Social and Moral
Development
Questions via: 07537 402 400 precede with edskj

If I have chosen the problem of moral
education as the theme of this lecture it is not
because of the original meaning attached to it
by educational specialists but because of its
special urgency today
Emile Durkheim - 1902

The young people of today think of nothing but
themselves. They have no reverence [respect] for their
parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint;
They talk as if they alone know everything and what
passes for wisdom in us foolishness in them. As for the
girls, they are foolish and immodest and unwomanly
in speech, behaviour and dress
Peter the Hermit – C11th

Our young men have grown slothful. There is not a single
honourable occupation for which they will toil night and day.
They sing and dance and grow effeminate and curl their hair
and learn womanish tricks of speech; They are as languid as
women and deck themselves out with unbecoming ornaments.
Without strength, without energy, they add nothing during life
to the gifts with which they were born - then they complain of
their lot”
Seneca – C1st

The children now love luxury; they show disrespect for
elders and love chatter in places of exercise. Children
are tyrants, not the servants of their households. They
no longer rise when their elders enter the room. They
contradict their parents, chatter before
company, gobble up dainties [food] at the table, cross
their legs and tyrannise their teachers
Socrates – C4th

Erik Erickson
• Born: 1902 – Germany
• Died: 1994 - USA
• Theory of Social Development
• Influenced by Freud (Sigmund &
Anna)

Erickson’s Stages of Personal and
Social Development I
Stage Conflict Significant Important PsychoSocial Result Virtue
Relationship Events Emphasis
0-18 m Trust v Maternal Feeding To get and to give Children develop a sense of trust Hope
Mistrust Person in return from reliable, nurturing carers
who provide both care and
affection. Touch and visual
contact are important. A lack of
this may lead to mistrust,
insecurity and a feeling of
worthlessness.
18m-3y Autonomy v Parental Toilet To hold on and let Children need to develop a sense Will
Doubt / Shame Persons Training go of personal control over physical
skills and a sense of
independence. Success leads to
feelings of pride, autonomy and
high self-esteem while failure
may result in feelings of shame
and doubt.
3y-6y Initiationv Guilt Basic Family Exploration To copy and Children need to explore their Purpose
pretend social and physical
environments. Parents who
encourage exploration promote
a sense of initiative and purpose.
Discouraging or punishing
children’s initiative may lead to
feelings of guilt.

Erickson’s Stages of Personal and
Social Development II
Stage Conflict Significant Important PsychoSocial Result Virtue
Relationship Events Emphasis
6y-12y Industry v Neighbour- School To make things Children are focused on learning Competence
Inferiority hood and alone and new things and making friends.
Success leads to feelings of
School cooperatively accomplishment, competence
and industry. Failure results in
feelings of inadequacy and
inferiority.
12-18y Identity v Role Peer Groups Social To be yourself Teens need to develop a sense of Fidelity
confusion and Role Relationships and share with self and personal identity to
decide ‘who am I?’. Success leads
Models others to an ability to stay true to
yourself and your ideals, while
failure leads to role confusion, a
weak sense of self and struggle
to fit in.
Young Intimacy v Friends, Relationships To lose and find Young adults need to form Love
Adults Isolation Colleagues, yourself in intimate, loving relationships
with other people. Success leads
Partners another to strong relationships, while
failure results in loneliness and
isolation.
http://psychology.about.com/library/bl_psychosocial_summary.ht
m

Erickson’s Stages of Personal and
Social Development III
• In each stage Erikson believed that people experience conflict
that serves as a turning point in development
• Success develops personal growth failure stunts or inhibits it
• So the virtues are gained and grow or stunted and may never
grow
• So in the key stages where school has an influence(4 and 5)
– Stage 4: Children who are encouraged and commended by parents and teachers
develop a feeling of competence and belief in their skills. Those who receive little or no
encouragement from parents, teachers, or peers will doubt their ability to be successful
– Stage 5: Those who receive proper encouragement and reinforcement through personal
exploration will emerge from this stage with a strong sense of self and a feeling of
independence and control. Those who remain unsure of their beliefs and desires will
insecure and confused about themselves and the future
• BUT – children may come to school without the previous virtues in place

4 Questions
Question Theory
How does conscience and our feelings of Freud’s psychoanalytical theory through
guilt develop the process of Oedipus/Elektra
How do we develop our knowledge of The Cognitive developmental theories of
rules and moral principles? Piaget and Kohlberg, that see cognitive
development as a precursor to moral
development, explain this one.
How do we learn behaviours appropriate The realm of the behaviourists,
to the laws of the land and specific to our particularly the neo-behaviourist
own culture? approach of Bandura and SLT
How do we develop our concern for Eisenberg’s theory of pro-social reasoning
others?

Lawrence Kohlberg
• Born: 1927– USA
• Died: 1987- USA
• Theory of Moral Stage Development
• Influenced by Piaget

Kohlberg’s Moral Stages
Level and Age Stage What determines right and wrong?
Preconventional: Punishment & Obedience Right and wrong defined by what they get punished for. If
you get told off for stealing then obviously stealing is
Up to the Age of 9 wrong.
Instrumental - Relativist Similar, but right and wrong is now determined by what
we are rewarded for, and by doing what others want. Any
concern for others is motivated by selfishness.
Conventional: Interpersonal concordance Being good is whatever pleases others. The child adopts a
conformist attitude to morality. Right and wrong are
Most adolescents determined by the majority
and adults
Law and order Being good now means doing your duty to society. To this
end we obey laws without question and show a respect
for authority. Most adults do not progress past this stage.
Postconventional:1 Social contract Right and wrong now determined by personal values,
although these can be over-ridden by democratically
0 to 15% of the agreed laws. When laws infringe our own sense of justice
over 20s. we can choose to ignore them.
Universal ethical principle We now live in accordance with deeply held moral
principles which are seen as more important than the
laws of the land.

Kohlberg’s Moral Stages
• Developed by reading stories to children – referred to as Moral Dilemmas
• 72 boys from Chicago over a 26 year period. Boys were 10, 13 and 16
when the study began in 1955.
• Concluded in three levels of moral development
– Preconventional
– Conventional
– Postconventional
• Each of these consists of two sub-stages giving 6 in all
• These are progressive and hierarchal
• Criticized as constructed from beliefs not actions however Snarey (1985)
and Fodor (1972) carried out field studies which support Kohlberg
• Shaver & Strong (1976) not convinced that most people progress beyond
Stage 4

Nancy Eisenberg
• Born: 1952– USA
• Professor at Arizona State University
• Theory of Prosocial Reasoning
• Influenced by Kohlberg

Eisenberg Prosocial Reasoning
Level Age Phase Characteristics
Hedonistic orientation Preschool and EYFS Social behaviour undertaken for
own benefit.
Needs of others EYFS, KS1 / lower KS2 Concern for others even if it
conflicts with own needs but
orientation
without evidence of empathy
Approval and interpersonal KS1, KS2, KS3 and KS4 Stereotypes of good and bad
behaviour; needs approval for
orientation
behaviour
Self-reflective, empathetic KS3, KS4, A level Concerned about others needs
and able to interpret these from
orientation
their perspective; empathy
Internalised values Some secondary pupils Maintains self-respect by living
up to own values and beliefs;
orientation
belief in the dignity, rights and
equality of all people

Eisenberg’s Prosocial Reasoning
• Prosocial behaviour is positive action performed
to benefit other people. This is related to altruism
which is behaviour carried out to help others
without expecting a reward.
• Felt that Kohnberg’s theory incomplete and it did
not consider the emotional compotent of moral
behavior
• Moral Dilemmas too hard for children to
understand, thus explaining why they showed
immature reasoning

Stages of Moral Reasoning
Stage 0: Egocentric (0-4) What’s Right? I should get my own way
Reason to be good? To get rewards and avoid punishments
Stage 1: Unquestioned What’s Right? I should do what I'm told.
Obedience (4-6)
Reason to be good? To stay out of trouble.
Stage 2: What’s in it for What’s Right? I should look out for myself but be fair to those who are fair to
me.
me? (6-8)
Reason to be good? Self-interest: What's in it for me?
Stage 3: Intrapersonal What’s Right? I should be a nice person and live up to the expectations of
people I know and care about.
Conformity (9-15)
Reason to be good? So others will think well of me (social approval) and I can think
well of myself (self-esteem)
Stage 4: Responsibility to What’s Right? I should fulfill my responsibilities to the social or value system I
feel part of.
the system(15-20)
Reason to be good? To keep the system from falling apart and to maintain self-
respect as somebody who meets my obligations.
Stage 5: Principled What’s Right? I should show the greatest possible respect for the rights and
dignity of every individual person and should support a system
Conscience (20+) that protects human rights.

References
• About.com (2011) Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages Summary Chart. [online]
Available from:
http://psychology.about.com/library/bl_psychosocial_summary.htm [Accessed
5/10/11].
• Erikson, E.H. (1968) Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: Norton.
• LearningTheories.com (2008) Erikson’s Stages of Development. [online]
Available from: http://www.learning-theories.com/eriksons-stages-of-
development.html [Accessed 5/10/11]
• Slavin, R. (1988) Educational Psychology. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
• Eisenberg, N. (1989) The development of prosocial values’ In: Eisenberg, N.
Reykowski, J. &Staub, E. (eds.) Social and moral values: Individual and social
perspectives. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Kohlberg, L. (1973) The Claim to Moral Adequacy of a Highest Stage of Moral
Judgment. Journal of Philosophy, 70(18), 630–646.
• Shaver J.P. and Strong W 1976. Facing Value Decision: Rational Building For
Teachers,Wadsworth Publishing California.
• Snarey, J. (1985). Cross-cultural universality of social-moral development: A
critical review of Kohlbergian research. Psychological Bulletin, 97, 202-232.