Jean Piaget's Moral Development Theory

Piaget's Theory Of Moral Development

Way Of Research: Observing,Interviewing,quizzing

Age Group:- 4 to 12 Years

Stages:- Two Stages
1. Heteronomous Morality
2. Autonomous Morality

Stage 1. Heteronomous Morality
Age Group:- 4 to 10 years
Features:-  From 4 to 7 years of age, children display heteronomous morality. Children think of justice and rules as unchangeable properties of the world, remove from the control of people.
• From 7 to 10 years of age, children are in transition
showing some features of the first stage of moral
reasoning and some features of the second stage,
autonomous morality.
• Because young children are heteronomous moralist, they judge the rightness or goodness of behaviour by considering its consequences, not the
intensions of the actor.
• For examples : Killing 10 birds accidentally is worse than killing 1 bird intentionally.

Stage 2 - Autonomous Morality
Age Group:- 10 years and above
Features:- From about 10 years of age and older, children show
autonomous morality. They became aware that rules and laws are created by people, and in judging an action. They
consider the actor’s intensions as well as the consequences.
• The older children, moral autonomist, accept change in
rules example accept change in new rules of playing marbles
suggested by Piaget, contrast with younger children, they
resist change because they believes that rules are unchangeable.
• So older children accept change in rules and recognize
that rules are merely convenient conventions, subjects to
change.

children between the ages of 5 and 10 years see the world through the lens of a "heteronomous" (other-directed) morality. In this moral understanding, rules handed down by authority figures (such as parents, teachers and government leaders) are seen as absolute and unbreakable. Basically, children accept that authority figures have godlike powers, and are able to make rules that last forever, do not change, and must be followed. Children's reasoning regarding why these rules should be followed is generally based squarely upon their appreciation of consequences associated with breaking the rules. As breaking the rules tends to lead to negative personal consequences, most children follow the rules as a way to avoid being punished.

Children's appreciation of morality changes towards the end of middle childhood as a result of their recently developed ability to view situations from other people's perspectives. As children develop the ability to put themselves into someone else's shoes, their appreciation of morality becomes more autonomous (self-directed) and less black and white and absolutist in nature. Piaget called this expanded appreciation a "morality of cooperation". Starting at about age 10 or 11 and continuing through adolescence, children will have generally begun to view moral rules as socially-agreed upon guidelines designed to benefit the group. Children using this frame of reference still feel that it is important to follow rules, but these rules are viewed as complex, somewhat negotiable guidelines that are meant to improve everyone's lives. Children realize that making choices about following the rules should be based on something more than fear of negative personal consequences or desire for individual gain. Decisions affect everyone; and can benefit and/or hurt everyone.