Moral atmosphere and moral behaviour A study into the role of adolescents perception of moral atmosphere for antisocial behaviour
bookPart
Adolescence is generally viewed as a transitional phase during which psychological developmental tasks toward autonomy and adulthood have to be accomplished (Aro & Palosaari, 1992; Meeus, 1996). Furthermore, adolescence has qualities that make it developmentally distinct from childhood. Adolescents are faced with many challenges, the resolution of which can prove to be influential on their subsequent development (Buist, Dekovic´, Meeus, & Van Aken, 2004). The development of mature moral competence is a constructive process based on the social interactions in which the adolescent is actively engaged. Until quite recently, studies on moral development were primarily concerned with moral competence, using Kohlberg’s theory of moral development (Colby & Kohlberg, 1987). Moral competence refers to the highest level in the capacity to make moral judgments that individuals attain when they are asked to reason about abstract hypothetical moral dilemmas. Each individual is supposed to progress through an invariant sequence of stages, which are grouped into three levels: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional. Each stage is considered to be a structured whole, and previous stages are integrated into succeeding stages in a hierarchical fashion.
Topics
TNO Identifier
954061
ISBN
9780203869
Publisher
Psychology Press
Source title
The Development and Structure of Conscience
Editor(s)
Koops, W.
Brugman, D.
Ferguson, T.J.
Sanders, A.F.
Brugman, D.
Ferguson, T.J.
Sanders, A.F.
Place of publication
London
Pages
135-150
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