Piaget's Moral Development Theory

Introduction
In psychology it is said that cognitivism is a theoretical framework for understanding the mind that gained authority in the 1950’s. How strong a person’s thinking process or the level at which a person’s brain functions is determined by cognition. Psychologists like Jean Piaget and Kohlberg’s names are always mentioned with the word cognition because as they play an important role in inspecting the process of cognitive development. Moral Development theory of Kohlberg (1950s) depends much on cognitive development whereas Cognitive Development of Jean Piaget refers to mental activities that helps us function including problem solving This assignment comprise of a literature review, brief description on both theories, comparison

He is also known as a clinical psychologist known for his pioneering work in child development. Jean Piaget gave an abundant importance on children’s education. Numerous people were influenced by Piaget’s theory and research. The systematic study of cognitive development was first made by Piaget. Piaget’s theory observes and describes children at different ages. His theory is very extensive, which starts from birth through adolescence, and includes concepts of language, scientific reasoning, moral development, and memory. Piaget’s assume that children construct their own knowledge in response to their experiences. Hence children learn many things on their own without the interference of older children or adults. Furthermore children are naturally motivated to learn and do not need rewards from adults to motivate learning There are three separate stages of development in Piaget’s cognitive theory. The three stages are marked by qualitative alterations rather than steady upsurge in number and complication of behaviours, concepts, ideas etc. Piaget divided the development into four stages. They

• Inspire the child to use behaviors which are morally accepted inside and outside the classroom etc. (Schemrich, 2003)

Criticism for both the theories
Piaget’s theory Kohlberg’s theory
• As the stages suggests, children thinking is not consistent.
• He recognized that the young children are more capable than he thought.
• He understates the social components of cognitive development. Ojose (2008), states that in a child even though, the child is ordered chronologically the development of the child may differ drastically.
• He studied his own children and the children of his colleagues in Geneva in order to deduce general principles about the intellectual development of all children
• He was better at describing processes than explaining how they operate. • Evidence for distinct stages of moral development looks very weak and some scholars argue that behind the theory is a culturally biased belief in the superiority of American values over those of other cultures and