Techniques and strategies in exploring Intellectual Moral / Personality

Norherani Moning Week 7 30/7/2012

Overview
A Definition of Development Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development Moral Development Moral Reasoning How stories fit in

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Development is
Cognitive Social Physical Personal

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Principles of Development
Development
Occurs at different rates

Is relatively orderly
Happens gradually
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Brain Development
Neurons & synapses Plasticity Specialization and integration Lateralization Brain function affects learning
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 Organization Schemes / schema Adaptation Assimilation Accommodation Equilibration/ Disequilibrium

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Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development

Cognitive Development
Believed that intelligence was not random, but was a set of organized cognitive structures that the infant actively constructed This construction occurs through the adaptation to the environment

Adaptation: Two Mechanisms

Assimilation:
Interpreting or construing environmental events in terms of ones existing cognitive structures and ways of thinking

Accommodation:
Changing ones existing cognitive structures and ways of thinking to apprehend environmental events

Schemes of Learning

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Piagets 4 Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete operations Formal operations

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Piagets Stages of Cognitive Development

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Sensorimotor Stage: 02 Years

Learning through 5 senses Develops object permanence The beginning of goal-directed actions

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Preoperational Stage: 27 years

Semiotic function ability to use symbols One-way logic Difficulty with the principle of conservation Egocentrism Collective monologue

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Centration

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Reversible Thinking

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Concrete Operational Stage: 711 years

Hands on thinking

Identity Compensation Reversibility Classification Seriation

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Piagetian Class Inclusion Problem

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Formal Operational Stage: 11 years to adult

Hypothetico-deductive reasoning Abstract thinking Scientific reasoning Adolescent egocentrism & imaginary audience Not all individuals reach this stage

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Limitations of Piagets Theory

Issues with stage model

Underestimates children's abilities

Overlooks influence of cultural and social groups
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Moral development & Reasoning

Lawrence Kohlberg Piaget

Definition
Morality - the distinguishing of right from wrong
(However, what is considered right and what is considered wrong is undeniably subjective)

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History of Theories
Piaget (1932)
Moral development stems from individual/ environment interactions Child moves from heteronomous to autonomous orientation regarding rules (We will return to Piaget shortly)

Piaget
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History of Theories
Kohlberg (1981, 1984)
Disagreed with moral development research of the time, designed new measures (well return to Kohlberg shortly)

1970s/1980s
Shift from 50s and 60s thinking and to belief that love, sympathy, empathy, bonding, and attachment are motivations for ones moral growth

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Current Debates
1. What is the role of Emotion? Perhaps moral judgment is not rational at all Still being debated, though not new issue Philosophers Hume (1700s) Smith (1700s), as well as Freud, considered the role of emotion in decision making)

2. Is moral development linear? (Following stages)?

3. How is morality tied to context/culture? Where does morality surface? In character traits? In valuing a community? In ones personal habits?
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What Develops?
Moral development is the process of transfiguring cognitive structures, dependent on cognitive development and experiencing social environment

It is NOT the imprinting of rules and virtues, as was previously thought

(Duska & Whelan, 1975)

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Measuring Moral Development

Two foci Moral judgment Decision making Understanding of social rules/norms Kohlberg, Piaget, Gilligan Moral understanding Understanding of standards in the world Ability to understand others feelings Lamb, Dunn, Kagan

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Moral Judgment: Piaget

Piagets Marbles Game Observation
Observed children at various ages playing marbles to understand how children perceive rules Age (years) Play type
Up to 2 2-6 Motor activity only Egocentric play- imitate play of others, but not socially

Rule understanding
No concept Rules are like objects, not adjustable; came from Authority or God

7-10 11-12

Cooperative play playing with Rules come from mutual others agreement; can be changed Codification play play preparation Making the rules are what play is about
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Moral Judgment: Kohlberg

Developed new method for measuring moral development
Believed children more interested and more thoughtful than did other current psychologists of the time The child as a moral philosopher

Kohlberg

Thought childrens ways of thinking develop out of social experiences (similar to Piaget) Focus on how children make life judgments Created hypothetical story pitting one or more moral dilemmas against each other

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Kohlberg
Heinzs Dilemma "In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $400 for the radium and charged $4000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick womans husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money and tried every legal means, but he could only get together about $2000, which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying, and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said, No, I discovered the drug and Im going to make money from it. So, having tried every legal means, Heinz gets desperate and considers breaking into the mans store to steal the drug for his wife." (cited from website: http://www.petalk.com/humanist/behavior-morality.html ) Question: Did Heinz do the right thing? Why or why not?
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Kohlbergs Measures
Six stages children progress through:
1 and 2 Preconventional
Judgments based on obedience and punishment

3 and 4 Conventional
Judgments based on roles/stereotypes good vs. bad people; respect for rules/authority

5 and 6 Postconventional
Judgments based on agreement between groups, mutual respect, concepts of rights/justice
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Kohlbergs Measures
Six stages (cont)
Respect for rules/authority not in place until adolescence
All cultures have similar stages at levels 1-4, but may differ at stages 5 and 6 Studies indicate that Conservatives and Liberals exhibit different levels of moral reasoning: Conservatives - Stage 4, Liberals - Stage 5
(Emler, Palmer-Canton, & St. James, 1998; Emler & Stace, 1999, in Nucci, 2003)

Stage 6 no longer used very few people reached it

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Kohlbergs Influence
Began shift in psychology Old belief: children developed morality in response to social pressures New belief: children develop morality as result of actively processing their own social experiences Critique of Kohlberg Based on belief that decision making will be rational Some people backtrack to previous stages (Gilligan, 1980s) Morality of males/females is different; Kohlbergs method is based on male perspective
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Some Strategies based on cognitive and moral development

Mnemonic devises Writing and journals Visualisation and guided imagery Music, rhythm, rhyme and rap Role plays, drama and charades Storytelling Movement Games Drawing and artwork Brainstorming and discussion

An example
There was once a man named North. His last name was America. He fell in love with a beautiful woman named South. They got married and she took his last name so she became South America. They honeymooned in Europe. This couple was blessed to have four daughters whose names all began with the letter A. Their names were Africa, Antarctica, Asia, and Australia. The end.

Strategy # 5 Role Plays, Drama, & Charades

As a small group, think of a way you can incorporate storytelling to engage students brains by coming up with a standard/objective and an accompanying activity.

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Group Task
Explain 3 different techniques / strategies in exploring: Intellectual development (Piagets developmental stages) moral/personality development (Kohlbergs Model)