Moral Development in Childhood

As children age they experience a great deal of variance in their abilities related to the numerous aspects of life functioning (Robbins, Chaterjee, & Canda, 2012, p. 260-296). One aspect of functioning is that of moral reasoning. Throughout a person’s childhood, moral skills develop in relating to others and their surroundings. Moral development has been a popular topic of study for many years. Some theorists have developed tools to measure moral functioning. In order know the accuracy of these tools, experiments must be designed and implemented to test hypotheses and findings.

An extensive amount of research has been conducted throughout the years on how children develop morally. Moral development has been identified as a person’s sense of right and wrong and their ways of responding to ethical dilemmas (Tichy, Johnson, Johnson, & Roseth, 2010). There are many varying focuses on moral development. Some examples of this variance can be found in studies such as Tichy, Johnson, Johnson, and Roseth’s (2010) study on constructive controversy and moral development, Stifter, Cipriano, Conway, and Kelleher’s (2009) study on temperament and moral development, Passini’s (2010) study of culture and moral development, and Levenson’s (2009) study of gender and moral development. Though these researchers all play an important role in the study of moral development, the theorist most often associated with the subject is Lawrence Kohlberg (Robbins, Chaterjee, & Canda, 2012, p. 277-280).

Lawrence Kohlberg has accomplished many findings involving the moral development of children through extensive research (Robbins, Chaterjee, & Canda, 2012, p. 260-296). Kohlberg (1969) suggests that children move through unique stages of moral develo...

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Tichy, M., Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Roseth, C. J. (2010). The impact of constructive controversy on moral development. Journal Of Applied Social Psychology, 40(4), 765-787. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2010.00597.x