INTRODUCTION

Mark, a two year old, and Ally, an eight year old, are sitting at the table waiting for a
snack. Their mom presents them each with a cup of juice, the same amount in each
cup. Mark began to cry and point, saying You gave her more. Marks mom tries to
reason with the young child, explaining that the same amount of juice is in each
cup, but he is insistent that he is being treated unfairly. What is happening in this
situation?

1. WHAT IS PIAGETS THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT?

Piagets theory of moral development describes how children transition from doing
right because of the consequences of an authority figure to making right choices
due to ideal reciprocity or what is best for the other person.
According to Piaget, children between ages 5 and 10 make moral decisions based
on what an authority figure believes is right. Rules from parents or teachers are
unchangeable, and the child follows them out of fear of punishment.
YOUTUBE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3ii1BOt5fE

2 TYPES OF MORALITY
1. HETERONOMY OR A MORALITY OF CONSTRAINT
2. AUTONOMY OR A MORALITY OF COOPERATION
HETERONOMOUS MORALITY-(OTHER-DIRECTED) which appears first is characterized
by unilateral respect for parents or authorities and the rules they prescribed,
coupled with obedience to authority and authority- made rules.
AUTONOMOUS MORALITY- (SELF-DIRECTED) which develops later, is characterized
by mutual respect among peers or equal, coupled with conformity based on
identification with shared goals and concern for approval of others.

PIAGETS MORAL DEVELOPMENT CRITERIA RELATIVE TO STAGES OF COGNITIVE

DEVELOPMENT

SENSORIMOTOR INTELLIGENCE STAGE- occurs from birth to approximately 12 years. In the childs first year, the processes of intelligence are both
presymbolic and preverbal. For the infant, the meaning of an objects involves
what can be done with it.

PREOPERATIONAL STAGE- At this stage, kids learn through pretend play

but still struggle with logic and taking the point of view of other
people. They also often struggle with understanding the ideal of
constancy.

CONRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE- Kids at this point of development begin

to think more logically, but their thinking can also be very rigid.
They tend to struggle with abstract and hypothetical concepts. At
this point, children also become less egocentric and begin to think
about how other people might think and feel. Kids in the concrete
operational stage also begin to understand that their thoughts are
unique to them and that not everyone else necessarily shares their
thoughts, feelings, and opinions.

FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE- The final stage of Piaget's theory

involves an increase in logic, the ability to use deductive reasoning,

and an understanding of abstract ideas. At this point, people
become capable of seeing multiple potential solutions to problems
and think more scientifically about the world around them.
COURTESY OF YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRF27F2bn-A

CONCLUSION: that children were not less intelligent than adults, they
simply think differently. Albert Einstein called Piaget's discovery "so
simple only a genius could have thought of it." In Piaget's view, early
cognitive development involves processes based upon actions and later
progresses to changes in mental operations. Piaget's observations of
children's minds were not merely smaller versions of adult minds. Instead,
he proposed, intelligence is something that grows and develops through a
series of stages. Older children don't just think faster than younger

children, he suggested. Instead, there are both qualitative and

quantitative differences between the thinking of young children versus
older children.