4.2 Discussion: Moral Development and Diverse Perspectives from Curiosity Conversation | Homework Solution

4.2 Discussion: Moral Development and Diverse Perspectives from Curiosity Conversation

Getting Started

Psychologists have studied moral development for decades. There are various perspectives from which to view moral development. Freud proposed that moral development evolves as selfishness is replaced by social values, a mostly internal process. B. F. Skinner also suggested that society’s values become internalized, but he believed this occurred through socialization, not repression of the self. Jean Piaget emphasized socio-emotional development as children focus on modeling their authority figures and how they address moral concerns.

Eliot Turiel’s research into the social domain view of social cognition suggests that children learn to differentiate moral rules from conventional rules. Inspired by the work of Piaget and John Dewey, Lawrence Kohlberg conducted research on how male children respond to moral dilemmas. From this research, he developed a stage theory of moral development. Carol Gilligan, a protégé of Kohlberg’s, focused on the moral development of girls. She developed a different perspective of moral development, emphasizing the caring aspect of females.

These are just a few of the major theorists in moral development. Psychologists have not explored the areas of spiritual or religious development as thoroughly as moral development. Carl Jung believed humans have a purpose in life outside of material goals. One subfield of psychology is transpersonal psychology, which studies the transcendent experiences of humans.

Upon successful completion of this discussion, you will be able to:

• Discriminate moral and spiritual development from self and others.

Resources

• Article: Individual Moral Development and Moral Progress
• Article: Nature Meets Nurture in Religious and Spiritual Development – through OCLS
• Article: Religion and Human Development in Adulthood
• Article: Transformation in Faith and Morals
• Video: Religion, Revolution, and Ecstasy of Self-Transcendence
• eBook: Human Development and Faith: Life-Cycle Stages of Body, Mind, and Soul(Optional)

Background Information

In addition to discussing moral development in people, you will also provide insight into the moral and spiritual development of people who have different backgrounds from you to learn a wider perspective of this area of human development. One of the major criticisms of moral and spiritual development is the lack of diversity in research participants. This is one reason you will include comparisons between two diverse people: you and someone very much not like you based on the interview introduced to you in Workshop Two: Curiosity Conversation: Moral Development and Diverse Perspectives.

Instructions

1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
2. Review the following articles:
   1. Individual Moral Development and Moral Progress
   2. Nature Meets Nurture in Religious and Spiritual Development
   3. Religion and Human Development in Adulthood: Well-Being, Prosocial Behavior, and Religious and Spiritual Development
   4. Transformation in Faith and Morals
3. Watch the video, Religion, Evolution, and the Ecstasy of Self-Transcendence(18:12 min). You can also read the Religion, Revolution, and the Ecstasy of Self-Transcendence: Transcript.
4. Optionally, read the eBook, Human Development and Faith: Life-Cycle Stages of Body, Mind, and Soul.
5. Navigate to the discussion topic and respond to the following prompts, based on your interview with someone who is different from you (first introduced in 2.6: Curiosity Conversation/Interview: Moral Development and Diverse Perspectives).
   1. Discuss how morality and spirituality develop in people like you and in people very much not like you.
   2. Which stages of moral and spiritual development seem to appear in both yourself and the interviewee? Which do not?
   3. Why do you think the stages are different (what could account for the differences)?
6. You will need to conduct independent research.
7. Use APA formatting for citations.
8. Your postings should also:
   1. Be well developed by providing clear answers with evidence of critical thinking.
   2. Add greater depth to the discussion by introducing new ideas.
   3. Provide clarification to classmates’ questions and provide insight into the discussion.