Background: A growing body of research shows that the beliefs we hold about the nature of knowing and knowledge (epistemic beliefs) may mediate moral reasoning. However, a limitation of much of the research in the area of epistemic beliefs is the lack of a longitudinal approach. Aims: The study investigated longitudinal changes in Australian…

In this study, reasoning about moral responsibilities in friendships on the part of 97 subjects was assessed at the ages of 7, 9, 12, and 15 years. Assessment was undertaken of: (1) general reasoning about the moral obligation of promise keeping; (2) general reasoning about responsibilities in friendship; and (3) situation-specific reasoning about…

Representing an attempt to document the basic assumptions of Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental theory of moral judgment, a 20-year longitudinal study was conducted. Assessed was the moral judgment development of 58 boys ages 10, 13, and 16 when the study began. At each of six testing times, subjects were individually interviewed on their…

Assessed the moral reasoning of Israeli third and sixth graders living in a city or a kibbutz. Kibbutz children's direct reciprocity reasoning increased, while pragmatic reasoning increased with age only for kibbutz children. (Author/BB)

Fifteen boys and 15 girls were interviewed during their seventh, ninth, and twelfth years about a friendship dilemma in which the protagonist had to decide whether to keep a promise given to a friend or to accept an invitation from a third child. Interviews assessed descriptive and prescriptive aspects of the differentiation and coordination of…

This article presents a longitudinal-sequential analysis of the developmental and reciprocal relationships between self-reported delinquency and moral reasoning (as measured with the Dutch version of the short form of the Defining Issues Test). Between 1991 and 1997 a large sample of 846 Dutch adolescents and young adults (15-23 years in 1991) was…