Investigated the effects of gender, gender role, and type of moral dilemma on moral maturity and orientation of university students. Found that females were more consistent than males in moral stage; males were more consistent in moral orientation. Findings suggest that a more interactional model of moral judgment than the models of L. Kohlberg…

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…

Discusses problems in Pratt, Golding, and Hunter's investigation (in this issue) of two propositions central to Gilligan's (1982) thesis on the mismeasurement of women's moral orientation and development. Describes research addressing the problems and indicates directions for further research. (RH)

Examined is Carol Gilligan's thesis that men and women use different moral languages to resolve moral dilemmas, i.e., women speak a language of caring and responsibility, and men speak a language of rights and justice. Her thesis is not grounded with adequate philosophical assumptions. (Author/RM)

This paper explores the issue of sex bias in a contemporary major theory of moral development, cognitive moral theory. It explains critical reactions by Carol Gilligan and others questioning whether cognitive moral theory adequately accounts for female moral reasoning and behavior in its theory and research procedures. Several general…

A pertinent problem in the area of moral development is whether most people can distinguish moral from conventional issues. Some research has shown children and adolescents consider moral (intrinsic) transgressions more serious than violations of convention. To expand this research by examining in detail the role of intrinsicality in moral…

Results indicate that preschool children are capable of making moral judgments in both apology-restitution and guilt-innocence test contexts. Age and sex are significantly related to both moral judgment measures, while intelligence and parent occupation are unrelated to both measures. (Author/RH)

Challenges Carol Gilligan's (1982) assertion that there are two fundamentally different and gender-related orientations to morality, namely a male justice orientation and a female care orientation. Argues that Gilligan's view that these orientations are logically and psychologically incompatible and that their developmental origins are in early…

Examined role of age and education in adult moral reasoning. Interviewed 195 adults between ages of 19 and 82 using standard Kohlberg moral dilemmas. Subjects' education levels ranged from 3 to 25 years. Found no overall significant effect for age, no significant effect for gender, and significant effect for education. (Author/NB)

Investigated moral judgment delay in adolescent delinquents based on sex differences and specific moral value areas. Found that delinquents of both sexes were, on average, developmentally delayed in moral judgment, particularly on values related to the law. However, they rated values such as promise keeping, helping others, and saving life as…

The relationships of age, gender, and educational level with moral development in 94 middle-class 28- to 55-year-old adults (32 males and 62 females) were studied. Subjects were administered Kohlberg's Moral Judgment Interview (MJI). Males scored higher on the MJI than females. Findings support the continued development of moral judgment through…

Reviews Kohlberg's research on moral development and criticizes standard issue scoring, a measure of individual developmental stages of moral judgment. Discusses problems with the Moral Judgment Interview's content and scoring, suggesting longitudinal, comparative, and gender-related research needed to resolve problems of validity and reliability.…

The longitudinal changes in moral judgment and ego development in a young adult sample (n=61) were investigated, while controlling for verbal ability. Findings suggest that moral development continues into the young adult years and that verbal ability may moderate sex differences in moral judgment. (Author/BW)

Compared judgments of maltreated and nonmaltreated preschoolers regarding moral transgressions. Found that all children evaluated moral transgressions as very serious, punishable, and wrong in the absence of rules. Moral judgments and justifications differed as a function of context and type of transgression but not maltreatment status. Affective…

Examines responses of sixty preschool children interviewed on their understanding of war. Although the majority of children could not articulate details of the specific nature of war, they indicated that war was bad for morally relevant reasons. Implementations of the findings for preschool educators are discussed. (Author/DST)