Piaget Moral Development. According to piaget s original formulation children between the ages of 5 and 10 years see the world through the lens of a heteronomous other directed morality. Interpretation of rules becomes more complex and external factors are considered in moral development while also considering conditions of the rules.
Piaget is perhaps best known for his theory of children s cognitive development but he also proposed his own theory about children s moral development. Piaget found that children s ideas regarding rules moral judgements and punishment tended to change as they got older. Piaget ties moral development to cognitive development.
Lawrence kohlberg s stages of moral development a comprehensive stage theory of moral development based on jean piaget s theory of moral judgment for children 1932 and developed by lawrence kohlberg in 1958.
Piaget did compare the stages of morality between the two sexes noting both parallels and some differences. Cognitive in nature kohlberg s theory focuses on the thinking process that occurs when one decides whether a behaviour is right or wrong. Jean piaget constructed a widely known theory on how children develop morality. Both have stages of moral heteronomy and autonomy for example.