The Relationship of Social-Moral Development With Cognitive and Ego Development: a Cross-Cultural Study

Abstract

Kohlberg and others have proposed that cognitive development is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for social-moral development and, in turn, that social-moral development is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for ego development. This study examined these propositions within the cross-cultural context of an Israeli kibbutz. Cognitive and moral development were assessed among adolescent and young adult kibbutzniks; ego and moral development were assessed among senior kibbutz founders. In brief, 93 percent of the subjects scored at the same level or at a higher level in cognitive development than they did in moral development, and 86 percent of the subjects scored at the same level or at a higher level in moral development than they did in ego development. The results are consistent with the hypothesis of a decalage relationship between cognitive, moral, and ego development.