Moral Development: Cross-cultural Perspectives

Abstract

Understanding moral development should start with a conceptual framework capable of describing changes over time. By reviewing relevant literatures, the cognitive developmental approach, namely Kohlberg's theory of moral judgment, was chosen. The assumption of this approach, the vertical development (stages) of moral judgment, and the determinants of development, are described and discussed. The discussion focuses on cross-cultural perspectives and research findings in various cultures, based on the concepts of universalistic/relativistic distinctions. Research findings concerning the universal vs. specific moral principles, the existence and nonoccurrence of some stages, the concept of role-taking opportunity, moral–cognitive conflict, and child rearing practices as the determinant of the development of moral judgment across culture are discussed.