Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Moral Development”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Children's rights: reasoning and their level of moral development: an empirical investigation.

Children's reasoning about their rights is largely determined by their level of development. Since rights-reasoning concerns essentially moral issues, the best foundation to contextualise the developmental process mentioned would be to consider a moral-developmental approach. In this regard Kohlberg's theory of moral development has been found to be the primary theory that researchers have built on. The article focuses on an empirical investigation done with 312 South African children of varying ages, cultures and language groups into their level of moral-development and rights-reasoning. The two questionnaires used were Kohlberg's Standard Issue Score (Form B) and Melton's Children's Rights Interview. The most important findings made were that Kohlberg's theory of universalizability and unvariant order of sequence along with its applicability to gender and culture was confirmed for this South African study. Furthermore an important correlation between rights-reasoning development and level of moral ethical development was made which implies that an interdependent relationship exists between them.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Caregiver burden and moral development.

This paper presents an expanded understanding of both burden and moral development, identifying the traits of burden as being essential components of moral development. Steps in the interpretation of burden are shown to result in caregiver decisions that may be life-giving, oppressive, or a combination of both. This new understanding of burden is then related to Folkman and Lazarus's (1985) theory of stress and coping.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2000

Kohlberg's theory of moral development: insights into rights reasoning.

Kohlberg's theory of moral development was based on extensive research done on the reactions of people of all ages to specific moral situational dilemmas. Kohlberg was specifically interested in reasoning processes involved in decision-making. The way in which children perceive their rights is also based on reasoning processes that are inextricably linked to their level of development and more specifically to their level of moral development since the area of human rights can be considered essentially moral. Since Kohlberg's theory is primarily concerned with development, a great deal of insight can be gained into the developmental shift that occurs in children's reasoning about the rights to which they feel they should be entitled. This article focuses on Kohlberg's six-stage theory, specifically as it pertains to reasoning processes similar to those that would be used in rights reasoning. At each stage the authors propose a potential view of how children at each developmental stage might perceive their rights based on the description Kohlberg gives of the developmental trends associated with each stage. A critical assessment of Kohlberg's work is also given in order to highlight certain considerations about the limitations of this theory that need to be considered for future research.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Clarifying the relationship of veterinary medical education and moral development.

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the relationship between veterinary medical education and moral development in response to 2 previous studies that presented conflicting evidence that the experience of veterinary medical education may inhibit moral development. DESIGN: The Defining Issues Test (DIT) was used to survey the moral reasoning of veterinary medical students at the beginning and end of their education. SAMPLE POPULATION: First and fourth-year veterinary medical students. PROCEDURE: The moral reasoning of 98 veterinary medical students was assessed at the beginning of their first semester of veterinary medical education and again, 4 years later, at the end of their last semester to determine whether their moral reasoning scores would reflect the expected maturity-related increases usually found at this age range and education level. RESULTS: The DIT scores ranged from 8.3 to 70.0 for first-year students and from 16.7 to 76.7 for fourth-year students. The first-year mean was 44.0 and the fourth-year mean was 45.4. The mean change of +1.45 points was not significant. Statistical analysis did not reveal any significant correlation between the moral reasoning scores and age; however, there was a significant correlation between the moral reasoning scores and gender, with females scoring higher on the first and second test. The difference in the rate of change between tests by gender was not significant. CONCLUSION: This study appears to confirm the findings of an earlier study suggesting veterinary medical education inhibits an increase of moral reasoning in veterinary medical students.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical cheating and moral development.

Clinical cheating is one of the most devastating ways students can breach moral principles, and its prevention should be a priority for nurse educators. Educators can promote the professional integrity of students by integrating moral development into all curricular efforts.

Curriculum↗
PubMed1998

Clarifying the relationship of medical education and moral development.

PURPOSE: To assess the development of the moral reasoning skills of medical students through the course of their education, and to determine whether their scores would reflect the increases usually found at this age range and education level. METHOD: Using Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT), the authors assessed the moral reasoning of a total of 95 Texas A&M medical students from the classes of 1991-94 at the beginning of their first semester, at the end of a required first-semester medical ethics course, and at the end of the students' fourth year. RESULTS: The mean score on the first test was 47.7; on the second, 53.7; and on the third, 56.5. The +6.0 change in mean scores from the first to second test was statistically significant (p < .0001), as was the +8.8 change from the first to final test (p < .0001). The +2.8 change from the second to final test was also significant, although at a lower level (p < .0302). Analysis revealed no significant correlation between moral reasoning scores and age; however, there was a significant correlation between moral reasoning scores and sex, with women scoring higher than men on all three tests. CONCLUSIONS: While data from the current study seem to contradict earlier findings that medical education inhibits an increase in moral reasoning skills, the current findings may alternatively be interpreted as resulting mainly from the required first-semester medical ethics course, which involved small-group discussion of moral dilemmas, an educational method shown elsewhere to be effective in enhancing moral reasoning skills.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Fair Play for Kids: effects on the moral development of children in physical education.

Commitment to the principles of sportspersonship is an acknowledged goal for school physical education. However, few programs have been implemented to investigate moral development changes in physical activity settings. A field experiment was designed to examine the effect of participation in educational activities selected from Fair Play for Kids (1990) on the moral judgment, reason, intention, and prosocial behavior of children (N = 452) in the 4th through 6th grades. Six intact classrooms at each grade level (N = 18) were randomly assigned to the following groups: (a) control, (b) Fair Play for Kids curriculum during physical education only, or (c) Fair Play for Kids curriculum during all school subjects. Experimental protocol extended for 7 months of an academic year, and moral development indicators were assessed prior to and following the intervention. Using class as the unit of analysis, 3 x 2 (Group x Time) repeated measures analyses of variance revealed that both treatment groups were significantly higher than the control group at posttest for moral judgment, reason, and intention scores. For students within classes, repeated measures analyses showed that treatment group participants had significantly higher posttest scores on all 4 measures as compared to students in the control group. Results provide initial validation of the Fair Play For Kids curriculum for effecting change in the moral development of elementary school students.

Attitude↗
PubMed2000

Choosing Biases, Using Power and Practicing Resistance: Moral Development in a World without Certainty.

In contrast to the modernist models which have dominated the psychological study of moral development in recent decades, the model of moral development presented here rests on the premise that situations in the real world are inherently ambiguous, and that their moral significance in particular is profoundly underdetermined by available 'facts'. Under these conditions, our interpretations of moral events are necessarily biased by the interpretive habits in our repertoire. These habits of cognition - which simultaneously perceive the moral world and constitute it - are founded in early socialization, and are then directed and shaped throughout life by reflection and by our experience. The description of the model is buttressed by research results, including a study of narratives collected from working class African-, European-, and Mexican-American men and women. Copyright 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel

Journal Article↗
PubMed1989

[Moral development in children].

In child psychiatry the developmental aspect is emphasized. Recognition of normal sequence of development in so-called "normal children" makes it possible to reveal pathological conditions (either retardation or acceleration of development, distortion or atypical development). Change-motion-development are philosophical categories considered a manifestation or life--of psychobiological maturation and growth. When investigating the moral development three theories were applied: the developmental theory (Piaget)--learning (Kohlberg), the dynamic theory (Sandler). Among factors which influence in a certain way the moral behaviour the following were selected: age, sex, temperament, family environment. The author describes three stages of moral development in children: preventional stage (moral heteronomy) up to the age of 8 years, conventional and pst conventional (moral autonomy) in adolescence.

Child↗
PubMed1975

Father absence, perceived, maternal behavior, and moral development in boys.

The rated and observed moral behavior, judgment, and affect of 120 preadolescent, predominantly lower-class boys from early-divorced (before the boys were 6), late-divorced (between 6 and 10), and parentally intact homes were investigated. In addition, the mothers' discipline (power assertive, inductive, and love withdrawal) and affection were examined by asking subjects about their mothers' methods of dealing with their transgressions. Moral behavior was assessed with resistance-to-temptation, self-criticism, altruism, reparation, and teacher-rating measures, while moral judgment was evaluated with 3 Kohlberg items and moral affect was investigated with 2 story-completion items maximizing guilt. The major findings were: (1) when relevant variables (IQ, SES, age, sibling status) were controlled, few differences were found between father-absent and father-present boys; (2) however, father-absent boys were reported by their teachers as less advanced in moral development than father-present boys; (3) the sons of the divorced women showed more "social deviation", according to their teachers, but were more advanced in level of moral judgment than were the sons of widows; (4) divorced women disciplined with more power assertion than widows, according to their sons' reports.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Sexual and moral development of Israeli female adolescents from city and kibbutz: perspectives of Kohlberg and Gilligan.

This paper analyzes real-life moral dilemmas of Israeli city and kibbutz adolescents. The contribution of Gilligan's theory to our knowledge of adolescent moral development as originally conceived by Kohlberg is emphasized. It is suggested that Kohlberg's view of the adolescent as a moral philosopher limits the understanding of the moral development of female adolescents, who use both care and justice in their self-descriptions within existing relationships.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Study of the influence of veterinary medical education on the moral development of veterinary students.

Although veterinary medicine endorses high moral character and adherence to a code of ethics, to our knowledge, virtually no studies have examined the influence of veterinary medical education on the moral development of its students. Using the Kohlberg standard moral judgment interview, this study examined that relationship in a sample of 20 veterinary medical students (16.0% of the veterinary college's student body). The students were tested at the beginning and at the end of their veterinary medical education to determine whether their moral reasoning scores had increased to the same extent as those of other postgraduate students. It was found that normally expected increases in moral reasoning did not occur over the four years of veterinary medical education for these students, suggesting that their veterinary medical educational experience somehow inhibited their moral reasoning ability rather than facilitated it. With a range of moral reasoning scores between 313 and 436, the mean increase from first year to fourth year of 12.5 points was not statistically significant. Statistical analysis revealed no significant correlations between the moral reasoning scores on age or gender, although there were significant correlations with Medical College Admissions Test scores and grade point average scores.

Education, Veterinary↗
PubMed1990

Theory derivation in moral development.

The difference between Kohlberg's theory of moral justice and Gilligan's conflicting theory of moral development based on sensitivity to human relations, has been addressed in recent literature. Here Chally looks at those theories, their use in nursing research, and their strengths and limitation for use by nurses.

Decision Making↗
PubMed1993

The influence of philosophical versus theological education on the moral development of clinical medical ethicists.

PURPOSE: Because of the increasing involvement of clinical medical ethicists in patient care and the resultant controversy over the appropriate background, training, and certification of clinical ethicists, this study was designed to investigate whether different educational backgrounds (philosophical versus theological) affected the moral reasoning of clinical ethicists and their orientations toward justice or care. METHOD: From 1987 through 1990, extensive oral interviews were conducted with 50 clinical medical ethicists (26 philosophers and 24 theologians) who were at 32 medical centers in 14 states from all sections of the United States. The interviews were used to gather selected demographic characteristics about the ethicists (age, gender, and educational background) as well as to determine the ethicists' scores for stages of moral reasoning and for moral orientation. Polyserial correlations and multivariant analyses were then performed between the demographic characteristics and the data on moral reasoning and moral orientation. RESULTS: The philosophers and theologians were found not to be significantly different (p > .05) in their moral reasoning skills in terms of either moral stage score or weighted average score. Similarly, the philosophers and theologians were found not to be significantly different in their moral orientations toward justice or care in terms of recognition, predominance, or alignment. No significant relationship was found between age or gender and moral reasoning or moral orientation. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of this study, it appears that clinical medical ethicists, whether philosophers or theologians, are a fairly homogeneous group with regard to their moral development, in terms of both their stages of moral reasoning and their moral orientations toward justice and care.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Developing moral imagination and the influence of belief.

Moral imagination has been described by Murdoch as 'a way of seeing'. The focus of concern here is the influence of belief upon moral imagination and those attitudes that are needed if moral imagination is to be developed. The perspective adopted endorses a Humean recognition of the potent influence of personal experience upon those beliefs that are held, and therefore upon how we see the world. Kantian commitment to the power of the will, and to the ability of individuals to choose who they wish to be, allows room for optimism, a view which is supported by the findings of Liaschenko.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1993

The moral development of medical students: a pilot study of the possible influence of medical education.

Medicine endorses a code of ethics and encourages a high moral character among doctors. This study examines the influence of medical education on the moral reasoning and development of medical students. Kohlberg's Moral Judgment Interview was given to a sample of 20 medical students (41.7% of students in that class). The students were tested at the beginning and at the end of their medical course to determine whether their moral reasoning scores had increased to the same extent as other people who extend their formal education. It was found that normally expected increases in moral reasoning scores did not occur over the 4 years of medical education for these students, suggesting that their educational experience somehow inhibited their moral reasoning ability rather than facilitating it. With a range of moral reasoning scores between 315 and 482, the finding of a mean increase from first year to fourth year of 18.5 points was not statistically significant at the P < or = 0.05 level. Statistical analysis revealed no significant correlations at the P < or = 0.05 level between the moral reasoning scores and age, gender, Medical College Admission Test scores, or grade point average scores. Along with a brief description of Kohlberg's cognitive moral development theory, some interpretations and explanations are given for the findings of the study.

Adult↗