Briefly reviews the history of and current debate on sex differences in morality, and addresses some important issues raised by Gilligan and Attanucci (1988) related to sex bias in Kohlberg's stage theory. Underscores the political and psychological significance of Gilligan's ideas, and presents a demand for theory-driven research to substantiate…

Offers a discussion of contemporary theories of moral development, discussing both cognitive and affective positions and proposing an alternative third position as a resolution of the first two. The proposed alternative is based upon the model of the subject within communicative relations, whose life involves constructing reality through social…

Children, adolescents, and adults responded to a moral judgment interview (to assess moral stage) and participated in a dyadic discussion of moral conflicts (from which observers rated various ego processes); a subsample of students was interviewed again three years later. Findings indicated that ego functioning was predictive of both concurrent…

Argues that Shweder (1982) fails to see that in the theory of the moral subject of cooperative relations persons communicate in order to co-construct knowledge and to maintain and promote mutual respect. (Author/MP)

Examines the issue of whether children's perceptions of maternal socialization behaviors are characterized by a preference for permissive mothers or for mothers who intervene to stop misbehavior. It is suggested that the majority of children studied (ages 4 to 8.5 years) preferred the interventionist mother. (MP)

Focuses on assessing the effects of conflicting discussions within undergraduate dyads consisting of partners at the same or different levels of moral judgment. The experimental procedure consisted of: (1) an Opinion Questionnaire; (2) pretest Kohlberg interviews; (3) assignment to experimental and control conditions; (4) experimental discussion…

Examines evidence of justice and care perspectives in 46 men's and 34 women's discussions of actual moral conflicts. Also considers whether an association between moral orientation and gender exists. While gender differences are found, findings suggest that people know and use both justice and care perspectives in their moral orientations. (RH)

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)

Comments on Damon and Killen's study, pointing out that the methodological difficulties in examining spontaneous moral discussions have led to the appropriation of a dyadic social-cognitive conflict paradigm that focuses on dialogic interaction. (Author/RH)

Children's moral judgments, attributions of emotion, and their associations were examined in hypothetical, prototypical situations and situations of provocation and peer retaliation. Children judged prototypical and provoked moral transgressions (hitting and teasing). Hypothetical moral transgressions were judged to be more serious and deserving…

Conscience strength in adolescence was correlated with the development of moral judgment among adolescents and was a predictor of subsequent development during adulthood. A similar pattern of results was obtained for measures of paternal identification and involvement, but not for the corresponding maternal variables. (RH)

Explored understanding opposing views and realistic compromise for 12 political and legal situations in 72 adolescents, ages 14 to 19. Demonstrated progression in understanding of the issues. Generally, more significant changes occurred at ages 18 to 19, while responses of middle group (16 to 17) were closer to those of youngest age group (14 to…

This study explored the relationship between moral reasoning and moral behavior in 31 average adults. Subjects were placed in a situation demanding low-key moral conflict. The study examined subjects' decisions and the relationship between their moral reasoning (revealed by verbal responses to Kohlberg's hypothetical dilemmas) and their behavior.…

Compared the prosocial moral reasoning of Israeli city, kibbutz, and American third graders. Children responded to four moral dilemmas about helping situations. Although there were considerable similarities in reasoning across the three groups, there were also clear differences. (Author/BB)