THE SOCIOLOGY OF MORAL JUDGMENT: SOCIAL AND ETHNIC FACTORS

Abstract

Social and ethnic differences in moral judgment are examined and a critique of the cognitive-developmental model is presented in this article. In opposition to Piaget and Kohlberg, the thesis advanced here is that morality and moral development are culturally and socially determined constructs. While Piaget postulated the presence of qualitatively distinct stages of moral development to be found in all societies, the position presented here is that the number ofstages, the content of the stages, and the order of the stages varies across cultures. While Kohlberg asserts that morality is located in the psychological structures of the individual, our position is that moral reasoning and behavior is largely determined by such social factors as role demands, class interests, national policies and ethnic antagonisms. Moreover, one cannot be moral in an immoral social role irrespective of childhood socialization, psychological predispositions or commitment to abstract principles.