This paper poses the following question: When, in spite of knowing that it is wrong, people go on to hurt others, what does this mean for the development of moral agency? We begin by defining moral agency and briefly sketching relations between moral agency and other concepts. We then outline what three extant literatures suggest about this…

Approximately 300,000 child soldiers serve in various armed groups around the world, and become directly implicated in the perpetration of kidnappings, killings, and torture. Considering that children construct moral concepts and a sense of themselves as moral beings in the context of their everyday interactions with others, the concern with how…

Lawrence Kohlberg first published details of his research on the development of moral judgments in "Vita Humana" (later titled "Human Development"). Along with a series of other articles and essays, he greatly influenced research on moral development. He was instrumental in moving the field out of the narrow confines of analyses of psychological…

Theory and research regarding moral motivation has focused for decades on the roles of moral reasoning and, to some extent, moral emotion. Recently, however, several models of morality have positioned identity as an additional important source of moral motivation. An individual has a moral identity to the extent that he or she has constructed his…

Draws parallels between MacIntyre's account, in "After Virtue," of contemporary moral theory and practice and the conduct of young adults in conflicts developed over the breaking of an agreement to cooperate. Implications of the similarities and differences are discussed. (Author/RH)

Provides an alternative conception of postconventional moral development which fits existing data on late adolescent and adult moral judgment better than Kohlberg's higher stage descriptions. Data is from a longitudinal study of 26 undergraduates at Harvard. (Author/SS)

Evaluates the differing perspectives of Kohlberg and Turiel on moral reasoning. Both perspectives use stage displacement models to depict moral development and assume that as ontogenesis proceeds, the role played by earleir acquired moral stages becomes increasingly insignificant in comparison with the role played by more advanced stages. The…

Uses Rousseau's "Emile" to explicate Kohlberg's characterization of moral development and to illuminate several theoretical problems in Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental account. Analysis supports contentions that Kohlberg's concept of morality is unduly narrow and suggests that his one-sidedly rationalistic approach exaggerates the…

Discusses conceptual and methodological difficulties associated with the use of the form-content distinction in moral development literature. It is suggested that use of this distinction should be restricted to the analysis of social environmental influence on moral judgment. An empirical strategy for distinguishing form from content is then…

Philosophical tendencies in Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental theory of moral development such as apriorism, absolutism and formalism are unfavorably contrasted with the dialectical categories of historicism, double interactionism and reflection. In logic and epistemology the cognitive-developmental theory is shown to be based on a subjective…

Attempts to integrate Piaget's conceptualization of the development of social knowledge with the position of dialectical psychologists. (BD)

Compares narrative approaches to Kohlberg's theory of moral development along five dimensions: values relevance, legitimacy, universality, rationality, and commensurability. Argues that, contrary to Kohlberg's theory, narrative approaches may lead to contradiction in epistemology, nihilism in moral choices, and opportunism in relationships.…

Maintains that Jensen highlights the force of an orthodox moral outlook and offers a novel theoretical framework integrating moral judgment with moral behavior through the "worldview" mechanism. Argues that Jensen's identification of an orthodox moral outlook is more successful than the theoretical framework offered and that many…

A factor analysis of the verbal appeals used by 70 mothers in the socialization of their young children supported the validity of characterizing the moral arguments of parents in terms of their content (type of behavior approved or disapproved) and the source of moral authority to which they appeal (parental authority, legality, justice, etc.).…

Presents recent changes in the theory of moral stages, including a broadening of theoretical and research concerns, differentiation of "hard" and "soft" stages, clarification of the form-content distinction, revision of A and B substages, clarification of stages six and seven, discussion of moral action, and listing of nine…