Moral Belief Structure and Content, Self‐identity and Parental Favouritism as Determinants of Moral Judgement Stage

Abstract

Moral judgement stage in 69 adult students was investigated in relation to the cognitive articulation and content of their moral belief systems, the content and structure of their self‐identity systems, and perceived favouritism by their parents in child‐rearing. Articulation of the moral belief system was not related to moral stage; however, belief content was related to stage, with both pre‐conventional and post‐conventional subjects tending to reject orthodox moral values. The study failed to confirm earlier claims for greater self‐ideal disparity with increasing moral maturity, and cross‐cultural comparisons with an Irish sample suggest that such progression was an artefact of the a priori measures used. Pre‐ and post‐conventional subjects shared strong patterns of identification with siblings, with no distinctive pattern for conventional subjects. Finally, moral stage, in interaction with sex, was related to perceived differences in favouritism of like‐ and cross‐sex parents, making sense of a number of reported anomalies in the moral development literature.

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Notes on contributors

Rachael M. Henry

Dr. Rachael M. Henry is Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Wollongong, PO Box 1144, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia 2500.