Both Piaget’s Model of Cognitive Development and Kohlberg’s Model of Moral

Development are outlined in stages, with one stage building off of the previous stage.
Put yourself in the role of parent, teacher and juvenile justice judge and then in each
role identify why it would be necessary to understand the cognitive/moral stage from
which a child is operating. What are the most important aspects these development
models for a parent, teacher and judge to be aware of? Provide examples and be sure
to include specific stage characteristics.

“A child's cognitive development is about a child developing or constructing a

mental model of the world” (McLeod, 2009). As a parent it is important to know the
different stages in order to help your children succeed. Knowing what stage your child is
in can be very helpful in determining whether they are growing both physically and
emotionally as typical children would. It also allows parents to know what a child should
understand and comprehend. This is important to ensure they do not expect too much
from a child as well as to form proper rewards and punishments. It is also important to
ensure that they know what their child is capable of and to not limit them when they are
trying to accomplish tasks in these phases. You have to allow them to ask questions
and express themselves as they see fit in order to help them develop knowledge and
proper skills needed to be successful. It is also important for moral development.
Children, until about the age of nine, do not develop their own morals. Instead they
model theirs after those in their lives, most traditionally parents. They do not yet
internalize things therefore their belief is that if they are punished they must have done
something wrong and in order to avoid punishment they are good. It is important to
know the morality stages because children are still discovering and learning morals and
values. They may do things because they have seen them done, not necessarily
knowing what they are doing. This is important for proper punishment as well as
teaching more about what is right and wrong. As a child grows and begins to internalize
things and develop their own morals, values, and standards, they develop more
knowledge of their actions. Knowing when these stages take affect can allow parents to
apply proper punishments and learning experiences in order to curb negative behavior.
Teachers need to know these things for many of the same reasons parents do.
Knowing what level of cognitive development a student is can aid the teacher in tailoring
their education to that specific child’s needs. These stages would help teacher identify
those who are both above and below the standards. This is important to ensure that
each child receives the education they need. Children under standards can receive
additional help and children that may be above can be given work that meets their
needs. They also would need to know them so they know what exactly a child in that
stage can understand and comprehend that way they are teaching skills that the
children are able to learn rather than something that is too advanced. For example
children from about two to seven years of age are still incapable of understand things
from other’s perspectives. According to the Plowden report (1967), which was largely
based on Piaget’s model, “Individual learning, flexibility in the curriculum, the centrality
of play in children's learning, the use of the environment, learning by discovery and the
importance of the evaluation of children's progress - teachers should 'not assume that
only what is measurable is valuable” (McLeod, 2009). They are still very much
egocentric. It also helps them to understand attention spans. Knowing these things will
help teachers solve conflicts between children and help them to develop better
interpersonal skills. Morally teachers need to know these stages for the same reasons
parents do. It is just as important, if not more, that teachers show good moral
judgements and values. This is due to the fact that children most oftentimes see them
as authority figures and are modeling after them.
As a juvenile justice judge, these stages are important for determining proper
punishments. It is essential to understand what level the juvenile is at in order to
determine their knowledge of guilt, right, and wrong. It is essential for them to
understand what cognitive level the child is at in order to determine this as well as moral
level. It is not until children hit about the age of 11 that they start to “gain the ability to
think in an abstract manner, the ability to combine and classify items in a more
sophisticated way, and the capacity for higher-order reasoning” (McLeod, 2010). It is at
this stage (Formal Operational) that adolescent begin more concrete thought processes
and can think abstractly as well as imagine outcomes for their actions. At this stage
adolescents are able to think systematically and see the relationships between things
(cause and effect). Before then it is essential for the judge to determine just how much
knowledge and guilt the child has of their actions. Oftentimes juvenile offenders are
teens that have had impairment in Kohlberg’s third stage of moral development. In this
stage development of interpersonal skills, authority and social order maintaining law,
and conformity (Barger, 2000). These offenders often have issues relating to
recognizing the authority of those legally appointed as well as parents and respecting
social norms they have instituted. Each type of crime committed can be a sign of which
stage the individual failed to develop properly. For instance crimes such as insurance
fraud or crimes often had issues developing properly in stage two of Kohlberg’s model
which is driven by self-interests. According to Hadit (2001) “serial killers are usually
underdeveloped as far as universal ethical principles are concerned” (Hadit, 2001).
They know according to societal norms that what they are doing is wrong but do it
regardless. Judges have to determine what level the juvenile offender is at in order to
implement proper punishments to attempt rehabilitation and deter further offenses. In
many cases juveniles can be rehabilitated through counseling and punishment. This is
due to the fact that they can be taught what is expected of them as far as societal norms
and the benefits that may come along with abiding by them.

Argosy University Online. (2015). Unit 3: Module 3 - Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive

Development. Retrieved from
http://myeclassonline.com/re/DotNextLaunch.asp?courseid=12081941&userid=2
2842622&sessionid=3d0cc71c5b&tabid= iJV8WqMq8vSq6TQ9MlHck
 pDEUHlmikpx1OGW8PXv8Ei7FNuPGIqZbTcYyvbNH/H1WehEHNTUkVkHJEhT
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Barger, R. (2000). A SUMMARY OF LAWRENCE KOHLBERG'S STAGES OF MORAL
DEVELOPMENT. Retrieved from
http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/kohlberg01bk.htm
Haidt, J. (2001). The emotional dog and its rational tail: A social intuitionist approach to
moral judgment. Psychological Review, 108(4), 814-834.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.108.4.814. Retrieved from
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McLeod, S. A. (2010). Formal Operational Stage. Retrieved from
www.simplypsychology.org/formal-operational.html
McLeod, S. A. (2015). Jean Piaget. Retrieved from
www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html