Psychology (child development) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Psychology (child development) - Essay Example His theory identifies three independent sources, these being empathy, principles and moral affiliation. Defining 'moral' as "acts intended to produce kind and/or fair outcomes" he goes on to explain that a moral person acts with good intentions, and makes reference to religious or ethical tenets, sexual morality and obedience to authority. He talks of built-in redundancy, where if one source is weak, another will compensate. Here are his Three Moral Systems: Principles are personal rules of conduct we set for ourselves and attempt to live up to, whether or not anyone else approves or disapproves. An example is cited of Christian rescuers during the Holocaust being motivated by one or other of these concepts. He explains next that negative emotions are associated with violating one of the three, while positive ones emerge when they are Hastings, Zahn-Waxler, Robinson, Usher and Bridges (2000) conducted research into how aggressive children tend to act on their impulses, in their study of the development of empathy, i.e., concern for others, in children with behavior problems. Moral Versus Antisocial Motivations Various theories explain antisocial behavior as stemming from many sources, but there is no single construct to explain all its forms. Schulman believes that it is not just about removing factors such as alienation, racism, poverty etc. to rectify the problems, but that everyone needs to take steps to address deficits. Children have consciences, appreciate goodness and are shocked by evil. By encouraging the development of the three moral motivation sources, children, society and civilization as a whole, are served, as it is morality which contributes to the survival of mankind as a species. He ends by pointing out that while people are shocked and fascinated by evil, goodness is taken for granted as how humans normally are and want to be, which gives support to his theory and more importantly, a sense of optimism. The following critical review is of the research cited by Schulman in support of his contention that behavior problems are as much due to moral motivation deficits as to unchecked antisocial activity and that those involved with children, in any capacity have a responsibility to encourage moral