Enhancing moral growth: is communication the key?
Traditional approaches in stimulating moral growth following Turiel's (1966) "+1" intervention strategy have been only marginally successful. This failure rate may be due to (a) the inconsistent control of both the cognitive and social perspective-taking prerequisites to moral growth, and (b) an overestimation of subjects' interpersonal communication skills. In this study, 17 college undergraduates (8 males, 9 females), possessing either basic or consolidated formal operations, received eight weeks of interpersonal skills training, along with pre- and posttraining assessments of social perspective-taking and moral reasoning. It was expected that gains in moral reasoning would be related to subjects' possessing the prerequisite cognitive and perspective-taking competencies necessary for moral growth. Results showed that posttraining changes in moral reasoning were in the predicted direction. In addition, gender differences in social perspective-taking were evident; males had significantly lower social perspective-taking scores at pretraining and showed significant gains in perspective-taking at posttesting. Females, however, scored relatively high in social perspective-taking at pretraining and showed no significant change in ability at posttesting. The results are interpreted as supportive of existing theoretical models regarding these domains of development.
Santilli
N R
NR
Center for Applied Cognitive Sciences, University of Toledo.
Hudson
L M
LM
D000293:Adolescent; D003071:Cognition; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009014:Morals; D011340:Problem Solving; D012381:Role Playing; D012737:Sex Factors; D013663:Teaching