The Development of Moral Behavior: Continuities and Discontinuities

Abstract

A conceptual framework and supporting research findings are presented which are intended to contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between moral judgment and moral action. A transactional model, based in part upon the earlier work of Piaget, is outlined. Within this framework, the outcome of moral deliberation is viewed as the joint product of an individual's current level of cognitive complexity and the structural complexity of the moral dilemma which he or she must arbitrate. In this context cognitive development level is assumed to predict concrete behavioral choices whenever individuals are at least as complex as are the moral alternatives which confront them.

In order to test this hypothesis, children at three levels of conceptual maturity were presented with six dilemmas, representing all pairwise combinations of rituals, rules and principles, and were required to formulate specific plans of action to resolve these conflicts. The results are consistent with the hypothesis and show a significant interaction between the structural complexity of moral dilemmas and cognitive complexity of persons who attempt to resolve them.

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