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• 1. [Article] Moral judgment and cognitive reasoning among young children

  Relationships between moral judgment and cognitive reasoning among 102 six-, nine-, and twelve- year -old boys and girls from predominantly middle class backgrounds were studied. Findings obtained supported ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Moral judgment and cognitive reasoning among young children Author: Moran, Thomas Relationships between moral judgment and cognitive reasoning among 102 six-, nine-, and twelve- year -old boys and girls from predominantly middle class backgrounds were studied. Findings obtained supported Gutkin's (1972) formulation of a four stage approach toward describing the transitional shift in children's moral judgments from heteronomous to autonomous thought. However, results also indicated that this transitional shift may be influenced by the various types of damage/consequences story themes used to assess the levels of moral judgment. Children displayed higher levels of moral judgment on story themes pertaining to physical damage/consequences, followed by property and psychological damage/consequences, respectively. Findings associated with the relationships between moral judgment and cognitive reasoning were significant, but varied. When considering the overall correlations associated with this relationship for the total sample, and for the different sexes, Piaget's theoretical proposition that a child's moral judgments are a reflection of his/her cognitive reasoning was supported. Noticeable sex, age, and story theme differences in these correlations did occur, and were discussed on the basis of previous research. Title: Moral judgment and cognitive reasoning among young children Author: Moran, Thomas Relationships between moral judgment and cognitive reasoning among 102 six-, nine-, and twelve- year -old boys and girls from predominantly middle class backgrounds were studied. Findings obtained supported Gutkin's (1972) formulation of a four stage approach toward describing the transitional shift in children's moral judgments from heteronomous to autonomous thought. However, results also indicated that this transitional shift may be influenced by the various types of damage/consequences story themes used to assess the levels of moral judgment. Children displayed higher levels of moral judgment on story themes pertaining to physical damage/consequences, followed by property and psychological damage/consequences, respectively. Findings associated with the relationships between moral judgment and cognitive reasoning were significant, but varied. When considering the overall correlations associated with this relationship for the total sample, and for the different sexes, Piaget's theoretical proposition that a child's moral judgments are a reflection of his/her cognitive reasoning was supported. Noticeable sex, age, and story theme differences in these correlations did occur, and were discussed on the basis of previous research. Close