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.…

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between moral judgment and personality or attitude toward authority; variation of attitude toward authority through adolescence; and bias of Kohlbergian moral development toward a liberal political philosophy. Results were discussed in terms of the political and psychological features of…

Describes a study of German children's moral reasoning about prosocial conflicts, and of the interrelations of moral reasoning and prosocial behavior. Reports that hedonistic reasoning decreased from preschool to fourth grade, but direct reciprocity, needs-oriented, and approval/interpersonal reasoning, and reasoning involving references to…

Influence of motive-outcome valence matching and outcome foreseeability on perception of intentionality and moral judgments were compared. Preschool children and adult subjects were asked directly to make attributions of intentionality to and a moral judgment of the 21 story characters. Findings suggest that outcome foreseeability significantly…

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)

Sixty second-, fourth-, and sixth-grade children were given opportunities to donate money to other children in order to establish age-related differences and demand characteristics contributing to variability in donating behavior. Discussion focuses on necessity of incorporating both qualitative and quantitative dimensions in general models of the…

Discusses a model that allows teachers to provide content and instructional strategies that are appropriate to students' stages of both mental and moral development. The model (called the Three Step Approach) is based on Lawrence Kolberg's theory and provides opportunities for students to actively explore value-laden issues. (JN)

Growing public concern with student discipline, increases in student suicide rates, homicides, and high pregnancy rates of teenage girls are causing educators to give renewed attention to the concept of "character development" in public education. (MD)

Studies the ways in which citizens rationalize their obedience or disobedience to the law. There is a clear correspondence between cognitive structure, or moral reasoning, and political-legal predispositions. Political involvement is the catalyst which converts moral development into political maturity. (Author/CS)

Points out adult behaviors likely to help children develop responsibility. Discussion focuses on the inadvisability of using reward and punishment, the importance of exchanging viewpoints with children and letting them make decisions, and the importance of beginning training for autonomy in the early years. (RH)

Argues that the Socratic method is inappropriate for children because it teaches them to question adult authority before they have the necessary experience and is therefore conducive to cynicism. A traditional liberal arts curriculum, combining transmission of culture with open inquiry, is preferable to attempts to teach critical thinking. (TE)

Answering Richard Paul's critique, the author restates his preference for open dialog in the school about beliefs and issues, rather than excessive concern with techniques of critical thinking. Children learn worthwhile things without being directly taught, while an unintended consequence of teaching critical thinking may be a weakening of…

The need for a new role for guidance in secondary schools is stressed. Guidance through the curriculum is presented as a means of stimulating cognitive, moral and ego development by secondary school pupils. An experimental curriculum in moral education is described and evaluated. (Editor)

Effects of self-esteem and values-clarification strategies on value awareness were assessed in an hour values-clarification workshop. Subjects participating in the workshop showed significantly greater gains in value awareness than nonparticipants, confirming that values-clarification strategies are valid means for clarifying personal values of…

This study examines the effects of three levels of motives (avoid failure, nonspecific, and gain) and two levels of consequences (individual versus collective) on attribution of moral responsibility. (Author/AM)