University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 1974 Altruism and moral development ;: a study of the relationship between children's sharing behavior and level of moral development. Stephen A. Callahan University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at:https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses Callahan, Stephen A., "Altruism and moral development ;: a study of the relationship between children's sharing behavior and level of moral development." (1974).Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014. 1370. Retrieved fromhttps://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/1370 This thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ALTRUISM AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT: A STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHILDREN'S SHARING BEHAVIOR AND LEVEL OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT A Thesis Presented By STEPHEN A. CALLAHAN Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE December 1974 Psychology i ALTRUISM AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT A STUDY : OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHILDREN'S SHARING BEHAVIOR AND LEVEL OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT A Thesis By STEPHEN A. CALLAHAN Approved as to style and content by: James Michael Royer, Chairman of Committee V Dr. Bernadette Nelson-Shapiro, Member Dr. Stephen Reisman, Member !ichard £*^Lo;dttit, Chairman of Department December 1974 1• 1• 1• Altruism and Moral Development: A Study of the Relationship Between Children's Sharing Behavior and Level of Moral Development (December 1974) Stephen A. Callahan, B.S., Brandeis University Directed by: Dr. James Michael Royer This study investigated the relationship between chil- dren's level of moral reasoning and their willingness to share toys with an unknown peer. Seventy-one fifth grade boys served as subjects. All subjects were rated for level of moral reasoning on one of Kohlberg's moral dilemmas, using his standard scoring procedure (Kohlberg, 1973) Two • weeks later, all subjects were given the sharing problem: to divide up four high and four low-value toys with an unknown peer. Subjects at higher stages of moral reasoning shared significantly more high-value toys than subjects at lower stages of moral reasoning. It was found that subjects from high academic ability groups showed significantly higher levels of moral reasoning than subjects from lower ability groups. Analysis of sharing data, within ability groups, showed nonsignificant trends towards increased sharing by subjects at higher stages of moral development. It was suggested that this positive relationship be- tween level of moral reasoning and willingness to share may help to explain many age-related sharing differences reported iv ' in past research (e.g., Staub, 1968). However, future re- search is necessary to establish a "cause and effect" rela- tionship between moral development and altruism. v List of Tables 1. Types of Sharing for Subjects at Different Moral Stages -ji 2. Moral Stage and Type Sharing for Subjects Who Owned at Least One High-Value Toy 15 3. Number of Subjects at Each Moral Stage for Three Ability Levels 16 4. Type of Sharing by Moral Stage for Subjects in Three Ability Groups 17 Types of Sharing by Moral Stage for 5. Low-Economic Subjects 18 vi List of Illustrations Figure 1. Age trends in moral judgments for three ages ... 3 Vll 1 It is the tenet of this paper that many age-related changes in children's sharing behavior are accompanied by changes in moral development. Many studies have found a posi- tive relationship between a child's age and his willingness to share. Midlarsky and Bryan (1967) found that third and fourth graders shared candy more often than first and second grade children. Handlon and Gross (1959) used preschool through sixth grade children in a study of altruism. The problem was to divide up five rewards with another child. They found a positive relationship between age and increased sharing. Walbek (1969) found that fifth grade children were more willing than second graders to donate certificates (worth a penny) to charity. Wright (1942b) had 8 and 11-year-olds share four high-value and four low-value toys with an anony- mous peer. The 11-year-olds were more generous, giving up more of the high-value toys. Thus, there is experimental evidence that from age six to eleven there is a general in- crease in altruistic behavior. Bryan and London (1970), in their review of altruistic behavior in children, have suggested that this age trend in generosity, "appears to accompany alterations in the basis of moral judgment" (Kohlberg, 1963). It is possible that older children are more generous than younger not only because of the greater opportunity to learn this culturally valued activity, but because they may be shifting the basis of moral 2 judgment from a hedonistic position to one emphasizing social approval ("the 'good-boy* morality" [Kohlberg, 1963]). How- ever, there is no direct experimental evidence relating level of moral development to children's sharing behavior. According to Kohlberg (1969a), during the elementary school years most children shift from stage 1 to stages 2 and 3 in moral development (see Figure 1). In the first stage of moral development, the child is essentially egocentric, his behavior is motivated by fear (obedience to avoid punishment orientation) However, in stage 2 reasoning the child has . become aware of the "value of each other's needs and perspec- tives" (Kohlberg, 1969a). The child's orientation in moral decisions is one of 'exchange' or 'reciprocity.' This orien- tation is one in which Human relations are viewed in terms like those of the market place. Elements of fairness, reciprocity, and equal snaring are present, but they are always interpreted in a physical, pragmatic way. Reci- procity is a matter of "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours," not of loyalty, gratitude, or jus- tice. (Table Kohlberg, 1973) 5, This change in the basis of moral judgments may explain the older child's increased generosity. However, if moral devel- opment level does influence children's sharing, there should be some evidence of 'sharing to maintain equality' or an 'ex- change orientation' in older children's altruistic behavior. Several studies (Staub, 1963; Ugurel-Semin, 1952; • Willoughby and Callahan, 1972; Wright, 1942b) have found an •exchange' or 'reciprocity' orientation in the sharing behavior