1.According to Piaget and Kohlberg what stage of moral development should each of these classes of

children be in? Is their behavior congruent with each stage?

2. Do the children seem to understand the difference between social conventions and morality? Are

there exceptions?

(Do not copy or plagiarize from web sites, books, and other materials) Use your own words!

****please use lecture notes below

Chapter 9 Social Cognition

What does humor predict?
• Health
• Coping with difficult events
• Social acceptance
• Learning & creativity (through positive emotions)
• Positive classroom climate
Piaget’s View of Moral Judgment
• Heteronymous morality: Authority oriented, external pressure
• Autonomous morality: Based on mutual respect and cooperation rather than external pressure
Kohlberg
• Stage-based model of moral development that followed Piaget
• Used stories of competing claims for justice, like the Heinz dilemma
Six stages in 3 levels
• Level I: Preconventional Morality: Punishment and obedience to authority
– Stage 1
– Stage 2
• Level II: Conventional Morality: Laws are supreme
– Stage 3
– Stage 4
• Level III: Postconventional Morality: Abstract principles of justice and rights
– Stage 5
– Stage 6

Criticisms of Kohlberg’s Theory
• Not really hierarchical
• Restricted view of morality
• Focuses on reasoning rather than moral behavior
Academic Dishonesty
• Cheating is an immoral act because it is uncaring toward others
• Cheating undermines fairness, equity, and trust
• Cheating undermines the validity of tests
Reduce Classroom Cheating
• Challenge the belief that everyone does it
• Model honesty
• Develop warm relationships with students
• Convey that you care about learning
• Avoid negative competition
• Enforce consequences
• Be fair in assignments and tests
• Make cheating difficult
Age Trends in Moral Judgment
Early Childhood
• Children lie as soon as they talk – not skilled at lying due to poor
ToM
• 2 year olds deceive others
• 3 year olds view lying as wrong, but don’t fully understand what is a lie
• 4 year olds lie to avoid punishment
• 4 year olds distinguish social convention from moral transgression – and view moral transgression

as wrong and unchangeable
Age Trends in Moral Judgment (continued)
Middle childhood
• Believe lies are morally wrong, not just against the rules
• 1st or 2nd graders can be skilled liars due to improved
ToM
• 5th or 6th graders understand what is a lie
• Take intentions into account when judging others’ behavior
Age Trends in Moral Judgment (continued)
Adolescence
• Moral judgment continues to improve
• Prosocial reasoning improves little if at all
• May become more hedonistic and selfprotecting
What predicts moral judgment and behavior?
• Theory of mind (linked to judgment)
• Authoritative parenting (linked to judgment and behavior)
• Education (mostly linked to judgment) • Religiosity (mostly linked to behavior)
Classroom Implications of Moral Judgment
• Moral Education: Constructing morality from within
• Character Education: Handing down morality from without
• Teach morality through everyday interaction with students: Modeling, caring, effective

disciplining, and being authoritative

Chapter 10 notes

Theory of Mind
• The ability to infer mental states in others, such as beliefs, desires, knowledge, and intentions
• Sometimes called people reading
• Studied in young children with false-belief tests
• Children must separate their knowledge of the true condition from George’s belief in the false

condition.
• Young children seem to believe the ignorant other person shares their knowledge (sound like
Piagetian egocentrism?)
Autism: A disorder characterized by
abnormal social cognition
Depending on severity, children with autism may also have
– Poor verbal ability
– Difficulty comprehending emotions in others
– Repetitive movements like flapping hands
– Narrow interest like maps or light switches
– Low cognitive ability
– Excellent memory for facts
– Exceptional ability to focus attention
Age Trends in Theory of Mind
Early Childhood
• Prefer to look at faces
• Distinguish mother’s voice
• Imitate emotional expressions
• Engage in joint attention
• Rarely pass false-belief tests before age 4
Age Trends in Theory of Mind
(continued)
Middle Childhood
• Have mastered false-belief tests
• ToM continues to improve
• Distinguish intentional from unintentional acts (foundation for moral judgment)
• Realize that they know more about their inner thoughts and feelings than others
Age Trends in Theory of Mind
(continued)
Adolescence
• Continued improvement in ToM
• Spotlight effect
• Illusion of transparency
What predicts Theory of Mind ability?
• Information processing ability (inhibitory control, working memory)
• Verbal ability
• Attachment
• Parent’s mind-mindedness (comments about child’s desires and thoughts)
• Parents’ talking about others’ mental states
• Exposure to siblings and peers
Humor
• Social-cognitive play that produces smiling, laughing, feelings of amusement
• Intentional or accidental
• Verbal or nonverbal
• Laughter is not necessarily a response to humor
• Triggered by cognitive insight
• Strengthens social bonds
Freud on Humor
• Humor can have hidden meaning • “By making our enemy … comic, we achieve in a roundabout way the

enjoyment of overcoming him”
Freud’s Psychodynamic Theory
• Unconscious memories of trauma have energy that remains dammed up and is converted to physical

symptoms
• Symptoms are relieved when repressed memories are made conscious
• Emotions, attachment, and identification with parents are foundational to morality
Freud’s Psychodynamic Theory
(continued)
• Id: Pleasure seeking without concern for real world
• Ego: Seeks to control the id, find a balance between primitive drives and reality
• Superego: Conscience that castigates the ego for failing to control the id; a moral guide
Age Trends in Humor
What children find funny provides a window into cognitive development
– Infants – physical stimulation (e.g., tickling)
– Toddlers – word distortions
– Preschoolers – distortions of the physical world (e.g., cow brushing his teeth)
– 1st Graders – knock knock jokes
– 5th Graders – sarcasm
– Teens – witticisms & put downs
What does humor predict?
• Health
• Coping with difficult events
• Social acceptance
• Learning & creativity (through positive emotions)
• Positive classroom climate