Chapter 13
13
SOCIAL COGNITION AND MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading and studying the material in this chapter, the student should be able to understand
the following ideas/concepts:
13.1 SOCIAL COGNITION
• Define social cognition and explain the meaning and significance of having a theory of
13.2 PERSPECTIVES ON MORAL DEVELOPMENT
• Define and illustrate the three main components of morality.
13.3 THE INFANT
13.4 THE CHILD
13.5 THE ADOLESCENT
• Describe how moral reasoning changes during adolescence and the significance of
developing a moral identity.
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13.6 THE ADULT
• Summarize changes in moral reasoning over the adult years.
relationships to adjustment.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I Social Cognition
A. Introduction Material
1. John Gibbs (author of Moral Development and Reality) spent a summer at a camp
where a mildly intellectually disabled adult named Edward was tormented by
B. Developing a Theory of Mind
1. False belief task – assesses understanding that people can have based on, or
influenced by, incorrect beliefs
2. Theory of mind – understanding that people have mental states (e.g., desires,
beliefs) that guide behavior
3. Research on normal development as well as autism
a. Despite normal levels of intelligence, people with autism often fail the false
belief task, while children with Down syndrome with lesser mental ages pass
4. First steps in infancy
a. Although it is not until around age four years that children can pass the false
belief task, forerunners of theory occur in the first two years
i. Joint attention – at nine months, infants begin to look at objects being
looked at by caregivers
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c. Infants know more about the world than we give them credit for
5. Desire and belief-desire psychologies
a. By age two, begin to ask others, “Why?” (reflects understanding of the
concept of desire)
b. By age two-and-a-half, begin to attempt to deceive others by planting false
6. Nature and nurture
a. Nature evidence
i. Support from evolutionary perspective from primates like chimps, gorillas,
and other apes who show the capacity to deceive
ii. Theory of mind comes from maturing neurological systems and cognitive
advancement, so abnormal brain development in autistic children may be
responsible for lack of theory of mind
vi. Mirror neurons – activated both when we perform an action and when we
observe someone else perform the same action; appear to be involved in
theory of mind understanding and empathy (all areas of difficulty for
people with autism)
vii. (Exploration Box on mirror neurons and the theory of mind)
b. Nurture evidence
i. Acquisition of theory of mind requires experience with other humans
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until age 8 to 10 years)
iii. Preschoolers who interact more with siblings tend to acquire theory of
mind skills quicker (engaging in pretend play may be especially
instructive)
adept at “mind reading”
C. Trait Perception
1. Children younger than seven to eight
a. Can describe people primarily in physical terms
b. Tend to perceive others in terms of physical appearance, possessions, and
d. Do not view traits as enduring (i.e., predictive of future behavior)
2. Children at seven to eight begin to infer enduring traits in others
3. Children age 11 or 12
a. More use of personality traits to explain why people behave the way they do
b. Become more psychologically minded
4. Adolescents more advanced
5. Basic progression in perceptions of others
i. Physical and global description in preschool
D. Perspective-Taking
1. Social perspective-taking (role-taking) skills – ability to adopt other people’s
perspectives and understand their thoughts and feelings in relations to one’s own
2. Selman contributed greatly to understanding of role-taking using interpersonal
dilemmas (e.g., story of Holly, her father to whom she promises to not climb
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trees, and a kitten in a tree)
3. Selman’s findings indicate that social perspective-taking abilities develop in a
stagelike manner (consistent with Piaget’s theory)
social group
4. Advances in social cognition more likely if parents good models of social
perspective taking, consider thoughts of children, and rely on explanations
child more sensitive to peers
E. Social Cognition in Adulthood
1. Involves both gains and losses
a. Adults better able to integrate multiple and discrepant perspectives (i.e., see
2. For the most part, social cognitive abilities hold up in later life
a. Area of the brain associated with these skills ages slowly
Checking Mastery
1. Sharon wonders if Baby Ben, age 18 months, is on his way to developing a theory of
mind. What four developments in infancy can you point to as early signs of a
developing theory of mind?
➢ Answer: Joint attention, understanding of intentions, pretend play, imitation, and
2. If you were trying to make sure a deaf child, Luis, develops a theory of mind, what
kinds of experiences would you try to provide him?
➢ Answer: An opportunity to converse in sign language or some language is critical
3. What breakthrough in perspective-taking skills is achieved at about age 8 to 10
according to Robert Selman?
➢ Answer: Children 8 to 10 years of age can think about both their own thoughts
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II Perspectives on Moral Development
A. Defining Morality
1. Morality – ability to distinguish right from wrong, act on this distinction, and
B. Moral Emotion: Psychoanalytic Theory and Beyond
1. Moral affect – emotions felt when one does wrong (e.g., shame, guilt) or right
(e.g., pride)
2. Freud sees formation of superego (conscience) during phallic stage as critical
a. Superego forms in order to resolve conflict over love for same-sex parent and
3. Many Freudian ideas unsupported
a. Cold and punishing parents who make children anxious about losing their
parents’ love do not raise more morally mature children
b. Males do not have stronger superegos
age six or seven
4. Despite lack of support, Freud’s main themes still taken seriously
C. Moral Reasoning: Cognitive-Developmental Theory
1. Cognitive developmental approach
a. Moral reasoning – thinking process underlying decisions to act right or wrong
2. Piaget’s view in terms of premoral period and two moral stages
a. Premoral period – preschool time when children show little understanding of
rules and cannot be considered moral beings
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3. Kohlberg’s view – universal, invariant sequences (inspired by Piagetian ideas)
a. Presented 10- to 16-year-old males with dilemmas
b. Analyzed and created model with three levels and two stages within each level
c. Stages of moral reasoning
i. One example of dilemma involves Dr. Jefferson and the issue of mercy
4. Influences on moral development
a. Kohlberg saw two main influences on moral development: cognitive growth
and social interactions with equals
b. Required cognitive growth
i. To reach conventional level of moral reasoning, must be able to take other
and exposes students to more diverse perspectives
D. Moral Behavior: Social Learning Theory
1. Primary interest of social cognitive theory is the behavior exhibited (what we
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actually do) when facing temptation or opportunity to act in a prosocial manner
2. Social learning theorists like Bandura suggest that moral behavior is learning (i.e.,
acquired through experience) through observational learning and
E. Foundations of Morality: Evolutionary Theory
1. Evolutionary theories like Krebs’ have contributed to our understanding of moral
development
a. Focus on aspects of morality that helped with adaptation (e.g., living in groups
and socializing to increase corporation changes if obtaining food or protecting
from harm)
3. Unlike the dark portrayal of humans by Freud, evolutionary theory views humans
as predisposed to empathy and prosocial behavior (humans may be uniquely
altruistic species)
4. Theoretical approaches to why a teenager named Bart will cheat on exam
a. Freud focus on strength of superego and sense of guilt
Checking Mastery
1. What are the three major components of morality, and what is one theory of moral
development that emphasizes each?
➢ Answer: Morality has an affective component (Freudian psychoanalytic theory),
2. What is the main difference between conventional and preconventional moral
reasoning about why stealing is wrong?
➢ Answer: Preconventional morality is concerned only with the perspective of the
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3. How do evolutionary theorists differ from Freud in their view of human nature?
➢ Answer: Freud saw humans as selfish and aggressive in nature, whereas
II The Infant
A. Empathy, Prosocial Behavior, and Morality
1. At birth, infants show primitive empathetic response by becoming distressed
when they hear other babies cry
2. Between ages one and two, truer form of empathy emerges
a. React to distress in friend by providing comfort (e.g., giving them a teddy
B. Antisocial Behavior
1. Richard Tremblay proposes that humans:
a. Do not need to learn to be aggressive
b. Need to learn how not to be aggressive
2. Frequency of aggression normally rises from infancy to a peak around age four or
five and then decreases
C. Early Moral Training
1. Infants amoral – lack sense of morality (right and wrong) and are not expected to
3. Mutually responsive orientation – close, affectively positive, and cooperative
relationship between child and parent best situation for moral development
a. Mutually responsive relationships make children want to comply with adult
rules and adopt their values, learn moral emotions like guilt and empathy, and
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Checking Mastery
1. According to Martin Hoffman, when is empathy first evident in infancy and how does
it change thereafter?
➢ Answer: According to Hoffman, a primitive form of empathy is evident at birth;
2. When one infant pushes another, what is usually the motive?
3. What is Grazyna Kochanska’s main message to parents who want their infants to
develop a conscience?
➢ Answer: Kochanska would tell parents who want their infants to become moral
III The Child
A. Moral Understandings
1. Piaget believed that children did not understand the importance of assessing intent
B. Weighing Intentions
1. Piaget suggests that young children (heteronomous thinkers) judge moral
behavior on basis of consequences, and older children (autonomous thinkers)
C. Understanding Rules
1. Piaget stated that 6- to 10-year-old heteronomous children view rules as sacred,
laid down by respected authority figures
a. Turiel found that children distinguish between moral rules and social-
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D. Applying Theory of Mind
1. Four-year-olds have theory of mind and understand intention of others
2. Understanding of wrongdoers’ beliefs at time of harmful act impacts judgments
a. Children with well-developed theory of mind better able to distinguish
E. Moral Socialization
1. Social learning theory suggestions to parents
a. Reinforce moral behavior, punish immoral behavior, avoid being overly harsh
3. Best approach to foster moral development?
a. Induction superior to love withdrawal or power assertion because it breeds
empathy
relationship
4. Effective parenting use of proactive parenting strategies—tactics designed to
prevent misbehavior and reduce the need for correction or discipline—to prevent
misbehavior (e.g., distracting from temptation)
a. (Exploration Box on a case study in raising a moral child)
5. No one best method of discipline with impact dependent on child, parent,