Sensorimotor Period
This stage occurs between birth and age 2. Here, the infant attempts to understand the world through the coordination of sensory experiences (Lourenco 123). He/she infant understands the world through physical actions. For instance, during the first few weeks, the infant engages in 3 basic reflexes that Piaget describes as following object movements using the eyes, closing the hand when an object is placed on the palm, and sucking any object that is placed in the mouth. However, the mental abilities of the child such as image representation are yet to develop.
Preoperational Stag
This stage occurs between age 2 and 7 years. During this stage, the child learns how to draw and reason (Lourenco 124). He/she also starts taking part in children games such as pretend play. The child becomes very curious to learn and tends to ask questions all the time in an attempt to understand the reasoning behind certain aspects and learn by imitating others. However, the child is yet to learn how to consider the points of view of others.
Concrete Operational Stage
Takes place between ages 7 and 11. The child has understood aspects such as decentering, classification, transitivity, conservation, and serialization (Lourenco 135). For instance, the child can identify and sort objects depending on their size; the child understands that if James is taller than John, and John is taller than Peter, then James is taller than Peter. However, the child is yet to understand how to solve hypothetical or abstract concepts. He/she can only relate to ideas concerning objects.
Formal Operational Stage
This stage begins at the age of 11 and progresses into adulthood. At this stage, a person can relate to abstract concepts, use logical reasoning, and make conclusions depending on the information at hand (Lourenco 137). There are no limitations to what a person can understand at this stage.
Pre-conventional Morality
This stage occurs before the age of 9. This stage is further sub-divided into two, that is, the punishment-disobedience orientation and the instrumental relativist orientation (Lapsley 35). An example of the punishment-disobedience orientation is where the child refrains from breaking rules because he does not want to be jailed. In the instrumental relativist orientation, a child would justify stealing when it caters for his/her serious needs.
Conventional Morality
A person makes judgments depending on social expectations and societal norms (Lapsley 37). For instance, a person may give away her lunch to a poor friend because she believes that is what nice people do. This morality also involves respect for the law and authorizes. A police officer may refuse a bribe from an offender because he wants to uphold peace in the society.
Post-conventional morality
It occurs between late adolescence and adulthood and focuses mainly on the moral principles of a person (Lapsley 38). The person may consider the values and opinions of other people before deciding on the morality of a given action. The person also believes that violating the rights of another person is wrong and anything that conforms to individual rights is right. For instance, stealing from a neighbor is wrong while saving the life of a neighbor is right.
Conclusion
Women tend to lean more towards deontological decisions meaning that they make decisions based on absolute social rules (The Chronicle 1). Men lean more towards utilitarian decisions meaning that they make decisions based on the relative benefits of an action. For example, a man would kill one person die in order to save 3 more but a woman would not kill even if it meant saving the lives of more. Therefore, gender influences the decisions of people.
Works Cited
Lapsley, Daniel K. Moral psychology. Routledge, 2018.
Lourenço, Orlando M. "Developmental stages, Piagetian stages in particular: A critical review." New Ideas in Psychology 40 (2016): 123-137.
The Chronicle. "Moral decision-making influenced by gender." 2015, www.columbiachronicle.com/health_and_tech/article_ce022f74-e551-11e4-abb9-f78c14474a0d.html.
