Male perpetrated sexual aggression has long been recognized as a serious problem on college campuses. The purpose of this multiple regression correlation study was to assess the relationship between levels of moral development (measured by the Defining Issues Test) and the degree to which first-year college men (N = 161) ascribed to rape…

Studies the processes of development in Kohlberg's (1981) moral systems and in Haan's (1983) interactional formulation, by comparing the effects of two curricular experiences for university students. The experiences were: discussion of hypothetical dilemmas which was designed to promote cognitive disequilibrium, and playing moral games, which was…

Examines several issues arising from two differing approaches to morality--Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning development and Gilligan's theory of moral orientations. (PCB)

Reports study of 4- and 5-year-old children, finding (a) that young children's moral intuition about lying is quite advanced as compared to their definition of "to lie" and (b) that children's realist definition of "to lie" carries a strong negative moral connotation that overrides their usual subjectivist moral intuitions.…

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)

A theory of the assignment of moral responsibility and punishment for harm was tested with 5- to 11-year-old children. Results indicated sophisticated use of moral concepts from 5 years. Developmental trends suggested increasing sensitivity to these concepts, greater tolerance for harm doing, and more emphasis on restitution than punishment.…

Bases for recent allegations of sex bias in Kohlberg's theory of moral development are discussed, and studies comparing the development of moral reasoning across the sexes are reviewed. A meta-analysis supported the conclusion that the overall pattern is one of nonsignificant sex differences in moral reasoning. (Author/RH)

A two-part study examined children's conceptions of the linkages between sociomoral events and emotional consequences for several event participants. Results of the first study indicated that children's conceptions were highly differentiated. The second study found children able to match affective information to events likely to cause emotional…

Replicates and extends to older adolescents previous findings of factorial independence between IQ and daydreaming in both gifted and average children and young adolescents. Also aims to relate to the development of moral reasoning ability research findings of a decline in guilt and fear-of-failure daydreams among children, adolescents, and…

Examines the issue of developmental consistencies between and within levels of moral reasoning, altruism, and perspective coordination. The relative contributions of perspective coordination and moral reasoning to altruistic behavior were examined in fifth grade. (Author/RH)

Examines several issues concerning Gilligan's and Kohlberg's models of moral orientations and Kohlberg's model of moral stages in a longitudinal study of 233 subjects aged 5 to 63 years. Results revealed few violations of the stage sequence over the two-year longitudinal interval. (RJC)

Studies the strategies that 41 perpetrators of child abuse used to insure that the victim remained silent. Results indicate that the perpetrators altered their strategies to coincide with the developmental level of the child. (RJC)

We present the results of a literature review of studies on teaching strategies for moral education in secondary schools (1995-2003). The majority of the studies focus on the "what" and "why", i.e. the objectives, of curriculum-oriented moral education. Attention to the instructional formats for enhancing the prosocial and moral development of…

Although the theory and research of Lawrence Kohlberg have been the dominant approach in the study of moral reasoning and moral development, his procedures have been criticized in three areas: (1) reliability and validity; (2) applicability to daily experience; and (3) inadequate sampling. To examine the characteristics of moral problems…

According to Gilligan (1982) there are two different orientations for describing moral development: a justice orientation characteristic of males, and a care orientation characteristic of females. Gilligan claims that the care orientation is confounded with the justice orientation in Kohlberg's (1983) conceptualization of Stage 3: mutual…