Origins, Differences, and the Origins of Differences in Moral Development: Parent–Child Discourse as Moral Activity

Abstract

In his article, Tappan cogently outlines a sociocultural perspective on moral development which conceptualizes moral activity as mediated activity. He notes that such a perspective: 1) gives a much different account of moral development than current accounts (e.g., cognitive–developmental); and 2) addresses fundamental questions on the origins of moral sensibilities and differences in moral functioning. This commentary extends Tappan's approach by offering a framework for analyzing discourse during parent–child interactions about moral matters using speech genres (Bakhtin, 1986) and registers (Halliday, 1975, 1993). Such detailed analysis affords the simultaneous consideration of the social, cultural, and historical influences on moral development. In doing so, the framework locates the origins of moral sensibilities and differences in moral functioning in the discourse parents and children share during moral activities. Two personal experiences are offered as illustrations of the framework.