Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

Adult Development403Gender, Culture, and Moral ReasoningOther challenges to Kohlberg’s theory questioned whether it was as universal as itsproponents claimed. Psychologist Carol Gilligan (1982) pointed out thatKohlberg’s early research was conducted entirely with male subjects, yet it becamethe basis for a theory applied to both males and females. Gilligan has also noted thatin most of Kohlberg’s stories, the main actor who faces the moral dilemma to beresolved is a male. When females are present in the stories, they often play a subordinaterole. Thus, Gilligan believes that Kohlberg’s model reflects a male perspectivethat may not accurately depict the development of moral reasoning in women.To Gilligan, Kohlberg’s model is based on an ethic of individual rights and justice,which is a more common perspective for men. In contrast, Gilligan (1982)developed a model of women’s moral development that is based on an ethic of careand responsibility. In her studies of women’s moral reasoning, Gilligan found thatwomen tend to stress the importance of maintaining interpersonal relationshipsand responding to the needs of others, rather than focusing primarily on individualrights (Gilligan & Attanucci, 1988).However, in a meta-analysis of studies on gender differences in moral reasoning,Sara Jaffee and Janet Shibley Hyde (2000) found only slight differences betweenmale and female responses. Instead, the evidence suggested that both menand women used a mix of care and justice perspectives. Thus, while disputingGilligan’s idea that men and women had entirely different approaches to moralreasoning, Jaffe and Hyde found empirical support for Gilligan’s larger message:that Kohlberg’s theory did not adequately reflect the way that humans actually experiencedmoral decision making.Culture also seems to influence moral reasoning (Haidt & others, 1993; Miller,2001). Some cross-cultural psychologists argue that Kohlberg’s stories and scoringsystem reflect a Western emphasis on individual rights, harm, and justice that is notshared in many cultures (Shweder & others, 1990a).For example, Kohlberg’s moral stages do not reflect the sense of interdependenceand the concern for the overall welfare of the group that is more commonin collectivistic cultures. Cross-cultural psychologist Harry Triandis (1994)reports an example of a response that does not fit into Kohlberg’s moral scheme.In response to the scenario in which the husband steals the drug to save hiswife’s life, a man in New Guinea said, “If nobody helped him, I would say thatwe had caused the crime.” Thus, there are aspects of moral reasoning in othercultures that do not seem to be reflected in Kohlberg’s theory (Haidt, 2007;Shweder & Haidt, 1993).The hallmark of morality resides less inthe ability to resolve abstract moraldilemmas or even figure out how,ideally, others should behave; thehallmark resides more in people’stendency to apply the same moralstandards to themselves that theyapply to others and to function inaccordance with them.DENNIS KREBS AND KATHY DENTON (2006)“I’m sorry, but I’m morally and politicallyopposed to hangman.”© The New Yorker Collection 2004 Danny Shanahanfrom cartoonbank.com. All Right Reserved.Adult DevelopmentKey Theme• Development during adulthood is marked by physical changes and theadoption of new social roles.Key Questions• What physical changes take place in adulthood?• What are some general patterns of adult social development?• What characterizes career paths in adulthood?You can think of the developmental changes you experienced during infancy, childhood,and adolescence as early chapters in your life story. Those early life chaptershelped set the tone and some of the themes for the primary focus of your life