Adolescence is an important time for development of moral reasoning and behavior.
Piaget and Kohlberg provided two important theoretical perspectives that explain the
development of moral reasoning. Piaget found that a child’s idea regarding rules, moral
judgments, and punishment changes as they grow older. Kohlberg developed levels of
moral reasoning that occur during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
Consider this scenario. Your aunt and uncle are concerned about whether their teenage
children, your cousins, will develop into moral adults. They ask you about adolescent
moral development and, in particular, they want to know what they should expect in
regard to moral behavior for their adolescents. They want to know what they can do to
ensure the healthy moral development of their children during adolescence. They are
also specifically concerned about whether there is a gap between moral reasoning and
moral behavior.
Instructions:
In this assignment forum:
• Explain Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning.
• Give an example of when and why there might be a gap between an adolescent’s
moral reasoning and their behavior.
• Describe two ways to promote prosocial reasoning and behavior.