TOPIC 6:

MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
EDITED BY: MDM ERINA ASMAWANI BINTI ABU
BAKAR
 Moral Development
Moral development can
be defined as thoughts,
behaviors, and feelings
regarding standards of
right and wrong.
MORALITY
Piaget’s Theory of
Moral
Development
 Piaget’s Theory of
Moral Development
Heteronomous Morality
• Rules are permanent, do not change, and
must be followed.
• Misbehavior will always be punished.
 Autonomous Morality
• Intentions are more important than the results of
one’s behavior.
• There are times when it is ok to break rules.
• Coincidental bad outcomes are not seen as
punishments for misbehavior.
 Kohlberg’s Stages
of Moral Reasoning
 Lawrence
Kohlberg’s stage theory of
Kohlberg (1927- moral reasoning is an
1987). elaboration and refinement
of Piaget’s.

Kohlberg proposed three distinct of moral reasoning:

Pre-conventional, Conventional and Post-
Conventional
 Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning
1) PRECONVENTIONAL 2) CONVENTIONAL 3)
LEVEL LEVEL POSTCONVENSIONAL
LEVEL
Stages 1 Stages 3 Stages 5
Punishment and “Good Boy – Good Girl” Social Contract
obedience Orientation. Orientation Orientation

Stages 2 Stages 4 Stages 6

Instrumental Relativist “Law and Order” Universal Ethical
Orientation Orientation Principle Orientation
 1. PRECONVENTIONAL
LEVEL
Stage 1: Punishment and Obedience Orientation

• Physical consequences of action determine its goodness or

badness.
• Children simply obey authority figures to avoid being
punished.
Stage 2 : Instrumental Relativist Orientation

• What is right is whatever satisfies one’s own needs

and occasionally the needs of others.
• Children’s own needs and desires become important,
yet they are aware of the interests of other people.
 2) CONVENTIONAL
LEVEL
Stage 3: “GoodBoy-Good
Girl” Orientation
• Good behavior is whatever
pleases or helps others and is
approved of by them.
• One earns approval by being
“nice”.
Stage 4: “Law and Order”
Orientation
• Right is doing one’s duty,
showing respect for authority
and maintaining the given
social order for its own sake.
 3) POSTCONVENSIONAL
LEVEL
Stage 5 : Social Contract Orientation
What is right is defined in terms of general individual rights and in
terms of standards that have been agreed on by the whole society.

Stage 6 : Universal Ethical Principle Orientation

• What is right is defined by decision of conscience according to self-
chosen ethical principles..
• These principles are abstract and ethical, not specific moral prescriptions
 Development
Trends in Morality
and Prosocial
Behaviour
Development Trends in Morality
and Prosocial Behaviour

 Most children behave more morally and

prosocial as they grow older.

 Guilt and shame are the result of doing

something wrong.

 With age, reasoning about moral issues

becomes increasingly abstract and flexible.
THANK
YOU