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…

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)

Examined the reasoning of 31 preschoolers when resolving moral dilemmas. Children's resolutions and justifications were examined with regard to their care orientation or justice orientation. Found that children's answers revealed a care orientation or a justice orientation with equal frequency. At times, children could even accept both…

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)

Examined relationship between gender and moral orientation (care or justice) and between gender and judgment preferences (thinking or feeling). Findings from 366 undergraduates revealed gender differences in feeling/thinking preferences, with females more feeling oriented and males more thinking oriented. After controlling for preferences, found…

Jealousy may be perceived as either good or bad depending upon the moral maturity of the individual. To investigate this conclusion, a study was conducted testing two hypothesis: a positive relationship exists between conventional moral reasoning (reference to norms and laws) and the endorsement and level of jealousy; and a negative relationship…

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)

This group of papers on Carol Gilligan's study of psychological theory, "In a Different Voice," includes: "Some Cautionary Words for Historians" (Linda K. Kerber); "How Different Is the 'Different Voice?'" (Catherine G. Greeno and Eleanor F. Maccoby); "A Methodological Critique" (Zella Luria); "The…

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)

This investigation was designed primarily to obtain data concerning the influence (if any) of age and sex on the level of moral judgement in a group of comprehensive school pupils. (Author)

The study assessed the creative thinking and moral reasoning of academically gifted male (N=24) and female (N=27) adolescents. There were some indications that the relationship between creativity and moral reasoning differs across age, sex, and creativity subtests. (SB)

A 1981 study confirmed many of the findings of a 1968 study which examined the values of fourth year pupils in an English comprehensive school. For example, in both studies, students rejected ideal models in favor of "myself" choices. (Author/RM)

A total of 40 children in the three primary grades were studied to determine if they would donate more to a worthy cause after having been exposed to a humorous situation, in contrast to exposure to a serious one. The children who had heard a serious story about sharing donated slightly more to help Ethiopian refugees than did children who had…