Post on 28-Dec-2015
transcript
Module 11-1
Moral Development
• Changes in thoughts, feelings and behaviors regarding standards of right and wrong
• Intrapersonal
• Interpersonal – regulates social interaction & arbitrates conflict
What is moral development?
Yes, similar moral prescriptions are found in all major religions.
Civilizations will not success where there are no laws against murder, theft, and lies and no regulation of sexual behavior.
Is there Universal Morality?
Humanist Psychology says No - Hoffman (1970)
Cautions against Love withdrawal (anxiety)Don’t like you; going to leave you
Cautions against Power assertion (hostility)Spanking, threatening, removing privilegesMakes parents appear to have poor self-control
Recommends Induction Reasoning, consequencesWorks best with older children, middle SES
Does moral development require parental discipline?
Some strategies work better- ThompsonWarm-responsive parent-child relationships
Secure attachment linked to conscience development
Proactive strategiesConversational dialogueOther strategies –
Be a good role modelFoster an internal sense of moralityTell them about expected behaviorsUse reason with punishment
Other Psychologists Have Different Advice
Diana BaumrindAuthoritativeAuthoritarianIndulgent (permissive-indulgent)Neglectful (permissive-neglectful)
Some Parenting Styles Work Better
Most successful StyleInvolves
acceptance of and involvement with children, warm, attentive, sensitive
reasonable control and insistence on mature behavior
gradual granting of autonomyResults in cooperative children with self-
control, high self-esteem, social & moral maturity, & good school performance
Parenting Styles - Authoritative
Low in acceptance/involvement, autonomy granting
High in coercive control – degrade, yell, command, criticize, punish
Children are anxious and unhappy. Boys become defiant. Girls become dependent.
In adulthood don’t take initiative.Controlling strategies work for low-SES,
African-American parents.
Authoritarian Parenting
Warm and acceptingOverindulging or inattentiveLittle control of the child’s behaviorChildren are impulsive, disobedient and
rebellious, overly demanding and dependent on adults
Tend to be non-achieving, especially boys
Indulgent (Permissive) Parenting
Low acceptance and involvementLittle controlGeneral indifferenceEmotionally detached, depressedMay become child neglectDisrupts attachment, cognition, and
emotional and social skills
Neglectful (Permissive) Parenting
SpankingConsidered necessary & desirable for centuries70-90% of American parents have spanked
their childrenRecent survey, 26% of parents of 3-4 year olds
spank frequently67% yell at their children frequentlyA number of countries have outlawed spanking
How about Punishment Options?
Out of control model for handling situationsThe “woodshed” was not out of control
Punishment can instill fear, rage or avoidanceThis is temporary unless the parent-child
relationship has other problems. Doe s the punishment fit the crime?
Punishment tells children what not to do rather than what to doSo? Tell them what to do along with the
punishment.
Objections to Spanking & Responses
Punishment can be abusiveAbuse is abuse. It should not be disguised as
punishment.Are we talking about spanking, or all
punishment? Remember Hoffman?Are we thinking that children are “innately
good?” Any evidence for this?Do parents believe that they have lost the right
to discipline? What is the basis of that right?
Objections to Spanking & Responses
Social Conventional ReasoningSocial rules & conventions are arbitrary &
created by people
Moral ReasoningMoral rules are obligatory, widely-accepted,
and somewhat impersonalEthics exist apart from social convention
Reasoning About Rules
Turiel – 1978, 19835-year-old children conceptualize the social
world in three separate domainsMoralSocial-conventionalPsychological (personal)
They realize that the rules for each of these have different levels of changeability.
Morality - Children & Rules
Factors (Behaviorist view)Reinforcement & punishment
Depends upon consistency & timingModels
Depends upon characteristics such as warmth & attractiveness
SituationsChildren behave inconsistently depending upon peer
pressure, likelihood of being caught, personal characteristics
Self-controlConvinced by reasoning, punishment
Moral Behavior among Children
Albert Bandura
Moral competence – knowledge, capabilities, skills, awareness of rules
Moral performance – motivation, rewards, incentives
Self-regulation – avoiding self-condemnation and fostering self-satisfaction & self-worth
Social-cognitive Theory of Morality
Sigmund FreudThe desire to avoid feeling guilty is the
foundation of moral behavior.
Superego consists of:Ego ideal – rewards by conveying a sense of pride
and personal valueConscience – punishes disapproved behaviors by
making the child feel guilty & worthless
Moral Emotion - Guilt
Responding to another’s feelings with a similar emotional response
Examples of development of empathySome infants show global empathy1-2 years, may feel discomfort but cannot
translate into actionEarly childhood – add perspective-taking10-12 may feel social or humanitarian empathy
Moral Emotion - Empathy
Heinz dilemma – Wife near deathOne drug might save herCost $200 to make; charged $2000Heinz raised $1000, offered to pay laterDruggist said noHeinz stole the drug
Kohlberg’s Theory
Level 1: PreconventionalExternal rewards & punishments
Level 2: ConventionalAbide by internal standards of others (law or
parents)
Level 3: PostconventionalRecognizes alternative codes, explores
options, chooses one
Kohlberg’s Theory
Stage 1 – heteronomousMoral thinking is tied to punishment
Stage 2 – individualism, instrumental purpose & exchange“live & let live”Equity of exchange: “I do you a favor; you
do me one.”
Kohlberg - Preconventional
Stage 3: Mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships & interpersonal conformityValue trust, caring & loyalty to others;
children like “good girl; good boy”
Stage 4: Social systems moralityUnderstanding the social order, law, justice
and duty
Kohlberg - Conventional
Stage 5: Social contract or utility and individual rightsValues, rights & principles undergird the
law; laws are evaluated by how well they protect human rights & values
Stage 6: Universal ethical principlesMoral standard based on universal human
rights; will follow conscience rather than law
Kohlberg – Post conventional
Cosmic perspectiveSee one’s self as one with the universeAlready a religious position -
Hindu, New Age
Kohlberg Stage 7?
Link between moral thought & moral behavior?
Albert Bandura – people do not usually engage in harmful conduct until they have justified the morality of their actions to themselvesSocially worthy causeGod’s will
Kohlberg’s Critics
Religion provides the assumptions which underpin moral reasoning and decisions.
Religion takes morality from individual to collective and universal.
Religion provides the authority for moral prescriptions.
Can Morality be Examined Apart from Religion?
Rest – Assessment techniquesWhat are the moral issues?
Stages 5 & 6 do not stand up across culturesExample – Buddhist monks & emphasis on
compassionIndia – social rules are inevitable
Kohlberg’s Critics
Haidt (2008) Traditionalist [collectivist] societies expect
individuals to limit their desires and play their roles within the group
“Western conservatives also seem to be morally challenged.”
Conclusion: Kolhberg has an individualist, liberal, progress bias.
Kohlberg’s Critics
Carol Gilligan – gender bias
Justice perspective – male norm that puts principles above people
Care perspective – moral perspective that views people in terms of connectedness and emphasizes relationships & caring for others
Kohlberg’s Critics
Parenthood in North America70% of N.A. couples have children
There is a pattern of delayed childbearing
Fewer children (1.8 average in the U.S.)
Parenthood is still regarded as one of life‘s most meaningful experiences.
Socioeconomic Variations in FamiliesHigher SES (Middle Class) parents:
Develop children’s initiative and delay gratification
Create home atmosphere in which children are more nearly equal participants
Less likely to use physical punishment
Less directive; more conversational with children
Neighborhood variation affects child development
Sociocultural Influences
Never Married Single ParentsLargest group is African-American young
women (60% of births)Why?
May have to do with black male unemploymentTap the extended familyOne-third marry laterStill have problems of poverty, poor school
achievement of children and antisocial behavior.
Childless Couples
DINKs - double-income, no kids
How many couples are voluntarily childless?
3-6% or 10-15%
Often has to do with career commitment
Unintended Childlessness
Career Women (Hewlett, 2002)33% were childless at age 4042% who worked in corporations were
childless49% of (6-figure) ultra-achievers were childless25% of high achievers age 41-55 (&31% of
ultra-achievers) would like to have a childNo high achiever had a child after age 39 and
no ultra-achiever after age 36
Myths of ParentingThe birth of a child will save a failing marriage.The child will think, feel, behave as the parents
did.Parents can expect the child to respect & obey
them.The child is someone who will always love them.The child is a “second chance” to achieve.Parents can mold the child into what they want.Mothers are naturally better parents than fathers.Parenting is an instinct and requires no training.
What is Child Maltreatment?
Physical Abuse
Sexual Abuse
Neglect (physical, educational, emotional)
Emotional/psychological Abuse
Profile of Maltreatment
Most common offender is a young, poor, single mother who is overwhelmed and engages in neglect and psychological abuse
Factors are social isolation, unrealistic expectations of the child, substance abuse, depression, poverty, sickly or difficult child, other life stresses
Consequences of Maltreatment
Physiological – stress hormones, abnormal brain wave patterns
Emotional – rejection, anxiety, self-blame, psychological pain
Social – discipline problems at school, poor peer relations
Eventually serious learning and adjustment problems, depression, substance abuse, academic failure, delinquency
Preventing Child Maltreatment
Research indicates that a trusting relationship with another person is the most important factor is preventing mothers with childhood histories of abuse from repeating the cycle.
Parents Anonymous
GrandparenthoodMany people become grandparents in their
40s.They like being a valued elder, child indulger,
having a form of immortality, and being able to transmit family history and values.
Grandparents may offer childcare, and even greater support to a custodial parent of their grandchildren.
Grandparents of the non-custodial parent often have to negotiate for visitation rights.
Skipped-Generation Families
Surrogate parenting: grandparents take custody of their own grandchildren because the parent is not functioning due to such factors as drug abuse, mental illness, incarceration, adolescent pregnancy, divorce.
Includes about 5.6 million children
Skipped-Generation Families
Grandparents may be tired and emotionally drained, but joyful at being of help to the children.
Children tend to fare better in school that those from single-parent or blended homes.