Psychological Reporb, 1992, 71, 499-502.
@ Psychological Reports 1992
MORAL DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR ' TUNTUFYE S. MWAMWENDA University of Transkei Summary.-The study of moral development as well as the relation of moral development and behavior has been of great interest to many over the past half a century. While some studies have shown no association between one's moral development and behavior, some evidence indicates level of moral reasoning influences behavior. Over 16 selected studies postconventional principles of justice are likely to be more prosocial and law-abiding than those appropriate at the lower stages of moral development.
Both Piaget (1932) and Kohlberg (1969) have developed theories of moral development whch have caught the attention of researchers, educators, and psychologists for the purpose of establishing relations between moral reasoning and everyday behavior. For example, Park and Johnson (1984) stated, It is our belief that, if Kohlberg's stages . . . have merit, then one should be able to predict the behavior of individuals on the basis of their responses to the kinds of questions raised by these measures (p. 44).
A classic study of the relationship between moral knowledge and behavior relating to honesty is that of Hartshorne and May (1928-1930) who claimed to have observed no definite pattern between moral development and behavior. Their study is important in that they showed the complexity of prediction of moral behavior. The authors concluded that factors responsible for moral behavior are so complex they found it impossible to make any generalized conclusion about moral behavior, apart from stating that morality is a function of a specified situation in the sense that what may be true in one situation may not be so in another situation. Despite this 1928-30 classic study, other researchers have reported a relationship between moral development and one's behavior. In the Milgram (1963) study of obedience, more principled subjects questioned the authority figure's right to inflict pain on others than did those reasoning at the lower levels. This is further strengthened by Kreb (1968) who reported a positive correlation between moral stage and cheating in an experimental situation. Children operating at the first or second stage showed a greater tendency to cheat than those reasoning at the third and fourth stages. In a similar study, Lanza-Kaduce and Klug (1986) examined cheating behavior on a test by 175
'Address correspondence to Prof. T. S. Mwamwenda, University of Transkei, Private Bag X I , Unitra, Transkei, South Africa.
500
T.S. MWAMWENDA
college students and observed that those who reasoned at a lower level of moral development showed their behavior was influenced by peers' reactions, whereas students at the middle level of moral development showed behavior based on internalised definitions. On the basis of their separate observations for lower and middle levels, we may infer moral reasoning and behavior may be associated. Ma (1989), in a study of moral orientation of Chinese and English adolescents, argued that people operating at the conventional level are characterized by engaging in prosocial and law-abiding behavior. This was more clear with those who reasoned at the postconventional level except where the universal principles of justice were incongruent with the social law in which case the subjects would opt for the former principles. Whether subjects engaged in a law-abiding behavior was not only related to their levels of moral development but also to their ages (Park &Johnson, 1984; Bar-Tal & Nissim, 1984; DiMartino, 1991). For example, in a study of adolescents' helping behavior, Bar-Tal and Nissim (1984) point out that the extent to which one is prepared to engage in altruistic behavior is partly a function of age and the level of moral reasoning. The older the adolescents, the more they tend to base their moral judgment on general internalized principles of what is right and wrong, rather than on specific rules prescribed to them by others (p. 335).
Reanalysis of a study carried out by Haan, Smith, and Block (1968) gave a correlation between level of moral reasoning and engagement in moral behavior (Candee & Kohlberg, 1987). For example, in the case in question, adults operating at a higher level of moral reasoning took responsibility for rendering assistance where required even if this meant taking a risk or contravening an existing law. I n another study of moral judgment and moral courage, Gibbs, Clark, Joseph, Green, Goodrick, and Makowski (1986) observed a significant association between level of moral reasoning and situational moral courage, indicating that "moral judgment fosters the interpretation of complex but morally relevant social situations in terms of their sociomord significance" (p. 191). Little and Robinson (1988, 1989) have developed a theory known as Moral Reconation Therapy in which they try to forge a link between moral reasoning and moral behavior. The underlying assumption of Moral Reconation Therapy is "that fully functioning, reasonably content persons have a strong sense of identity and that their behavior and relationship are based upon relatively high levels of moral judgment" (1988, p. 136). Little and Robinson (1989) have carried out studies of incarcerated offenders and drug offenders which have indicated that such therapy facilitates development of moral reasoning and life purpose. Those who benefited from such therapy became more law-abiding in their behavior, thereby confirming Mays (1989)
MORAL DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR
50 1
reasoning that "the behaviour of a person becomes more prosocial and lawabiding-oriented as his or her structure of moral judgment develops to the conventional level" (p. 156). I t must be conceded, nevertheless, that moral action may be complex and calls for more than knowing what is morally right; it c d s for more than ordinary courage in some instances, wherein variables such as fear, group pressure, cowardice, lack of will, and panic may prevent even a principled person from taking an appropriate action. Although moral conduct is not guaranteed, a principled individual at least possesses the necessary capacity to make a reasoned moral choice in a complex world of conflicting allegiances and convictions (Sharf, 1978, p. 71).
I t would probably be quite unreasonable to argue that moral behavior has nothing to d o with moral knowledge. People do what they think is right, because they are certain it is so; without such actual knowledge, it would be inconceivable to expect them to behave morally. Their failure to comply with what they know does not necessarily support a lack of correlation. All such noncompliance shows is there must have been a better reason for ignoring to practice what is right. For example, if a student cheats on an examination, it does not mean that he does so because there is no relation between his moral knowledge and conduct. His doing so shows that for the student, getting a good grade is more important than failing with "dignity." The argument for moral behavior, therefore, should be based on the relative importance of what one is doing, which appears to be a better guideline than morality for morality's sake. REFERENCES BAR-TAL,D., & NISSIM, R. Helping behavior and moral judgment among adolescents. British Journal of Developmentul Psychology, 1984, 2, 329-336. CANDEE, D., & KOHLBERG. L. Moral judgment and moral action: a reanalysis of Haan, Smith and Block's (1968) free speech movement data. Journal of Personali~and Social Psychology, 1987, 52, 554-564. DIMARTINO, E . C. Effects of culture on women's interpretation of moral and conventional dilemmas. Journal of Social Psychology, 1991, 13, 3 13-319. Gmss, J. C., CLARK,I? M., JOSEPH,J. A., GREEN,J. L., GOODRICK, T. S., & OWS SKI, D. G. Relations between moral judgment, moral courage, and field independence. Child Development, 1986, 57, 185-193. HAAN,N., S m , M. B., & BLOCK,J. The moral reasoning of young adults: political-social behavior, family background, and personality correlates. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1968, 10, 183-201. HARTSHORNE, H., & ~ . L \ Y ,M. A. Studies in the nature of character New York: Macrnillan, 1928-1930. KOHLBERG, L. Stage and sequence: cognitive-developmental approach to socialization. In D. A. Goslin (Ed.), Handbook of socialization theory and research. Skokie, IL: Rand McNally, 1969. Pp. 347-380. KREB, R. Some relationship between moral judgment, attention, and resistance to temptation. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Univer. of Chicago, 1968. LANZA-KADUCE, L., & KLUG,M. Learning to cheat: the interaction of moral development and learning theories. Deviant Behavior, 1986, 7 , 243-259.
502
T. S. MWAMWENDA
L l m ~ G. , I., & ROBINSON, K. D. Moral Reconation Therapy: a systematic step-by-step treatment system for treatment resistant clients. Psychological Reports, 1988, 62, 135-151. LITTLE, G . I., & ROBINSON, K. D. Effects of Moral Reconation Therapy upon moral reasoning, life purpose, and recidivism among drug and alcohol offenders. Psychological Reports, 1989, 64, 83-90.
MA, H. K. Moral orientation and moral judgment i n adolescents in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and England. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1989, 20, 152-177. MILGRAM, F. Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1963, 67, 371-377. & JOHNSON,R. C.
PARK,J. Y.,
Moral development in rural and urban Korea. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1984, 15, 35-46. PIAGET,J . Moral judgment of the child. London: Kegan h u l , 1932. SHW, P. Moral educaiion. Davis, CA: Responsible Action, 1978.
Accepted July 1, 1992.
@ Psychological Reports 1992
MORAL DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR ' TUNTUFYE S. MWAMWENDA University of Transkei Summary.-The study of moral development as well as the relation of moral development and behavior has been of great interest to many over the past half a century. While some studies have shown no association between one's moral development and behavior, some evidence indicates level of moral reasoning influences behavior. Over 16 selected studies postconventional principles of justice are likely to be more prosocial and law-abiding than those appropriate at the lower stages of moral development.
Both Piaget (1932) and Kohlberg (1969) have developed theories of moral development whch have caught the attention of researchers, educators, and psychologists for the purpose of establishing relations between moral reasoning and everyday behavior. For example, Park and Johnson (1984) stated, It is our belief that, if Kohlberg's stages . . . have merit, then one should be able to predict the behavior of individuals on the basis of their responses to the kinds of questions raised by these measures (p. 44).
A classic study of the relationship between moral knowledge and behavior relating to honesty is that of Hartshorne and May (1928-1930) who claimed to have observed no definite pattern between moral development and behavior. Their study is important in that they showed the complexity of prediction of moral behavior. The authors concluded that factors responsible for moral behavior are so complex they found it impossible to make any generalized conclusion about moral behavior, apart from stating that morality is a function of a specified situation in the sense that what may be true in one situation may not be so in another situation. Despite this 1928-30 classic study, other researchers have reported a relationship between moral development and one's behavior. In the Milgram (1963) study of obedience, more principled subjects questioned the authority figure's right to inflict pain on others than did those reasoning at the lower levels. This is further strengthened by Kreb (1968) who reported a positive correlation between moral stage and cheating in an experimental situation. Children operating at the first or second stage showed a greater tendency to cheat than those reasoning at the third and fourth stages. In a similar study, Lanza-Kaduce and Klug (1986) examined cheating behavior on a test by 175
'Address correspondence to Prof. T. S. Mwamwenda, University of Transkei, Private Bag X I , Unitra, Transkei, South Africa.
500
T.S. MWAMWENDA
college students and observed that those who reasoned at a lower level of moral development showed their behavior was influenced by peers' reactions, whereas students at the middle level of moral development showed behavior based on internalised definitions. On the basis of their separate observations for lower and middle levels, we may infer moral reasoning and behavior may be associated. Ma (1989), in a study of moral orientation of Chinese and English adolescents, argued that people operating at the conventional level are characterized by engaging in prosocial and law-abiding behavior. This was more clear with those who reasoned at the postconventional level except where the universal principles of justice were incongruent with the social law in which case the subjects would opt for the former principles. Whether subjects engaged in a law-abiding behavior was not only related to their levels of moral development but also to their ages (Park &Johnson, 1984; Bar-Tal & Nissim, 1984; DiMartino, 1991). For example, in a study of adolescents' helping behavior, Bar-Tal and Nissim (1984) point out that the extent to which one is prepared to engage in altruistic behavior is partly a function of age and the level of moral reasoning. The older the adolescents, the more they tend to base their moral judgment on general internalized principles of what is right and wrong, rather than on specific rules prescribed to them by others (p. 335).
Reanalysis of a study carried out by Haan, Smith, and Block (1968) gave a correlation between level of moral reasoning and engagement in moral behavior (Candee & Kohlberg, 1987). For example, in the case in question, adults operating at a higher level of moral reasoning took responsibility for rendering assistance where required even if this meant taking a risk or contravening an existing law. I n another study of moral judgment and moral courage, Gibbs, Clark, Joseph, Green, Goodrick, and Makowski (1986) observed a significant association between level of moral reasoning and situational moral courage, indicating that "moral judgment fosters the interpretation of complex but morally relevant social situations in terms of their sociomord significance" (p. 191). Little and Robinson (1988, 1989) have developed a theory known as Moral Reconation Therapy in which they try to forge a link between moral reasoning and moral behavior. The underlying assumption of Moral Reconation Therapy is "that fully functioning, reasonably content persons have a strong sense of identity and that their behavior and relationship are based upon relatively high levels of moral judgment" (1988, p. 136). Little and Robinson (1989) have carried out studies of incarcerated offenders and drug offenders which have indicated that such therapy facilitates development of moral reasoning and life purpose. Those who benefited from such therapy became more law-abiding in their behavior, thereby confirming Mays (1989)
MORAL DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR
50 1
reasoning that "the behaviour of a person becomes more prosocial and lawabiding-oriented as his or her structure of moral judgment develops to the conventional level" (p. 156). I t must be conceded, nevertheless, that moral action may be complex and calls for more than knowing what is morally right; it c d s for more than ordinary courage in some instances, wherein variables such as fear, group pressure, cowardice, lack of will, and panic may prevent even a principled person from taking an appropriate action. Although moral conduct is not guaranteed, a principled individual at least possesses the necessary capacity to make a reasoned moral choice in a complex world of conflicting allegiances and convictions (Sharf, 1978, p. 71).
I t would probably be quite unreasonable to argue that moral behavior has nothing to d o with moral knowledge. People do what they think is right, because they are certain it is so; without such actual knowledge, it would be inconceivable to expect them to behave morally. Their failure to comply with what they know does not necessarily support a lack of correlation. All such noncompliance shows is there must have been a better reason for ignoring to practice what is right. For example, if a student cheats on an examination, it does not mean that he does so because there is no relation between his moral knowledge and conduct. His doing so shows that for the student, getting a good grade is more important than failing with "dignity." The argument for moral behavior, therefore, should be based on the relative importance of what one is doing, which appears to be a better guideline than morality for morality's sake. REFERENCES BAR-TAL,D., & NISSIM, R. Helping behavior and moral judgment among adolescents. British Journal of Developmentul Psychology, 1984, 2, 329-336. CANDEE, D., & KOHLBERG. L. Moral judgment and moral action: a reanalysis of Haan, Smith and Block's (1968) free speech movement data. Journal of Personali~and Social Psychology, 1987, 52, 554-564. DIMARTINO, E . C. Effects of culture on women's interpretation of moral and conventional dilemmas. Journal of Social Psychology, 1991, 13, 3 13-319. Gmss, J. C., CLARK,I? M., JOSEPH,J. A., GREEN,J. L., GOODRICK, T. S., & OWS SKI, D. G. Relations between moral judgment, moral courage, and field independence. Child Development, 1986, 57, 185-193. HAAN,N., S m , M. B., & BLOCK,J. The moral reasoning of young adults: political-social behavior, family background, and personality correlates. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1968, 10, 183-201. HARTSHORNE, H., & ~ . L \ Y ,M. A. Studies in the nature of character New York: Macrnillan, 1928-1930. KOHLBERG, L. Stage and sequence: cognitive-developmental approach to socialization. In D. A. Goslin (Ed.), Handbook of socialization theory and research. Skokie, IL: Rand McNally, 1969. Pp. 347-380. KREB, R. Some relationship between moral judgment, attention, and resistance to temptation. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Univer. of Chicago, 1968. LANZA-KADUCE, L., & KLUG,M. Learning to cheat: the interaction of moral development and learning theories. Deviant Behavior, 1986, 7 , 243-259.
502
T. S. MWAMWENDA
L l m ~ G. , I., & ROBINSON, K. D. Moral Reconation Therapy: a systematic step-by-step treatment system for treatment resistant clients. Psychological Reports, 1988, 62, 135-151. LITTLE, G . I., & ROBINSON, K. D. Effects of Moral Reconation Therapy upon moral reasoning, life purpose, and recidivism among drug and alcohol offenders. Psychological Reports, 1989, 64, 83-90.
MA, H. K. Moral orientation and moral judgment i n adolescents in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and England. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1989, 20, 152-177. MILGRAM, F. Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1963, 67, 371-377. & JOHNSON,R. C.
PARK,J. Y.,
Moral development in rural and urban Korea. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1984, 15, 35-46. PIAGET,J . Moral judgment of the child. London: Kegan h u l , 1932. SHW, P. Moral educaiion. Davis, CA: Responsible Action, 1978.
Accepted July 1, 1992.
