Creator
Sellers, Patrick D. II, Bjorklund, David F., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description
Deontic reasoning is a domain of reasoning concerning permissions, obligations, and prohibitions often utilizing conditional logic (Wason, 1968). Correct identification of rule violations is bolstered by the addition of a social valence to the rule for both adults (Tooby & Cosmides, 1992) and children (Harris & Nunez, 1996). This “deontic advantage” for violation-detection is taken as evidence for evolved social-cognitive mechanisms for reasoning about cheaters in the context of social...
Show moreDeontic reasoning is a domain of reasoning concerning permissions, obligations, and prohibitions often utilizing conditional logic (Wason, 1968). Correct identification of rule violations is bolstered by the addition of a social valence to the rule for both adults (Tooby & Cosmides, 1992) and children (Harris & Nunez, 1996). This “deontic advantage” for violation-detection is taken as evidence for evolved social-cognitive mechanisms for reasoning about cheaters in the context of social contracts (Fiddick, 2004), and the early development of this advantage supports an evolutionary account of such abilities (Cummins, 2013). The current research hypothesized that differential attention to rule elements underlies the early emergence of the deontic advantage. Accuracy to a change-detection paradigm was used to assess implicit attention to various rule elements after children were told 4 different rules (2 social contracts, 2 epistemic statements). Thirteen 3-year-olds, twenty 4-year-olds, and sixteen 5-year-olds completed the experiment. Each participant completed 64 change-detection trials embedded within a scene depicting adherence to or violation of the rule. Results indicate that 4 and 5 year-olds consistently attend to the most relevant rule information for making decisions regarding violation (F(6, 124)=3.86, p<.01, ηp 2 = .144) and that they use observed compliance/non-compliance with the rule to further direct attention (F(6, 138)=3.27, p<.01, ηp 2 = .125). Furthermore, accuracy of change-detection to scenes of rule violation increases from ages 4 to 5, but not 3 to 4. However, a novel finding emerged suggesting that children use the absence of benefit to direct attention, suggesting possible “being-cheated” detection, rather than cheater-detection (F(9, 345) = 21.855, p<.001, ηp 2 = .322). This work is the first to investigate a deontic effect on attentional processes and opens a new avenue of inquiry to understanding the internal and external variables contributing to the development of deontic reasoning. Follow up studies are currently underway to clarify how children use these environmental cues and in/out group membership to direct attention to rule violations.
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Date Issued
2014
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004159
Subject Headings
Child development, Child psychology, Judgment (Ethics), Judgment in children, Moral development, Reasoning in children
Format
Document (PDF)
Keeping an eye on cheaters: cognitive and social determinates of successful deontic reasoning in preschool children
Title
Keeping an eye on cheaters: cognitive and social determinates of successful deontic reasoning in preschool children.
Creator
Sellers, Patrick D. II, Bjorklund, David F., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Psychology
Abstract/Description
Deontic reasoning is a domain of reasoning concerning permissions, obligations, and prohibitions founded on conditional logic (Wason,1968). The inclusion of a social valence to deontic rules leads to increased rule violation identification in both adults (Cosmides & Tooby, 1992) and children (Harris & Nunez, 1996), suggesting an evolutionary advantage for a specific class of reasoning known as “cheater-detection” (Fiddick, 2004). The current investigation is the first attempt to understand...
Show moreDeontic reasoning is a domain of reasoning concerning permissions, obligations, and prohibitions founded on conditional logic (Wason,1968). The inclusion of a social valence to deontic rules leads to increased rule violation identification in both adults (Cosmides & Tooby, 1992) and children (Harris & Nunez, 1996), suggesting an evolutionary advantage for a specific class of reasoning known as “cheater-detection” (Fiddick, 2004). The current investigation is the first attempt to understand the cognitive and social variables that account for children’s logical reasoning advantage in social violation situations.
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Date Issued
2015
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004464
Subject Headings
Cognitive neuroscience, Cognitive psychology, Deontic logic, Developmental psychology, Judgment (Ethics), Judgment in children, Moral development, Moral motivation, Practical reason, Reasoning in children
Format
Document (PDF)