CHILDRENS MORAL JUDGMENTS - RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTENTIONALITY, SOCIAL EGOCENTRISM, AND DEVELOPMENT

Eighty-three children from grades 2 through 5 were administered measures of social egocentrism and moral judgment. Methodological improvements in the moral judgment measure were introduced. Multivariate analyses of variance performed on the data indicated that children at different levels of social egocentricity responded in a systematically different fashion from one another to the moral judgment stories. Tests for strength of effects indicated that children at all ages and levels of egocentricity took into account both intentions and consequences when making moral judgments. The findings are discussed in relation to the construct validity of the cognitive-development approach to moral development and social egocentrism. © 1979 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.