Preschool aged children are continuing to build their understanding of morality from their experiences as infants and toddlers. They now have increased cognitive skills and a deeper understanding of cause and effect. Preschoolers are also developing empathy, which is the ability to understand how someone else is feeling. An increased sense of empathy means that children can feel ashamed or embarrassed when they violate a moral code. For example, they may feel bad for hurting another child or feel guilty for lying to their parents.

Preschoolers continue to learn moral ideals from their caregivers and those around them. They inherit the social norms and rules from their households and families. They learn what is acceptable or not acceptable and develop a sense of justice about what is fair or not fair. It is important for caregivers to model prosocial and respectful behavior to children so that they can internalize positive moral values. For example, caregivers can express concern for others within the community or discuss age appropriate social issues with their child.

Below we will examine two theories of moral development to help us understand the process by which preschool aged children develop morality.

7.6.1 Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development:

Lawrence Kohlberg built upon many of Piaget’s ideas including a comprehensive stage theory to explain how children develop morality. He focused less on the actual decisions a child made and more on the thinking processes involved when encountering a moral dilemma. He developed six stages of moral development encompassed within 3 levels of moral reasoning. We will discuss Kohlberg’s first level of moral development which includes two stages. Preconventional morality assumes that children’s morality is dominated by adult influence versus logical reasoning. This level coincides with children ages 3-7. Due to the nature of Kohlberg’s research, there is no stage of moral development for infants.

Level One: Preconventional Morality (3-7 years old)

Stage 1: Punishment and Obedience Orientation

In this stage, children control their behavior based on the possible consequences they might face. They may make a decision solely based on avoiding punishment. If they receive a negative consequence based on something they did, they will interpret that behavior as “bad”. “Good” behaviors are those that are not punished.

Stage 2: Individualism and Instrumental Purpose Orientation

In this stage, children’s behavior continues to be controlled on the basis of consequences yet they may choose to follow rules based on their own wants or needs. They begin to understand that they have their own interests and that the interests of others may conflict.

Preschoolers approach moral thinking with preoperational logic. They focus on decisions that directly impact them and they have a difficult time understanding the perspectives of others. Kohlberg viewed this level of moral development as preconventional because children have not yet developed an understanding of right and wrong based on logical thinking or social rules. Their moral thinking is dominated by adult power and influence.

Kohlberg’s ideas on moral development have been influential in understanding how young children develop. Yet, there have been many criticisms of his work and research practices. The most common critique is that Kohlberg only sampled young, white males in his trials which leads to a biased view on how morality is formed or determined. Since we know that society genders children right after birth, we also understand that male children and female children may develop different cognitive and social processes based on gender constructs. Race also plays a role in the interactions children have throughout their lives and thereby influences a child’s sense of fairness and justice.

7.6.2 Carol Gilligan’s Ethics of Care

Researcher Carol Gilligan challenged Kohlberg’s theory of moral development for not taking into account the female experience. She claimed that the results of his research and theory demonstrate sex bias (sexism) because it was often found that males were considered more “advanced” in their moral reasoning than females (Gilligan, 1977). Gilligan researched both males and females and found that humans are instinctively relational and often use a combination of emotions and logic to make decisions.

Her theory, known as Ethics of Care, focused on female moral development and proposed that females think about personal relationships in addition to logic and justice. These decisions are driven by care for others and maintaining positive relationships. While Gilligan’s theory is focused on women’s morality, the principles are applicable to children as well. Children are balancing their understanding of logical reasoning with the nuances of their everyday social interactions. Because young children are still reliant on adult care and interactions with them and others, they may place a high value on maintaining a positive relationship with those around them within their moral choices.

Both Kohlberg and Gilligan’s theories align with a gendered view on morality based on gender social constructs versus actual biological gender differences. Therefore, we can see that morality is based on context and that there may not be a universal way that morality is formed.