Building on this theory, another psychologist named Lawrence Kohlberg conducted detailed interviews about situations involving complex moral choices. For example, children, adolescents, and adults were asked to decide if a man who cannot afford to pay for some overpriced medicine to save his dying wife should break into the pharmacy to steal the drug. Kohlberg’s interest was not so much in the actual choices selected by a person, but rather in the ways in which the person reasoned about the dilemma.

Kohlberg argued that at early stages of moral development there is a focus on punishment and rewards (e.g., ‘you shouldn’t steal because you’ll be caught and sent to jail’, or ‘if you let your wife die, you’ll get in trouble’). But as children grow older, they enter stages where they emphasize social harmony and law and order (e.g., ‘no one will think you’re bad if you steal the drug’, or ‘even if his wife is dying, you still have to obey the law’). Some individuals, according to Kohlberg, reach the highest levels of moral reasoning and consider universal, ethical principles that transcend law.

However, we can’t simply explain changes in children’s thinking about moral dilemmas in terms of increased reasoning skills as children get older. We have already seen an example of cultural differences in how children respond to moral dilemmas, and some researchers have even argued that boys and girls are brought up to have different moral orientations.

Of course, we should be cautious about making big generalizations about cultural or gender differences, but these arguments highlight the point that the norms and values that are prominent in a child’s life need to be considered alongside any changes in the child’s cognitive development. Similarly, research has made it clear that in addition to young children’s growing reasoning skills, their experiences within their family and with their friends can help them gain an insight into the important distinction between moral rules (e.g., not hitting others) and social conventions (e.g., table manners).

In fact, research over the last few decades has shown that making sense of children’s moral development can sometimes be very hard precisely because so many factors are involved. Often, children’s actions don’t fall neatly in line with their thinking, because their ability to regulate their own behaviour is limited at younger ages. In other words, children have to have the self-control to stop themselves from doing something forbidden, as well as an understanding of the rule itself.

Also, feelings such as guilt, sympathy, shame, and pity can all play a role in everyday situations involving moral choices, and research shows that children’s experience and understanding of these complex emotions changes as they get older.

Thus, when children are deciding whether or not to tell a lie, obey a dubious instruction, or help someone in distress, their behaviour will depend not just on adults’ instructions and prohibitions, nor simply on their ability to reason about the rules involved. It will also relate to their ability to control their own behaviour, their memories of what happened to them and to others in the past, and the way the situation is making them feel.

Research over the last 70 years has shown us that the task of describing children’s morality is a challenging one. By talking to children, observing their natural behaviours, and analyzing their responses to moral dilemmas, psychologists have demonstrated that a wide variety of social, cognitive, and emotional factors are involved in children’s moral development. The challenge facing us now is to work out exactly how these factors all fit together as children grow up.

Further Reading
Culture and moral judgement: How are conflicts between justice and interpersonal responsibilities resolved?
from Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, pages 541-554
JM Miller, & DM Bersoff 1992

Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models
from Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, pages 575-582
A Bandura, D Ross, D, & SA Ross 1961

Helping Others and Moral Development
Chapter 8 of Understanding Children's Development
PK Smith, H Cowie, & M Blades; Published by Blackwell.

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