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The Moral Judgment of the Child
This classic study examines a problem that stands at the heart of society: How does a child distinguish between right and wrong? Professor Piaget and his colleagues begin their investigation by analyzing the "rules of the game" - in this case a seemingly simple game of marbles - as handed down from one group of children to another. They observe the child's total acceptance of the consensus rules and describe the moral pressure of the group on the individual. Piaget proceeds to an analysis of lying, cheating, adult authority, punishment, and responsibility, noting and evaluating the changing attitudes of growing children toward these "moral realities." The book concludes with a comparison of the findings of this significant study with those theories in social psychology and sociology that bear directly on the moral development of the child.
428 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1932
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About the author
Jean Piaget
351 books668 followersJean Piaget (1896 - 1980) was a Swiss philosopher, natural scientist and developmental theorist, well known for his work studying children, his theory of cognitive development, and his epistemological view called "genetic epistemology." In 1955, he created the International Centre for Genetic Epistemology in Geneva and directed it until his death in 1980. According to Ernst von Glasersfeld, Jean Piaget was "the great pioneer of the constructivist theory of knowing."
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 1, 2014
This book is dense with analysis that can be tough to follow. This is my second time through it, and I felt like I absorbed a lot more. I'm not sure if it's because it's older or just the ideas are difficult to grasp, probably a bit of both, but it's a fascinating read and the dense analysis parts are mixed with scenarios laid out to kids and their answers, which is easy reading, so I would call it an enjoyable read for a lay person. Two kid responses stick with me. In one they were asking kids if a kid stole (an apple, I think) and didn't get caught but then on their walk home from school the bridge broke and they fell in the water, if they hadn't stole the apple would the bridge had still broken, and the one kid, older, laughed. "The bridge isn't supposed to know the kid stole an apple." Another one was they told a scenario to a kid and asked what he thought of that story, and the kid said, "It's pretty."
April 10, 2019
read this back in the 90's
May 31, 2011
Piaget is really the standard in developmental psychology. I knew I was going to have to read him at some point, in order to follow much of the modern conversation in the subject. Since I'm far from an expert on childhood development, I'm definitely not qualified to vouch for the accuracy of the majority of Piaget's claims, or the reasonable-ness of his method in assessing development. I do have some concerns, especially about the latter. However, he's a terrifically interesting writer, and I think his historical significance makes him a worthwhile read, even for those with a layman's interest in the subject.
I found Piaget pretty accessible, which is why I've given him the high rating. The writing is very good, fairly lucid (despite some issues that I have with the particular translation that I was using) and brings in a lot of very important historical referents. Piaget presents a terrific critique of Durkheim, who I have a good deal more experience with, and the critique is really interesting. It does make reading Durkheim a really important piece of material for understanding Piaget's context, but I'm not totally sure that it's necessary. Piaget's primary focus is on the individual interviews and the psychological causes behind much of the childhood behavior. For what it is, it more than meets expectations. I am usually a fairly harsh critic of primary texts, because I think they are given far more credit than they are due. However, I found Piaget more than lived up to the hype, which was a nice change of pace.
I found Piaget pretty accessible, which is why I've given him the high rating. The writing is very good, fairly lucid (despite some issues that I have with the particular translation that I was using) and brings in a lot of very important historical referents. Piaget presents a terrific critique of Durkheim, who I have a good deal more experience with, and the critique is really interesting. It does make reading Durkheim a really important piece of material for understanding Piaget's context, but I'm not totally sure that it's necessary. Piaget's primary focus is on the individual interviews and the psychological causes behind much of the childhood behavior. For what it is, it more than meets expectations. I am usually a fairly harsh critic of primary texts, because I think they are given far more credit than they are due. However, I found Piaget more than lived up to the hype, which was a nice change of pace.
September 26, 2017
Yes, it took me almost a month to finish this book. Piaget is hard; 1, he is translated from French, 2, child psychology is not a familiar subject for me. It gets easier when you read his study on play, imitation, and dreams with Carl Rogers' Americanisms to balance out the heavy, lengthy subchapters.
Cooperation comes from the criticism of a rule or law. I would add to this point that debate can be sustained by equals and only after the opposition does not declare your side moot. We would be more adept at debate if we recognize egocentrism and raise the bar up to the next level.
Cooperation comes from the criticism of a rule or law. I would add to this point that debate can be sustained by equals and only after the opposition does not declare your side moot. We would be more adept at debate if we recognize egocentrism and raise the bar up to the next level.
April 1, 2013
Piaget got one thing right: a child's first few years are when his or her mind is most impressionable. This is why early childhood education is so important, in particular for Christians, who so often neglect the very young.
April 19, 2015
This is where any study of moral development must begin. Foundational book. Assumes away nature, but that is part of Piaget's premise.
January 21, 2021
How do children develop morally? This is the question Jean Piaget sets out to answer.
He does so by observing children playing marbles and asking them about the rules of the game. He also tells children small stories and then asks them what they think about the moral issues involved. Selected responses from the children form a large part of the book, which serve to drive home his conclusions.
What does Piaget conclude? Well, he observes that in the early years of life moral realism predominates. Almost all young children believe in the religious sanctity of rules imposed on them by adults and older children. They believe that 'bad' behavior is always punished (if adults don't do it the universe will) and that punishments must be severe. They believe that the rules externally imposed on them are an unassailable feature of the natural world.
Yet they are simultaneously notoriously bad at applying these rules consistently. Piaget claims this is due to their egocentric nature, with "egocentrism being by definition the confusion of the self with the not-self". That is to say, young children lack the ability to separate themselves from the world around them. They have a very confused and limited perception of the world. Therefore, they cannot possibly apply the 'spirit' of the rules, however much they cling to the letter. They simply can't draw the necessary connections in ambiguous situations. Piaget also observes that very young children play games essentially alone, without much interest in cooperation.
This changes, however, as they age. I want to mention that none of the age ranges are definite (and Piaget mentions that different groups of children may have different average ages for these stages) and they are also not exclusionary. Children of all ages profess moral realism, but by the time they are 12 it is a small percentage of children, while at 6 it is almost all of them.
So what happens? By the time they are 10-12 they are playing cooperatively. This means that they have an active and vital interest in applying the rules fairly and they begin to talk about ideas of reciprocity. Instead of viewing punishment as the wrath of God they view it as a way to re-establish social bonds. This means that the punishments they prefer to use are proportional to the offense and often directly related to the consequences of the offending behavior. Piaget takes this to be a very promising development, as cooperation is the foundation of democracy.
Piaget goes down several other lines of inquiry but this transition from blind obedience to external commands and active cooperation and reciprocity is the main result of his inquiry. He also discusses these results in the context of several sociological theories which leads him to conclude that children would be better off being taught to cooperate, instead of to simply obey.
As he puts it: "The adult must therefore be a collaborator and not a master, from this double point of view, moral and rational. But conversely, it would be unwise to rely upon biological 'nature' alone to ensure the dual progress of conscience and intelligence, when we realize to what extent all moral as all logical norms are the result of cooperation. Let us therefore try to create in the school a place where individual experimentation and reflection carried out in common come to each other's aid and balance one another."
Naturally, he is against domination of children by adults. To which I say, hear hear! All children obviously need and deserve guidance (so do adults), but it must be in the form of a trusted friend - not a petty dictator. True teaching ability is a rare gift, and even teachers with the inclination find their talents squashed and underrated in the classroom. Clearly I have plenty of ideas on this subject of my own, which is why I really enjoyed this book. There's a lot to think about, and my ideas about children and childhood will never be the same.
He does so by observing children playing marbles and asking them about the rules of the game. He also tells children small stories and then asks them what they think about the moral issues involved. Selected responses from the children form a large part of the book, which serve to drive home his conclusions.
What does Piaget conclude? Well, he observes that in the early years of life moral realism predominates. Almost all young children believe in the religious sanctity of rules imposed on them by adults and older children. They believe that 'bad' behavior is always punished (if adults don't do it the universe will) and that punishments must be severe. They believe that the rules externally imposed on them are an unassailable feature of the natural world.
Yet they are simultaneously notoriously bad at applying these rules consistently. Piaget claims this is due to their egocentric nature, with "egocentrism being by definition the confusion of the self with the not-self". That is to say, young children lack the ability to separate themselves from the world around them. They have a very confused and limited perception of the world. Therefore, they cannot possibly apply the 'spirit' of the rules, however much they cling to the letter. They simply can't draw the necessary connections in ambiguous situations. Piaget also observes that very young children play games essentially alone, without much interest in cooperation.
This changes, however, as they age. I want to mention that none of the age ranges are definite (and Piaget mentions that different groups of children may have different average ages for these stages) and they are also not exclusionary. Children of all ages profess moral realism, but by the time they are 12 it is a small percentage of children, while at 6 it is almost all of them.
So what happens? By the time they are 10-12 they are playing cooperatively. This means that they have an active and vital interest in applying the rules fairly and they begin to talk about ideas of reciprocity. Instead of viewing punishment as the wrath of God they view it as a way to re-establish social bonds. This means that the punishments they prefer to use are proportional to the offense and often directly related to the consequences of the offending behavior. Piaget takes this to be a very promising development, as cooperation is the foundation of democracy.
Piaget goes down several other lines of inquiry but this transition from blind obedience to external commands and active cooperation and reciprocity is the main result of his inquiry. He also discusses these results in the context of several sociological theories which leads him to conclude that children would be better off being taught to cooperate, instead of to simply obey.
As he puts it: "The adult must therefore be a collaborator and not a master, from this double point of view, moral and rational. But conversely, it would be unwise to rely upon biological 'nature' alone to ensure the dual progress of conscience and intelligence, when we realize to what extent all moral as all logical norms are the result of cooperation. Let us therefore try to create in the school a place where individual experimentation and reflection carried out in common come to each other's aid and balance one another."
Naturally, he is against domination of children by adults. To which I say, hear hear! All children obviously need and deserve guidance (so do adults), but it must be in the form of a trusted friend - not a petty dictator. True teaching ability is a rare gift, and even teachers with the inclination find their talents squashed and underrated in the classroom. Clearly I have plenty of ideas on this subject of my own, which is why I really enjoyed this book. There's a lot to think about, and my ideas about children and childhood will never be the same.
January 12, 2019
This was my first read of Jean Piaget. And it was definitely a challenging one to read casually on a subway. I imagine this book to be the 20th century version of what is now a collection of modern-day academic research papers. He lays out in detail about his experiments on children and their careful analysis. You have to really follow his train of thought to understand.
Nevertheless, the book is full of great ideas. It was the first time I encountered different kinds of morality. He strongly focuses on the individuality. Individuality and development of reciprocity based morality are one and on the same coin.
Other ideas include collective responsibility, unilateral respect, expiation, and many more.
And there's this quote that suggests realizing the imperfection of adult (I assume parents) is also the part of morality development: "this discovery of the inadequate character of adult justice is only one episode in the general movement which takes the child away from the morality of constraint and towards that of cooperation". It shouldn't be only for children. I still remember at my first job, I always felt frustrated for injustice in recognition. But of course, the manager is a human being too. No one is perfect. That is a good example of morality development, now I realize looking back.
Other
I would love to read about the book that applies his theory to the adult's and today's context. An area that would be really interesting is the capital punishment debate from his reciprocity argument. If you know such, please suggest one to me.
Nevertheless, the book is full of great ideas. It was the first time I encountered different kinds of morality. He strongly focuses on the individuality. Individuality and development of reciprocity based morality are one and on the same coin.
Other ideas include collective responsibility, unilateral respect, expiation, and many more.
And there's this quote that suggests realizing the imperfection of adult (I assume parents) is also the part of morality development: "this discovery of the inadequate character of adult justice is only one episode in the general movement which takes the child away from the morality of constraint and towards that of cooperation". It shouldn't be only for children. I still remember at my first job, I always felt frustrated for injustice in recognition. But of course, the manager is a human being too. No one is perfect. That is a good example of morality development, now I realize looking back.
Other
I would love to read about the book that applies his theory to the adult's and today's context. An area that would be really interesting is the capital punishment debate from his reciprocity argument. If you know such, please suggest one to me.
February 5, 2023
Piaget's fifth book, The Moral Judgement of the Child is one of his most interesting. He begins with a study of how children understand the rules of marbles at different ages, and shows that there are two different ways of looking at rules: the younger children consider them as something objective which must be followed exactly (although in fact they seldom do so), while the older children change them according to circumstances by agreement and then follow them consistently. He then shows in the second chapter that young children tend to see moral rules also as objective ("moral reality"), based on "expiatory" punishment and "objective responsibility" and imposed by the constraint of adults or older children, while in the third chapter he shows that the older children tend to see them as more subjective, a result of mutual agreements, and emphasize reciprocity and equality (and at the highest age, equity.) The fourth chapter is a theoretical polemic with Durkheim, M. Bovet and G.M. Baldwin on the origins of morality based on his observational results. As opposed to the previous four books, he is less concerned with consecutive "stages" than with changes in the proportions of the different types which all exist to some extent at all ages. He also mentions for the first time that his researches were all with children from very poor families, which may explain why the average ages of the various stages seemed to me to be rather higher than I would have expected.
October 9, 2024
Good, but it seems to me that it is a stretch to take the child's perspective as being able to establish the parameters of adult morality, even if one is the kernel of the other, as Piaget says. I think there is something indefinable that is added to the human personality as it comes to maturation, something which is not simply definable or attested to the resignation that is the mark of adult morality as Piaget attributes to the amalgamation of the individual into a society of his or her betters. Three stars.
December 30, 2021
Essential reading for those who are into education and psychology.
July 1, 2019
Extremely interesting.
October 13, 2024
For young children (7-8), morality=the law (mainly laid down by their parents, God, teachers, etc.). “Justice is subordinated to adult authority.” “Authority takes precedence over justice.”
(8-11) justice=equality. “progressive equalitarianism”: the onset of autonomy and the priority of equality over authority.
(11-12) “pure equalitarian justice is tempered by considerations of equity.” Equality in relation to particular situations.
“…adult authority, although perhaps it constitutes a necessary moment in the moral evolution of the child, is not in itself sufficient to create a sense of justice. This can develop only through the progress made by cooperation and mutual respect…”
(8-11) justice=equality. “progressive equalitarianism”: the onset of autonomy and the priority of equality over authority.
(11-12) “pure equalitarian justice is tempered by considerations of equity.” Equality in relation to particular situations.
“…adult authority, although perhaps it constitutes a necessary moment in the moral evolution of the child, is not in itself sufficient to create a sense of justice. This can develop only through the progress made by cooperation and mutual respect…”
April 19, 2017
Interessante, a volte prolisso o difficile da seguire. Fornisce spunti di lettura e riflessione.
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December 1, 2017bb
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews