This paper describes the rationale for the Defining Issues Test (DIT), an objective test of moral judgment which attempts to improve upon three aspects of Kohlberg's research: data collection, categorization of moral judgments (the scoring system), and method of indexing a subject's progress in a developmental sequence. In each case, the way in…

Reported research uses stepwise multiple regression analyses to generate regression equations for 60 school age subjects with choice of right action and stage of moral reasoning on moral dilemmas as the dependent variables. Age, IQ, socioeconomic status, awareness of consequences, empathy, and mean moral maturity scores were used as predictor…

This paper attempts to find some similiarities among different theories of moral development, presenting a literature review of research and a comparative analysis of results on three questions. The questions considered are: (1) What is the role of cognitive competence in moral development and what optimizes the cognitive aspects of moral growth?…

In this study, reading textbooks were analyzed for moral content. From the findings of this analysis the extent of the use of Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development in the textbooks was determined. The greatest amount of attention in one series was given to the category of helpfulness, while little attention was given to the categories of…

This paper deals with one view of cognitive social learning and its applications to the psychological analysis of moral competence and moral conduct. The concept of cognitive and behavioral construction competencies is explained and cognitive competencies are said to be among the very best predictors of "honesty" in conduct. Moral…

Eight to twelve year old children are at an ideal age in terms of influencing moral development because of the cognitive and social changes they go through at this stage. Their interest in group activities makes team sports attractive. It is important to determine whether competition in athletic programs detracts from moral behavior. If it does,…

This document is written to describe a model which will enable teachers to incorporate values clarification and moral development within content-centered learning episodes. It also attempts to explain to teachers what the processes of values clarification and moral development are and to train teachers to recognize student verbal behaviors…

This booklet examines various problems involving the moral content and implications of education and discusses some of the difficulties school officials face in trying to accommodate the diverse moral values of different segments of American society. The author argues that, because unintentional moral training takes place in all schools through…

This study was designed empirically to determine the relationship between student's perception of the humanism, traditionalism, and strict control of the high school environment and their moral reasoning. The subjects, seniors at nine parochial high schools located in four midwestern states, completed an opinion survey and Kohlberg's Moral…

This paper presents some theoretical background and practical guidelines for the teacher choosing literature concerned with human values. Kohlberg's theory of moral development, which postulates seven stages of development, is described, and a discussion on how literature can be used to further moral development at each stage is presented.…

In examining the role of values in the curriculum, the author raises four problems: (1) Can one justify trying to change student values at all? (2) Can one justify one particular set of values? (3) Can one demonstrate the occurrence of change in student values due to the educational factor? and (4) Can one measure student values? The goal, in…

The purpose of this study was to examine possible relationships between moral and cognitive development in second- and fifth-grade children. Sixty children were used in the study. Levels of cognitive development were evaluated using four learning tasks and moral development was assessed by presenting four conflicting situations to each subject for…

In this book Piaget considers the way children learn about the world. He addresses such questions as the following: How does a child learn to perceive the world around him? How, for example, does he learn that by grasping an object, he can pull it towards him, or that a ball of clay, flattened, is no smaller than it was before? How does he learn…

This paper deals with two specific issues: the explanation of moral conduct and the structure of moral character. The purpose of the paper is to describe a new psychological perspective on moral conduct, and to discuss some empirical findings which follow from this perspective. Morality is regarded here as a natural phenomenon which considers…

Sixty-two white middle class subjects forming two age groups (6 and 11 years) were given information about hypothetical peers who were described as hitting the subject child. Children indicated how much they thought the peer should be punished (spanked). Older subjects put more emphasis on situational or personal information about the peer…