A structural theory of moral development

Crutsinger

Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice

2006

Section: Moral Development and Moral Selfmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moral maturity is a developmental process that requires understanding of moral concepts (Reimer, 2001). A widely used stage model for examining moral maturity is Kohlberg's (1981) theory of cognitive moral development.…”

Section: Moral Development and Moral Selfmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Moral Situations, Moral Emotions, and Moral Self as Predictors of Juvenile Delinquents' Global Self-Esteem

Crutsinger

Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice

2006

“…The cognitive developmental theory of moralization (Kohlberg, 1971), also referred to as the theory of moral development, provides a taxonomy for examining a person's moral reasoning (Reimer, 2001;Wilmoth & McFarland, 1977). The cognitive developmental theory of moralization (Kohlberg, 1971), also referred to as the theory of moral development, provides a taxonomy for examining a person's moral reasoning (Reimer, 2001;Wilmoth & McFarland, 1977).…”

Section: Cognitive Developmental Theory Of Moralizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moral maturity is a long, gradual process in which understanding of moral concepts such as justice, rights, equality, and human welfare underlies how individuals think through their experiences. The cognitive developmental theory of moralization (Kohlberg, 1971), also referred to as the theory of moral development, provides a taxonomy for examining a person's moral reasoning (Reimer, 2001;Wilmoth & McFarland, 1977). The theory is unique in the study of moral behavior because its focus is on the developmental process of moral judgment (Reimer, 2001).…”

Section: Cognitive Developmental Theory Of Moralizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developmental Stages of Age and Moral Reasoning as Predictors of Juvenile Delinquents' Behavioral Intention to Steal Clothing

Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal

2005

This study explored juvenile delinquents' moral reasoning and behavioral intention to steal clothing using age group and the aligned theories of planned behavior and cognitive developmental moralization. Participants (n = 100) were preteen and teen first‐time theft/shoplifting offenders participating in a diversion program aimed at preventing future offenses. Factor analysis revealed three strongly correlated dimensions of moral reasoning: risk and need (preconventional ethics), and peers (conventional ethics). Multiple regressions predicted positive moral reasoning that justified stealing clothing for risk, need, and peers by preteens but not teens. Risk and need, but not peers or age group, predicted behavioral intention to steal clothing. Adevelopmental shift existed from preteens to teens in their moral reasoning to steal clothing. Juvenile delinquents that identified with preconventional ethics exhibited behavioral intention to steal clothing.

Moral maturity and behavior: Failure to find a link

Kupfersmid

Wonderly

1980

J Youth Adolescence

The question addressed is whether individuals operating at the Postconventional level of moral reasoning behave appreciatively different from those functioning at lower moral maturity levels. The types of behaviors reported in the literature are classified in five areas: resistance to temptation, resistance to social influence/authority, student activism, prosocial behavior, and antisocial behavior. The data suggest that evidence linking Kohlbergian moral development to differential behaviors is remote. However, the link between moral reasoning and behavior is not positively nonexistent. There remain several factors which probably affect the findings in all five behavioral categories, especially the sparsity of subjects at the principled level and the limited range of behaviors investigated.