Moral Development Through Life. Influence of Individual and Social Development on Moral Judgements

elective courses

The aim of the course is to present the complexity of human moral

development taking in consideration the most important theories and

social influences. We will discuss if the morality is something given once

and for all or is it variable? This way we will try to answer the question –

which at a glance seems obvious – what is morality for?

Morality is commonly connected with normativity, which is imposed by

religion, society and/or family. During the seminar we will try to

understand, based on the proposed literature and examples from

everyday life, what influences the development of moral judgments and

its possible changes. We will also try to learn why people say and do

completely different things in terms of morality. Theories on moral

development will be presented. Also the idea of how the culture may

influence it. Moral development and possible pathology has a great

impact on individual and society. It is vital to be aware of ones moral

judgments, which influence our life and the lives of people around us. Last

but not least - when talking about moral judgment during the course our

goal is not to judge in terms of religion, spirituality or faith, but we will

not avoid the questions on how such believes may influence one’s moral

development.

1. What is morality?

How to define the concept of morality from the psychological

point of view, Jean Piaget’s perspective. Superego and

Übermensch – theories on the subject of moral development

from the perspective of psychoanalysis and humanistic

psychology.

 Sunar, D. (2002). Psychology of Morality. Online Readings in

Psychology and Culture, 2(1) http://dx.doi.org/10.9707/2307-

0919.1012

2. Because of fear or as a result of logical reasoning.

Theories on moral development; theories of social learning and of

cognitive development vs. Postmodernity, genes and nature.

Modern understanding of the way human morality is developed

 Eysenck H.J. (1976), The biology of morality [w:] Moral

development and Behaviour, Lichen T. (red), Holt Rinehart

and Winston, New York, s. 109-125

 "Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality" by

Patricia Smith Churchland (Princeton University Press, 2011),

fragments

3. Is moral development influenced by culture?

Discussion on Lawrence Kohlberg’s most popular moral

development theory.

 Gibbs J.C., Basinger K.S., Grime R.L. i Snarey J.R. (2007), Moral

judgment development across cultures. Revisiting Kohlberg’s

universality claims [w:] Developmental Review 27, s. 443-500

4. Parents are always right?

The role of home, school and peer groups on the changes of

morality.

 Judith Rich Harris. The Nurture Assumption. Why Children

Turn Out the Way They Do.

http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/h/harris-nurture.html

 „Dead Poet Society” movie.

5. “Bad influence?”

The role of subcultures and religions in the process of moral

judgments. Sociopaths, pathologies of development.

6. „Girls are polite but boys…”

Does moral development depend on sex?

 Ann E. Kaplan, Women, morality and social change from a

discourse analysis perspective, [in] N. Eisenberg, J. Reykowski,

E. Staub (eds), Social and moral values, Hillsdale, NJ, 1989,

Erlbaum

7. „Only the cow does not change its beliefs”

Moral development in adult life. Empathy, guiltiness, greed,

anger, shame and altruism - regulators of ones morality.

 Gibbs J.C. (2010), Moral development and reality: Beyond the

theories of Kohelberg and Hoffman, Pearson, Allyn and Bacon,

Boston

 Hoffman, M.L. (2000). Empathy and moral development:

Implications for caring and justice. New York: Cambridge

University Press. Fragments:

http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam032/99029669.pdf

8. „Brand values”.

The rules at a workplace in relation to private moral beliefs. The

significance of social reality in shaping the morality.

9. “Relativism”

Why people behave differently than their declarations? From

children’s lies to politics.

- Handbook of child psychology / Paul H. Mussen, ed. Vol. 1,

History, theory, and methods, fragments.

By the end of the course student should:

- understand the idea of moral development.

- demonstrate knowledge of the stages of moral development and it’s

functions.

- learn how to analyze the social influence in ones moral development.

- increase the self-awareness about the origins of their moral

judgments.

- be able to discuss openly on different kinds of moral judgments.

In order to complete the course each student has to do 3 things:

 read the given readings (students will be asked to refer to the readings

in their opinions). There will be randomly short, unannounced, quiz

questions addressing knowledge of the reading planned for the given

day.

- 30% of the final grade.

 Participate; active participation will positively influence the final

grade. Meaningful and respectful participation consists of:

 participation in discussion and referring to the literature.

 participation in the proposed exercises.

 all opinions on the subject are welcome.

 if someone is not feeling comfortable with active participation in

front of the entire class, this person can - before each class – send

two discussion points/ questions referring to the given lecture.

 10% of the final grade.

 write a final essay (at least four standard pages - 1800 characters per

page, Times New Roman, font size 12, spacing 1,2) on a chosen

subject concerning the moral development. Students will be graded

anonymously (student ID-number will be written on papers, not their

name) - 60% of the final grade.

To pass the course the student needs to obtain at least 60% of the

maximum grade.

Attendance rules

Since the course is short, attendance is obligatory. 1 absence with no

explanation is allowed, 2

nd absence - only sick leave and extreme life

situations will be handled as a valid excuse. 3

rd or more absences result in

failing the course.