In previous research on the relationships between socio‐moral reasoning and political orientation, the evolving capacities in the moral‐cognitive realm have been considered as the framework for the formation of different political orientations or attitudes. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether an alternative interpretation proposed by Emler, Renwick & Malone, (1983), i.e. that differences in moral reasoning reflect differences in content of politico‐moral ideology, could be verified with students and university graduates actively involved with politics, in a different political culture. Seventy‐five young adults completed a measure of moral reasoning from their own and a contrasting political perspective. The results are interpreted as supporting Emler et al.'s interpretation. The implications and the limitations of the study are discussed in terms of understanding vs. discriminating moral arguments and the possible impact of the experimental manipulations of the subject's response pattern.

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This study examined the developmental pattern of sociomoral reasoning in two different cultural settings, focusing on factors assumed to influence the course of growth in this particular domain. The specific hypotheses tested concerned the relationships between operational thinking within Piaget's theory and Kohlberg's conceptualization of sociomoral judgement development. Secondary school and university students from Greece and Nigeria aged 15 to 22 years (N = 281) participated in the study. Results indicated that (1) the developmental sequence was similar in the two differing cultural environments, (2) stage endorsement differed significantly in the two samples, and (3) the necessary‐but‐not‐sufficient hypothesis was confirmed in both groups. The possible explanations of the findings are discussed in connection with the basic assumptions of the structural‐developmental approach to socio‐cognitive growth.