Moral Development Theories

Moral Development Theories

Psychological Theories of Crime: Moral Development Theories

Introduction to Moral Development Theories

Criminologists who apply moral development theories build on the pioneering work done by Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget. According to Piaget, children evolve through four stages of cognitive development. From birth to age two, children experience the world only through their senses and motor abilities and have a very immediate, experience-based knowledge of the world. Between two and seven years of age children learn to think about and understand objects using thoughts that are independent of immediate experience. During this stage children are egocentric-that is, they believe that others experience the same reality that they do. From age seven to adolescence the child learns to think logically and to organize and classify objects. Beginning in adolescence, the child develops the ability to think logically about the future and to understand theoretical concepts. Theorists relate these stages of cognitive development to stages of moral development. At first, rules are given by powerful others. Later, children perceive that they can invent and modify rules. Finally, humans perceive the ultimate importance of abstract rules.

Influenced by Piaget’s theory that development occurs in stages, in the mid-1960s American psychologist Lawrence Kolhberg proposed a multistage theory of moral evolution. In the early level of development, children strive to maximize pleasure and avoid punishment. Children at this level consider the needs of others only to the extent that meeting those needs will help the child fulfill his or her own needs. During the next period, which is characterized by conformity to social rules, the child demonstrates respect for and duty to authority. The child also seeks to avoid disapproval from that authority. As the child matures, his or her moral judgment is motivated by respect for legally determined rules and an understanding that these rules exist to benefit all. Eventually, universal principles are internalized. These principles, such as liberty and justice, may even transcend aspects of the existing legal system.

Other studies confirm that moral development is sequential, moving from external to internal control. In other words, while young children behave in order to avoid punishment or receive approval from others, adults develop internal codes and regulate their own behavior even in the absence of external enforcement. However, criminologists have not found truly strong indications of the effect of moral development on criminal activity. Sociologists who compared the patterns of moral development between delinquents and nondelinquents found some differences between the groups, but these differences were not conclusive.” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

Guide to Moral Development Theories

In this Section

Criminology, Criminology Development (including Classical Criminology, Modern Criminology, Criminology Italian School and Independent Criminology), Criminology Goals, Biological Theories of Crime (including Crime Genetic Factors and Neurological Abnormalities), Psychological Theories of Crime (including Moral Development Theories, Social Learning Theories and Personality Theories), Environmental and Social Theories of Crime (including Social Causes, Social-Structural Theories, Subcultural Theories and Economic Causes of Crime) and

Criminal Opportunity.


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