THE ASSESSMENT OF MORAL REASONING IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MORAL REASONING AND PEER INTERACTION

JAN EVANS ALLEN, Purdue University

Abstract

The present study focuses on the moral reasoning of preschool children, particularly their ability to use intent and consequence information in making moral judgments. A structural-cognitive-developmental theoretical orientation was the basis for development of hypotheses and related questions. A measure of moral reasoning was designed as an empirical test of preschoolers' ability to use intent and consequence information in making moral judgments. Revisions of Piaget's traditional paradigm focused on complexity of story pairs, differential descriptions of intention and consequence information, order of presentation of information, and recency effects. The major hypothesis was: Using a revised methodology, the majority of preschool children will make moral judgments based on intention information. Minor hypotheses focused on correlates of moral reasoning ability: cognitive ability and amount, quality, and extensity of interaction with peers. Other related questions concerned the relationship among an observed measure of interaction with peers, a sociometric measure, and estimates of children's peer interaction by teachers and parents. The sample included 63 children ages 2, 3, 4, and 5. The children were given the moral reasoning measure, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and a sociometric measure. Observations of children in positive and negative interaction with peers were obtained. Reports of the children's amount, quality, and extensity of social experience with peers were obtained from parents and teachers. The findings show that children as young as 2 and 3 make moral judgments based on intent information. There were no significant differences in moral reasoning scores between boys and girls, between younger and older children, and among children in the four different story version groups. There was a positive relationship between children's moral reasoning scores and amount of time in interaction with peers and also with proportion of time in positive interaction with peers. There was no significant relationship between children's moral reasoning scores and proportion of time in negative interaction with peers. Teachers' reports of children's interaction with peers and children's sociometric choices were positively associated with observed peer interaction; parents' reports of their children's peer interaction were negatively associated with observed peer interaction.

Degree

Ph.D.

Subject Area

Early childhood education

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