Motivation and Morality: a response to John Wilson

Abstract

This report of children's concepts of fairness takes as its rationale that the tentativeness of contemporary moral education reflects a lack of precise developmental schedules, and that there is a need for research to examine recent outlines of growth before widespread adoption of them by teachers. The Damon hierarchy of development of children's sense of positive justice is examined for its usefulness in predicting fairness in behaviour, and reliability in age patterning of its stated levels of reasoning. In general, it is the attributes of the various situations in which distribution is carried out, rather than conceptual growth, that seems to determine behaviour. The changes occurring with age are more quantitative than qualitative, and do not accord with expectations based on the Damon analysis. The hierarchy's value as a developmental schedule for teacher guidance may be questionable.