Few studies so far have investigated whether abrupt social changes in a society affect the development of friendship and moral reasoning. In this study, 2 cohorts of 188 East German children and adolescents (aged 7, 9, 12, and 15 years) were interviewed in 1990 and 2005. Participants were asked about the importance of close friendship (friendship…

Moral sensitivity is the first component of the 4-component moral action process (J. R. Rest, 1986). The author reviews moral sensitivity operationalization and measurement across multiple samples and domains. She reviews 3 definitions of the construct (i.e., "recognition and affective response, recognition, and recognition and ascription of…

Susceptibility to peer modeling influences as a function of birth order was studied by examining the data of 390 boys from kindergarten through third grade who previously had participated in moral transgression experiments. (MS)

Children's level of moral intentionality was compared with mothers' self reports on anticipated power-assertive discipline in a case of child misdemeanor. Findings indicate that power-assertive discipline is associated with less advanced moral development in children. (GO)

Sixty children were exposed to moral arguments one or two stages above their dominant moral development stage as assessed on Kohlberg's scales. Results indicated overall change in moral concepts and attitudes, with role play procedures being no more effective than passive listening in producing change. (Author/SB)

The moral behavior, moral judgment and moral affect of 120 preadolescent boys were examined and teacher ratings of moral behaviors and feelings were also obtained. Factor analysis of data indicated no support for a trait of morality. (GO)

Explored Rokeach's theory that dogmatism develops within the family. Subjects were college students and their parents who took the 40-item Dogmatism Scale. Results indicated that family experiences are one source of children's dogmatism but not the only source. (SDH)

This study investigated the effect of manipulating social factors by role playing instructions in a moral judgment task administered to children aged 7-10 years. (GO)

Temptation behavior was studied in elementary school students in an attempt to assess the influence of intangible incentives upon resistance to temptation. Results indicated frequency of transgression was unrelated to the experimental manipulations. (ST)

Presents a study of the efficacy of using reinforcement versus cognitive conflict in producing changes in the moral judgments of ninth grade subjects. (BD/BR)

This study investigated whether for female undergraduates, stages of moral reasoning vary as a function of locus of control and degree of field independence. (GO)

Study investigated whether a training program could foster the maturation of moral judgments in prekindergarten children, and the differential effects of two training methods: discussion and verbal discrimination. (Authors/CB)

Role-taking ability and level of moral development were measured in three groups of boys and girls including 16 moderately retarded adolescents (mean chronological age 15; mean mental age 9), 16 nonretarded adolescents matched for chronological age, and 16 nonretarded children matched for mental age. (CM)

The problems examined in this study were (1) age differences in grasp of psychological causality during middle childhood, (2) the exploration of possible mediating abilities of a physical-logical nature accounting for such age differences and (3) relations between cognition of psychological causality and intentionality in moral judgment.…