Jean Piaget’s Theory of Moral Development: Understanding How Children Perceive Morality

Introduction

Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist who is most famous for his work on child development. While his child development theory is well known, Jean Piaget also looked into moral development—how children understand justice, fairness, and rules. Jean Piaget’s moral development theory is that morality develops with age and is linked to children’s cognitive abilities. He said as children get older their moral reasoning moves from a rigid rule based to a more flexible self directed.

In this article, we will look at Jean Piaget’s stages of moral development, his experiments, and the real-world implications of his findings. This will give you valuable insight into how educators, parents, and carers can support moral growth in children.

Problem: Why We Need to Understand Morality in Children

Morality is at the heart of human social life. From a very young age, children interact with their environment, form relationships and face dilemmas about what’s right and wrong. The problem for educators and parents is that children don’t understand morality in the same way as adults. Children’s moral reasoning starts very simply and gets more complex as they get older. Without understanding how children’s moral thinking develops adults will struggle to guide children through conflicts or moral dilemmas.

Agitation: Misunderstanding Child Morality Causes Problems

Without understanding how moral reasoning develops, adults may impose unfair expectations on children. For example, a parent may expect a 6-year-old to understand fairness or justice, but Jean Piaget’s theory says that 6-year-olds are still in the early stages of moral development, where rules are seen as unchangeable and dictated by authority figures. Misreading this can cause unnecessary stress for the child and the parent.

Teachers too will face conflicts in the classroom where children argue over rules or fairness. Without understanding where children are in their moral development, educators may miss opportunities to nurture growth and empathy. Jean Piaget’s theory can help adults adapt to the child’s natural progression to higher levels of moral thinking.

Piaget’s Moral Development Theory

Jean Piaget said children’s moral reasoning goes through a series of transformations from heteronomous morality (based on accepting rules from authority figures) to autonomous morality (where children develop their own understanding of fairness and justice).

Stage 1: Heteronomous Morality (Ages 5-10)

Jean Piaget called this first stage of moral development heteronomous morality, where the child’s moral reasoning is governed by rules imposed by others. Children in this stage believe rules are permanent, unchangeable, and must be followed without question. The word “heteronomous” means their moral thinking is controlled by an external authority, usually adults (parents or teachers).

Key Features of Heteronomous Morality:

• Moral Realism: Children believe rules are absolute and don’t consider the intention behind actions. For them, an action’s outcome is more important than the intention.
• Immanent Justice: Children think punishment will follow wrongdoing regardless of human intervention.
• Respect for Authority: Children see adults as the rule-makers and follow the rules because they think it’s their duty to do so.

Real-life Example:

Imagine a 7-year-old Aditi. She’s playing a board game with her friends. When one of her friends accidentally breaks a rule, Aditi insists they start the game over because “the rule says so”. She doesn’t consider the fact that her friend didn’t mean to break the rule or that starting the game over might be unfair to others. For Aditi, the rule is absolute and there’s no flexibility.

Stage 2: Autonomous Morality (10 and above)

As children grow older, they enter the stage of autonomous morality, where they see rules as flexible and created through mutual agreement. They start to understand that rules exist to maintain fairness and that rules can be changed if everyone agrees. At this stage, children understand the intention behind actions and believe fairness isn’t about following rules strictly but about justice for all.

Key Features of Autonomous Morality:

• Moral Relativism: Children realize rules are not absolute. They are human-made agreements that can be changed if needed.
• Reciprocity and Cooperation: Children value fairness, mutual respect, and cooperation. They believe everyone should work together to ensure justice.
• Understanding of Intent: Children start to understand that the intention behind an action matters. They may forgive mistakes or rule-breaking if they think the person didn’t mean to.

Real-life Example:

Take a 12-year-old Raj. He’s playing soccer with his friends when one of the players accidentally kicks the ball out of bounds. Instead of following the rule that says the other team should get the ball, Raj suggests they continue playing without giving the ball to the other team as it was an honest mistake. Here Raj understands that the intention was not to gain an unfair advantage and uses this understanding to create a fair solution.

Piaget’s Moral Development Experiments

Jean Piaget’s theory was based on his observations of children’s behavior and thinking. One of his most famous experiments was to ask children to judge a story about two boys.

In the first story, a boy breaks 15 cups while trying to help his mom set the table. In the second story, a boy breaks one cup while trying to sneak into the kitchen to get a cookie. Piaget asked the children to decide which boy was the naughty one.

Children under 10 (heteronomous stage) would say the boy who broke 15 cups was naughty because he did more damage. They focused on the outcome, not the intention. Children over 10 (autonomous stage) would say the boy who broke one cup was naughty because he had bad intentions even though he did less damage.

This experiment shows how children’s moral reasoning develops as they get older.

Solution: How to use Piaget’s Theory to support moral development

Now that you understand Piaget’s theory, you can tailor your strategies to the child’s stage. Here are some strategies based on Piaget’s theory:

1. Encourage Open Dialogue About Rules

• Heteronomous Stage: When working with younger children, explain rules clearly and provide reasons why the rules exist. Children need to know rules are fair even if they don’t have the cognitive ability to question them yet.
• Autonomous Stage: As children get older, involve them in discussions about rules. Encourage them to talk about fairness and justice. This helps children learn rules are not set in stone and they can contribute to fair solutions.

2. Focus on intentions, not Outcomes

• Heteronomous Stage: Younger children will naturally focus on outcomes, not intentions. You can help them start to think about intentions by explaining why someone’s actions might not have been on purpose. Simple stories or role-playing can illustrate that mistakes happen and that not all rule-breaking is intentional.
• Autonomous Stage: With older children, highlight the importance of intention in moral decision-making. Discuss real-life scenarios where intent is key, such as in legal systems or personal relationships.

3. Encourage Cooperative Play and Problem Solving

• Heteronomous Stage: In early childhood, children are focused on following rules and can be quite rigid in their thinking. Group activities that promote teamwork and cooperation help children see that fairness and collaboration is more important than just following rules.
• Autonomous Stage: Older children can do more complex group activities where they work together to create new rules or resolve conflicts. This type of play promotes mutual respect and helps them understand rules are not just imposed by adults but can be created by consensus.

4. Model Moral Behavior

• Heteronomous Stage: Since younger children rely on adults, model moral behavior by being fair, consistent, and empathetic. They look to adults for guidance so showing them how to resolve conflicts fairly is key.
• Autonomous Stage: Older children benefit from seeing adults make fair decisions, especially when it involves flexibility and cooperation. Show them how rules can be bent in real life to be fair for everyone.

Problems with Jean Piaget

While Jean Piaget’s work on moral development is important, his theory has been criticized over the years. Some researchers argue his stages are too simplistic. Children may display both heteronomous and autonomous thinking at different times depending on the situation. Others believe Piaget underestimated the role of culture and socialization in moral development. Children in different cultures may develop moral reasoning that doesn’t fit into Piaget’s framework.

Conclusion

Jean Piaget’s theory of moral development gives us valuable insight into how children understand rules, fairness, and justice. His stages—heteronomous morality and autonomous morality—show the progression from a rule-based, authority-driven understanding of morality to a more flexible, intention-based approach. Knowing this progression helps us guide children’s moral development in line with their cognitive abilities.

By having open discussions about rules, focusing on intentions, encouraging cooperative problem-solving, and modeling moral behavior, we can support children’s journey to moral autonomy. While Piaget’s theory doesn’t capture the whole of moral development, it’s the foundation that continues to shape how we think about children.