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Developmental Psychology Commons

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Wilfrid Laurier University

Moral development

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Full-Text Articles in Developmental Psychology

Exploring Individuals’ Views On The Malleability Of Their Moral Self-Concept, Steven Hertz Jan 2022

Exploring Individuals’ Views On The Malleability Of Their Moral Self-Concept, Steven Hertz

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Drawing on work by Carol Dweck, Moral Self-Theory was conceptualized as describing lay views of the moral self-concept as either malleable (incrementalist view) or fixed (entity view) in order to better capture the goal-achievement aspect of morality. To this end, research into the areas of implicit theories of intelligence and personality were drawn upon to explore the possibility that lay views of morality could help inform our understanding of moral behaviour. Three studies were designed to: 1) examine individuals’ perceptions of their moral self-concept over time for evidence of change and assess participants’ opinions towards that change, as well as …


Moral Identity As A Goal Of Moral Action: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective, Tobias Krettenauer Jan 2020

Moral Identity As A Goal Of Moral Action: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective, Tobias Krettenauer

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper aims at connecting Self-Determination Theory (SDT) with research on moral identity. It is argued that SDT provides a unique and integrative framework for addressing important questions that have guided research on moral identity for many years: What is a moral identity? How is it linked to moral action? How do moral identities develop? In the present paper, moral identity is conceptualized as a goal of moral action. Individuals want to maintain their moral identity, which in turn motivates them to act morally. Yet, moral identity motivation is not uniform. In line with SDT, it is possible to differentiate …


Desiring To Appear Moral Versus Being Moral: Development Of Moral Hypocrisy And Moral Integrity, Kathleen Tamming Jan 2017

Desiring To Appear Moral Versus Being Moral: Development Of Moral Hypocrisy And Moral Integrity, Kathleen Tamming

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Moral hypocrisy has been defined as “the motivation to appear moral while acting in one’s self interest, and therefore avoiding the cost of actually being moral” (Batson, Kobrynowicz, Dinnerstein, Kampf, & Wilson, 1997). This is in contrast with moral integrity, or the motivation to actually be moral. Experimental research with adults has indicated that people are more highly motivated by moral hypocrisy than by moral integrity (Batson, Thompson, & Chen, 2002). However, this research has yet to be conducted with a variety of age groups. The present study investigated whether there are age differences in individuals’ tendency to engage in …