Seventy-two students in Grades 9,11, and 12 were administered four prosocial moral reasoning stories and a sociopolitical attitude questionnaire. Scores.
Developmental Psycholog 1979, Vol. 16, No. 1, 87-
Relationship of Prosocial Moral Reasoning to Altruism, Political Liberalism, and Intelligence Nancy Eisenberg-Berg Arizona State University Seventy-two students in Grades 9,11, and 12 were administered four prosocial moral reasoning stories and a sociopolitical attitude questionnaire. Scores on a test for scholastic aptitude were obtained, and all subjects were given the opportunity to volunteer to help the experimenter with a dull, unpaid task. When the effects of age were controlled, males' level of prosocial moral reasoning was highly related to intelligence (scholastic aptitude) and moderately associated with altruism. Females' moral judgment was related to liberal sociopolitical attitudes. The data were compared with research on prohibition-oriented moral judgment, and the sex differences in the findings were discussed. Although much research has examined the topic of children's moral reasoning (e.g., Kohlberg, 1969), most of this work has been concerned with one particular type of moral reasoning, reasoning about issues involving laws, rules, authorities, and formal obligations (prohibition moral reasoning). However, several recent studies have indicated that the theoretical conclusions extracted from research about prohibition-oriented moral judgment cannot necessarily be generalized to moral reasoning about aspects of positive justice, for example, prosocial behavior (Mussen & Eisenberg-Berg, 1977). For example, I have found that the early stages of prosocial moral reasoning (reasoning about conflicts in which the individual's own wants and needs conflict with those of others in contexts in which laws, authorities, punishment, and formal obligations are deemphasized) are more advanced and/or different from early prohibition-oriented reasoning and that certain types of judgment (e.g., empathic reasoning) appeared to be more salient in prosocial than prohibition moral reasoning (Mussen & Eisenberg-Berg, 1977). Given the evidence suggesting developmental differences in the early stages of prohibition and prosocial moral judgment, it is quite possible that the antecedents and/or correlates of level of This research was supported by a grant from the Grant Foundation to Paul Mussen at the Institute of Human Development. Requests for reprints should be sent to Nancy Eisenberg-Berg, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 86281.
prohibition reasoning are not those of nonprohibition types of moral judgment. The present research was designed to examine this issue, that is, to determine if several factors previously found to be related to prohibition moral reasoning (intelligence, political liberalism, and altruistic behavior; e.g., Kohlberg, 1969; Rest, Cooper, Coder, Masanz, & Anderson, 1974) are also associated with level of prosocial moral reasoning. If these variables are found to be related to prosocial moral judgment as well as to prohibition reasoning, this would suggest that the two types of moral reasoning involve similar developmental processes. If the correlates of prohibition moral reasoning are not also related to prosocial moral judgment, this would indicate that there are fundamental differences in the development of the two realms of moral judgment. The subjects in this study were 69 white students, 1 Asian American, and 2 Mexican Americans in Grades 9, 11, and 12 (37 females and 35 males) from a middle- and upper-middle-class suburb. (Mean chronological age was 16 years 8 months.) Each subject was interviewed individually, and the students' level of prosocial moral reasoning was assessed by eliciting his/her responses to four moral dilemma stories dealing with prosocial conflicts. For example, in one prosocial moral conflict, individuals had to choose between sharing or not sharing food with another town, which had been flooded, when sharing would result in their being very hungry themselves. All students also completed a 41-item sociopolitical attitude questionnaire very similar to the one designed by
Copyright 1979 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 0012-1649/79/1501-0087$00.76 87
BRIEF REPORTS
Mussen, Sullivan, and Eisenberg-Berg (1977) to For males, scholastic aptitude (partial r = .57, assess political liberalism. Furthermore, after p < .001) and altruism (r = .57, p < .001), but the subjects had been paid for their participation not liberalism (r = .09), were significantly reand all procedures appeared to have been com- lated to level of moral judgment. Political pleted, each subject was asked by the inter- liberalism was the best predictor of females' viewer (one of two males and two females) if levels of prosocial moral judgment (partial r he/she were willing to volunteer to help the = .35, p < .05). Scholastic aptitude (r = .12) experimenter with a dull experimental task 2-3 and altruism (r = .20) were not significantly reweeks later. The subjects' actual completion of lated to level of moral judgment. this dull task constituted a measure of altruistic The results of this study suggest that several behavior. Last, as a measure of the students' variables related to the developmental level scholastic aptitude (a rough measure of intelli- of prohibition reasoning are also associated gence), the subjects' percentile standings on the with level of prosocial moral judgment. Howcomposite score of the Iowa Test of Educational ever, sex differences in the relationships of the Development were obtained from school records. independent variables to level of prosocial reaThe subjects' moral reasoning was analyzed soning were evident (even though there were no inductively. Each subject received scores from sex differences in mean levels of prosocial judg1 to 4 (1 = no use of the moral consideration ment, intelligence, altruism, or political liberaland 4 = major type of reasoning verbalized), ism). Analyses of the differences in correlations reflecting the salience of each of 26 types of indicated that only the most striking sex difmoral considerations (e.g., hedonism, stereo- ference—the strong relationship of scholastic typed reasoning) in subjects' reasoning (across aptitude to level of moral reasoning for males the four stories). Next, these moral considera- but not females—was significant (2 = 1.96, p tion scores (and those of 53 elementary school < .05). It is logical to hypothesize that capacchildren) were intercorrelated and factor ana- ities emphasized during socialization (i.e., inlyzed, and types of reasoning that clustered tellectual performance for males; see Block, were grouped into general orientations (e.g., an 1973) should play a major role in the development empathic orientation). These orientations were of personality and social cognition, including then ordered into age-related "stages" based on moral reasoning. There is a slightly different the results of multivariate and univariate trend interpretation of this sex difference, however. analyses performed on the various reasoning Although research suggests a relationship becategories (indicating which moral considera- tween intelligence and prohibition-oriented tions increased and decreased in usage with age). moral reasoning (Kohlberg, 1969), scholastic The resultant four stages were somewhat simi- aptitude scores may not be a good indication of lar to Kohlberg's stages. The least mature type intelligence for both sexes. Although middleof reasoning used by high school subjects and upper-middle-class adolescent males are was hedonistic reasoning, followed by stereo- frequently encouraged to achieve academically typic, approval-oriented reasoning, and em- as a means of fulfilling the masculine goal of pathetic reasoning (sympathetic, needs-oriented occupational success, the traditional female role reasoning, or reasoning explicitly involving role is interpersonally oriented rather than achievetaking), in that order. The most developmen- ment oriented. Thus, because of differences in tally mature type of judgment was reasoning motivational set, performance on tests of acabased on internalized values and responsi- demic skills may reflect adolescent males' inbilities and self-respect for maintaining those tellectual abilities more accurately than females' values (similar to aspects of Kohlberg's Stages cognitive capacities, and should, therefore, be 4 and 5). Each child was assigned a numerical more closely related to level of moral judgment score indicating his/her stage of moral reason- for males than for females. ing. The interrater reliability (percentage of References exact agreement on scoring of individuals' stages) was .79. (Additional details are available in Mussen & Eisenberg-Berg [1977] and in Ei- Block, J. H. Conceptions of sex role: Some crosscultural and longitudinal perspectives. American senberg [1977]). Psychologist, 1973, 28, 512-526. Because prosocial moral reasoning, political Eisenberg, N. The development of prosocial moral liberalism, and altruism are all age-related varijudgment and its correlates (Doctoral dissertation, ables, the effects of age were partialled out University of California, Berkeley, 1976). Dissertawhen considering the relationship between protion Abstracts International, 1977, 37, 4753B. social moral judgment and the other variables. (University Microfilms No. 77-444, 184).
BRIEF REPORTS Kohlberg, L. Stage and sequence: A cognitive-developmental approach to socialization. In D. Goslin (Ed.), The handbook of socialization theory and research. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1969. Mussen, P., Sullivan, L. B., & Eisenberg-Berg, N. Changes in political-economic attitudes during adolescence. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 1977, 130, 69-76. Mussen, P., & Eisenberg-Berg, N. Roots of caring,
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sharing, and helping: The development ofprosocial behavior in children. San Francisco: Freeman, 1977. Rest, J., Cooper, D., Coder, R., Masanz, J., & Anderson, D. Judging the important issues in moral dilemmas—An objective measure of development. Developmental Psychology, 1974,10, 491-501.
Received January 21, 1978
