Types of
 Games
 and Play
Pre-Cooperative
Parallel
Egocentric
Immature Cooperative
Mature Cooperative
 Game Rule
 Practice
and Consciousness
A casual attitude toward game rules; few rules are understood; games ignored
Rules are viewed as sacred, obligatory,
unchangeable; game rules are vaguely understood
Rules are viewed as a product of mutual consent; game rules are codified and of   intense interest
 Basic Morality
Is Respect
 for Rules
Heteronomy: morality of constraint; imposed constraints maintain egocentrism; constraints are a      necessary precondition for the development of moral autonomy
 Sense of
 Justice
Justice is what is
commanded by authority:
Heteronomy
 Equalitarianism
 Born of solidarity & mutual respect among equals
Equity
Consider intentions & situation when judging
 Thinking
 Capacity
Pre-Operational
Can't take the perspective of others; can't think about their own thinking
Concrete Operational
Take the perspective of
others; conceptual but not abstract reasoning
 Concept of
 Responsibility
Objective sense of responsibility: acts
evaluated in terms of material consequences; evaluations based on observable factors
Subjective sense of responsibility: acts evaluated in terms of motives/intentions; acts judged immoral if
they violate norm of reciprocity central to moral rules
 Morality
 of Good
 
Moral
 Affect
Feeling of obligation to follow rules of respected authority; raw material for future autonomous moral behavior is present in sympathetic tendencies and affective reactions
Piaget's Theory of Moral Development
Developed by Gordon Vessels 2000
©
 Formal Operational
 Can think logically and
abstractly; can consider
 many viewpoints
Affection between parent and child yields morality of good; develops along side the morality of justice
Cooperative
No further explanation
Feeling of obligation to follow rules emerging from cooperation and respect among equals (reflects valuing of reciprocity); "moral sentiments and motivation" to do right reflect the subordination of early "sympathetic tendencies" and "affective reactions" to rules; "will" is the permanent set of constructed "values" to which one one adheres
Autonomy: morality of cooperation; cooperation and reciprocity emerge from relationships among peer equals that deliver them from egocentrism to moral autonomy and a mature sense of justice
Piaget’s explanations of children’s moral development have not been accurately described in the literature.  Primary sources reveal that he did not view heteronomy or externally imposed goodness as a bad thing for young children or as an unnecessary and avoidable step in the process of becoming a moral person.  Some have erroneously concluded that he was against punitive or expiatory sanctions of all kinds and at all ages.  Those who read his writings rather than others’ interpretations of his writings quickly discover that he said relationships with children should be as cooperative as possible and that reciprocity sanctions should gradually replace expiatory or punitive sanctions.  They will also discover that he had several parallel theories of moral development with each focusing on a different aspect of moral functioning.  In addition, his intuitive ideas about moral affect proved to be close to the mark as recently revealed by Hoffman and Kagan.  He wrote that young children at the pre-cooperation stage feel obligated to follow rules enjoined by respected adults and that the raw material of their sympathetic tendencies and emotional reactions become moral when subjected to rules.  For children at the cooperative stage, he described feelings of obligation to follow rules emerging from cooperative relationships and mutual respect among equals and a related valuing of reciprocity in relationships.  He stated that moral sentiments and moral motivation results when sympathetic tendencies and emotional reactions are subordinated to rules.  We now know that children show a natural affective empathy from birth and that this makes the internalization of moral standards and the development of conscience possible through relationships.  Piaget emphasizes the importance of cooperative relationships with peers, related games and game rules, changing conceptions of justice beginning with that commanded by authority, equalitarianism, and equity with the latter two corresponding to concrete operational and formal operational thinking.   He explained that children’s conception of responsibility changes from objective to subjective, with the latter involving a consideration of intentionality.  Piaget briefly described a morality of good which he said develops along side a morality of justice with the former emerging when the parent-child relationship is one of mutual affection.  This concept corresponds to Gilligan’s ethics of care.  You may recall hat she criticized Kohlberg for focuses on justice and ignoring care.