Understanding Psychology

ELEVENTH EDITION
Charles G. Morris, Albert A. Maisto

Chapter 9
Life-span
Development
 Links to Learning Objectives
LO 9.1 Describe the aims of developmental LO 9.5
psychology. Describe cross-
sectional, longitudinal, and
retrospective research methods LO 9.6
including the advantages and
disadvantages of each.
LO 9.7
LO 9.2 Explain how toxic agents, diseases,
and maternal stress can affect an
unborn child. Discuss the concept of LO 9.8
critical period.
LO 9.3 Summarize the reflexes and LO 9.9
perceptual abilities of newborns.
LO 9.4 Describe the four basic
temperaments that are visible at birth, LO 9.10
the extent to which those inborn
temperaments remain stable over
time, and the reasons for both
stability and change.
Summarize the perceptual abilities of
newborns.
Describe how the human brain changes
during infancy and early childhood.
Summarize the course of physical and
motor development in childhood.
Describe Piaget’s stages of cognitive
development and summarize the
criticisms of his theory.
Describe Kohlberg’s stages of moral
development and summarize the
criticisms of his theory.
Describe the course of language
development in childhood, including the
use and acquisition of multiple
languages. Compare and contrast the
views of Skinner, Chomsky, and Pinke
regarding language development.
 Links to Learning Objectives
LO 9.11 Distinguish imprinting from
attachment. Describe the nature of
parent–child relationships in the first
12 years of life with specific reference
to Erikson’s stages of development.
LO 9.12 Describe how peer relationships
develop during childhood and the
importance of non-shared
environments.
LO 9.13 Distinguish gender identity, gender
constancy, gender-role awareness,
and gender stereotypes. Describe
sex-typed behavior including the
extent to which biology and
experience shape sex-typed behavior.
LO 9.14 Summarize the research on the
effects of television and video games
on children.
LO 9.15 Describe the physical changes that
occur during adolescence, the
consequences of maturing earlier or
later than most others, and potential
consequences of teenage pregnancy.
LO 9.16 Describe the cognitive changes that
occur during adolescence.
LO 9.17 Summarize the research on whether
adolescence is, indeed, a period of
“storm and stress” for most teenagers.
Discuss identity achievement, identity
foreclosure, moratorium, identity
diffusion, relationships with both peers
and parents, self-esteem, depression,
and violence.
 Links to Learning Objectives
LO 9.18 Explain Erikson’s concept of intimacy
versus isolation in young adulthood,
the kinds of partnerships that adults
form, parenthood, and the difficulties
of ending intimate relationships.
LO 9.19 Describe gender differences in the
world of work and the demands of
dual-career families.
LO 9.20 Describe the cognitive changes that
occur during adulthood.
LO 9.21 Describe the changes and challenges
of midlife including Erikson’s notion
of generativity versus stagnation and
the concept of midlife crisis as
opposed to midlife transition.
LO 9.22 Describe the factors that affect life
expectancy.
LO 9.23 Describe the physical changes that
occur in late adulthood, and the
possible reasons for those physical
changes.
LO 9.24 Provide an answer to the question
“What kind of lifestyle and sex life can
be expected after age 65?”
LO 9.25 Describe the nature of mental
functioning in old age. Characterize
Alzheimer’s disease.
LO 9.26 Describe how most people cope with
the end of life and the loss of their
partner.
Enduring Issues
in Lifespan
Development
Enduring Issues

Person-Situation
How do
Nature-Nurture
biological and
environmental forces
Stability-Change interact to shape
human behavior
Diversity-
Universality and growth throughout
the life span?
Mind-Body
Enduring Issues

Person-Situation
To what extent do our
Nature-Nurture
thoughts, behaviors,
and personalities
Stability-Change remain stable
(or change)
Diversity-
Universality throughout life?

Mind-Body
Enduring Issues

Person-Situation
How do individual
Nature-Nurture
characteristics and
shared human traits
Stability-Change shape behavior
throughout
Diversity-
Universality the life span?

Mind-Body
The study of the
changes that
occur in people
from birth
through
old age

evelopmental
psychology
Methods in
Developmental
Psychology
Methods in Developmental Psychology
LO 9.1 Describe the aims of developmental psychology. Describe cross-sectional, longitudinal,
and retrospective research methods including the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Cross-Sectional Study

All Groups 2015

1. Cognitive
2. Social
GROUP
3. Moral
1
4. Physical

1. Cognitive
2. Social
GROUP
3. Moral
2
4. Physical

1. Cognitive
2. Social
GROUP
3. Moral
3
4. Physical
Longitudinal Study

2015
2005
1995
Armando Garcia
1. Cognitive
2. Social
3. Moral
4. Physical
Biographical Study
Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Types of
Developmental Research Methods
Prenatal
Development
Prenatal Development
LO 9.2 Explain how toxic agents, diseases, and maternal stress can affect an unborn
child. Discuss the concept of critical period. Explanation.

The embryonic stage:

The
Threedeveloping
months afterorganism is now
conception
to birthan(the
called “fetal stage”):
embryo. During this time
First two weeks after conception:
all
Now of called
the body’s organs,
a fetus, tissues,
the developing
The fertilized egg (the zygote)
and structures
organism begin
roughly to develop
resembles a
divides repeatedly and the cells
and
humansome, likealthough
being, the heart,iteven
is only 1
begin to specialize.
become
inch longfunctional.
at the beginning of this
stage.
Factors Influencing Prenatal Development

1 Critical periods

2 Teratogens

3 Mother’s nutrition

4 Level of stress

5 Quality of medical care

The Newborn
Reflexes
LO 9.3 Summarize the reflexes and perceptual abilities of newborns.

Neonates (newborns)
have many reflexes
that help them to
survive:
• Stepping
• Grasping
• Swallowing
• Sucking
• Rooting
Temperament
LO 9.4 Describe the four basic temperaments that are visible at birth, the extent to which those
inborn temperaments remain stable over time, and the reasons for both stability and change.

Temperament:
Characteristic patterns
of emotional reactions
and emotional self
regulation
• Easy
• Difficult
• Slow to warm up
• Shy child
Perceptual Abilities
LO 9.5 Summarize the perceptual
abilities of newborns.

Vision
At birth:
Babies can see faces or
objects 8 to 10 inches
away.
By 8 months:
They can see as well as the
average young adult, though
their visual system takes
another 3 or 4 years
to develop fully.
Perceptual Abilities

Depth Perception
The ability to see the world in
three dimensions is well
developed by the time a baby
learns to crawl, between 6 and
12 months of age.
• This is demonstrated in a
classic experiment using
the visual cliff (Walk & Gibson,
1961).
Perceptual Abilities

Other Senses
Fetuses can hear sounds in
utero, and after birth babies
show signs that they
remember sounds they
heard in the womb.
Newborns have clear
preferences regarding taste
and smell.
Infancy and
Childhood
Neurological Development
LO 9.6 Describe how the human brain changes during infancy and early childhood.

• The dendrites begin to

bloom and branch out.
• The number of
interconnections between
neurons in the brain
increases dramatically.
• There is rapid growth of
myelin sheaths, which
provide insulation and
increase speed of
conduction.
Synaptic Density in the Human Brain
from Infancy to Adulthood
Physical Development
LO 9.7 Summarize the course of physical and motor development in childhood.

On average Birth weight is Rapid increases in

babies grow 10 doubled by 4 height and weight
inches and gain months and will not occur
15 pounds in tripled by the again until early
the first year. first birthday. adolescence.
Motor Development

Developmental norms:
Average ages at which
skills are achieved
Birth: Have grasping and
stepping reflexes
2 months: Can lift head and
shoulders
6 ½ months: Can sit up by
themselves
9 months: Can stand while
holding onto something
10 months: Begin crawling
1 year: Begin walking
Cognitive Development
LO 9.8 Describe Piaget’s stages of cognitive development and summarize the criticisms of his theory.

Jean Piaget
• Observed and studied children
• Believed that cognitive
development is a way of
adapting to the environment
• Viewed children as intrinsically
motivated to explore and
understand things
• Proposed a 4-stage
theory of cognitive
development
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive
Development

Stage 1
Sensorimotor

Birth – 2 years
• Object permanence
• Mental representations
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive
Development
Stage 2

Preoperational

2 – 7 years
• Egocentrism
• Representational thought
• Fantasy play
• Symbolic gestures
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive
Development
Stage 3
Concrete

7- 11 years
• Principle of conservation
• Complex classification
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Stage 4
Formal

Adolescence to adulthood
• Abstract and hypothetical
thought
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory
Critics
• Rather than distinct, sequential
stages, cognitive development
is a more gradual process
resulting from slow acquisition
of experience.
• Piaget underestimated what
young infants could
understand about the world.
• Piaget underplayed the
importance of social
interaction in
cognitive
development.
Moral Development
LO 9.9 Describe Kohlberg’s stages of moral development and summarize the criticisms of
his theory.

Lawrence Kohlberg

Proposed a
3-level theory of
moral development:
• Preconventional level
• Conventional level
• Postconventional level
Levels of Morality

Preconventional Conventional Postconventional

• Preadolescent • Arrival of • Emphasis on
children adolescence: abstract principles
Right behavior is (i.e. justice, liberty,
• Consequences
what pleases others equality)
determine morality:
Reward = good, • Mid-adolescence: • Morality is decided
punishment = bad Shift toward abstract upon by individual,
social virtues and may conflict with
respecting authority societal rules and
laws
Criticisms of Kohlberg’s Theory

Critics
• Many adolescents and adults
fail to progress into the
postconventional level of
moral reasoning.
• The theory does not account
for cultural differences in
moral values.
• The theory is sexist because
of an emphasis on “justice”
rather than compassion and
caring.
 Language Development
LO 9.10 Describe the course of language development in childhood, including the use and acquisition of multiple
languages. Compare and contrast the views of Skinner, Chomsky, and Pinker regarding language
development.

2 months: Cooing
3-4 months: Babbling
4-6 months: Intonation, basic sounds of
native language
6 months: Recognition of commonly used
words (own name, Mommy, Daddy)
12 months: First word
18-20 months: One-word sentences
(holophrases)
2nd year of life: Possessive words, naming
3rd year of life: Two- and three-word sentences
After 3 years: Filled in sentences
Increased language production
5 or 6 years: Vocabulary of over 2500 words
Sentences of 6-8 words
Theories of Language Development

B.F. Skinner

Parents listen to
infant’s cooing and
babbling, reinforce
sounds most like
adult speech
Theories of Language Development
Noam Chomsky
Language acquisition device
• Internal mechanism “wired into”
the human brain
• Facilitates language learning,
making it universal
• Enables young children to detect
general patterns of grammar in
adult speech
• Permits children to quickly learn
the words and rules of any
language to which they are
exposed
Theories of Language Development

Steven Pinker
Language instinct
• Shaped by natural
selection, forming
circuitry in the brain
• Predisposes infants and
young children to focus
on relevant aspects of
speech, attach meaning
to words
Bilingualism

Learning a
Second Language
• Young children learn more
quickly, speak more fluently
– Supports the idea
of a critical period
• Long-term effects
on the brain
– Increased neuroplasticity
– Greater neural density in
language centers
Social Development
LO 9.11 Distinguish imprinting from attachment. Describe the nature of parent–child relationships
in the first 12 years of life with specific reference to Erikson’s stages of development.

Attachment:
Emotional bond that develops in the
first year of life that makes human
babies cling to their caregivers for
safety and comfort
• Signs of attachment: 6 months or earlier
• Stranger anxiety: Fear of unfamiliar
people which usually emerges around 7
months, reaching its peak at 12 months
and declining during the second year
Imprinting
“Young animals of many species follow their mothers because of
imprinting. Shortly after they are born or hatched, they form a strong
bond to the first moving object they see. In nature, this this object is
most often the mother…but, in laboratory experiments, certain species
of animals, such as geese, have been hatched in incubators and have
imprinted on decoys, mechanical toys, and even human beings.”
– Learning Objective 9.11 (Morris & Maisto)
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
Erik Erikson proposed a theory of eight
psychosocial stages of development:
Stage 1 Stage 5
Trust v. mistrust Identity v. role confusion

Stage 2 Stage 6

Autonomy v. shame Intimacy v. isolation

Stage 3 Stage 7
Initiative v. guilt Generativity v. stagnation

Stage 4 Stage 8
Industry v. inferiority Integrity v. despair

Click on face to advance to stage. Click anywhere else to advance to next slide.
Trust vs. Mistrust

Stage 1
Trust v. mistrust

Birth–1 year
Challenge:
Developing a sense
that the world is safe
and good
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

Stage 2

Autonomy v. shame

1–3 years
Challenge:
Realizing that one is an
independent person with the
ability to make decisions
Initiative vs. Guilt

Stage 3
Initiative v. guilt

3 – 6 years
Challenge:
Developing a willingness
to try new things and to
handle failure
Industry vs. Inferiority

Stage 4
Industry v. inferiority

6 years – adolescence
Challenge:
Learning competence
in basic skills and to
cooperate with others
Erikson’s Eight Psychosocial Stages
with Corresponding Freudian Stage
Baumrind’s Parenting
Styles
Authoritarian Control their children’s behavior rigidly
parents and insist on unquestioning obedience.

Permissive- Exert too little control, failing to set limits on their

indifferent children’s behavior; also neglectful and inattentive.
parents

Permissive- Very supportive of their children, but fail to set

indulgent appropriate limits on their behavior.
parents

Sublimation Provide firm structure and guidance without being overly

Authoritative controlling; listen to their children’s opinions and give
parents explanations for their decisions, but it is clear that they are
the ones who make and enforce the rules.
Relationships with Other Children

Children in peer groups

• Give one another emotional and
social support
• Help one another learn how to
engage in cooperative activities
• Help one another learn how to
negotiate the social roles of
leader and follower
Non-shared Environments
LO 9.12 Describe how peer relationships develop during childhood and the importance
of non-shared environments.

Non-shared environments
• Have a major impact on
development
• Show that crucial
environmental influences are
“specific to each child, rather
than general to an entire
family” (Plomin & Rende, 1991, p. 180)
Sex-Role Development
LO 9.13 Distinguish gender identity, gender constancy, gender-role awareness, and gender stereotypes. Describe sex-
typed behavior including the extent to which biology and experience shape sex-typed behavior.

Little girl knows that she is a girl,

little boy knows that he is a boy
(about age 3)

Socially prescribed Realization that

ways of behaving gender does not
that differ for boys change with age
and girls (age 4 or 5)
SEX-ROLE
DEVELOPMENT

Oversimplified beliefs Knowledge of what

about what the behaviors are expected
“typical” male and of males and females in
female are like their society
Television, Video Games, and Children
LO 9.14 Summarize the research on the effects of television and video games on children.

AGGRESSION EDUCATION

• According to research, • Children can learn

short-term exposure to worthwhile things from
media violence increases watching television and
aggressive thoughts, playing educational
emotions, and behavior. video games.

• Childhood exposure is
linked to aggression later
in life.
Adolescence
Physical Changes
LO 9.15 Describe the physical changes that occur during adolescence, the
consequences of maturing earlier or later than most others, and
potential consequences of teenage pregnancy.

Growth spurt: Rapid increase

in height and weight
• Begins, on average, at about
age 10½ in girls and 12½ in
boys
• Reaches its peak at ages 12
and 14, respectively
• Adult height: Reached about
6 years after the start of the
growth spurt
Sexual Development

Girls:
• First sign is the beginning
Boys: of the growth spurt
• First sign is the growth • Breasts begin to develop,
of the testes at approx. pubic hair appears
age 11½ • First menstrual period
• Growth spurt and (menarche) occurs
enlargement of the penis about a year later
about a year later – Age 12½ for
the average
• Development of pubic hair, American girl
followed by facial hair
• Deepening of the voice:
one of the last noticeable
changes
Early Developers
Boys who mature earlier
• Have psychological
advantages
• Do better in sports and in
social activities
• Receive greater respect
from their peers
Girls who mature earlier
• May be admired by other
girls, but may feel self-
conscious and dissatisfied
with their developing
bodies
• Are more likely to be
exposed to drugs and
alcohol in high school
than later maturing girls
Sex Among High School Students
The percentage of high school students who have had
sex has decreased since the early nineties.
Teenage Pregnancy and Childbearing

United States: Highest

teen birth rate in the
industrialized world Developmentally
• Ignorance of basic challenging
facts concerning for mothers and
reproduction children, especially
• Sense of invulnerability when:
• Mother’s parents
give no support
• Living in poverty
Cognitive Changes
LO 9.16 Describe the cognitive changes that occur during adolescence.

• Ability to reason
abstractly increases
for most
– Even so, adolescents
often fail to apply
this level of
reasoning to their
problems
• Egocentrism
Personality and Social Development
LO 9.17 Summarize the research on whether adolescence is, indeed, a period of “storm and
stress” for most teenagers. Discuss identity achievement, identity foreclosure,
moratorium, identity diffusion, relationships with both peers and parents, self-
esteem, depression, and violence.

How “Stormy and Stressful” is Adolescence?

• Early 20th century:
– adolescence
Adolescence was was considered
considered aa time
time
of instability, strong emotions
• Recent research:
– Storm-and-stress view greatly
exaggerates experiences of
most teenagers
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages:
Identity vs. Role Confusion

Stage 5
Identity v. role confusion

Adolescence
Challenge: Developing
a coherent, integrated
sense of inner self
Marcia’s Identity Crisis

1 Identity Achievement

2 Identity Foreclosure

3 Moratorium

4 Identity Diffusion
Relationships with Peers and Parents

Peers Parents
• Provide a network of • Most difficult point in
social and emotional parent-child relationship
support usually occurs
• Cliques during puberty
• Mixed-sex
groups
• Couples
Some Problems of Adolescence

Depression
and Suicide

Youth Declines in
Violence Self-Esteem
Adulthood
Love, Partnerships, and Parenting
LO 9.18 Explain Erikson’s concept of intimacy versus isolation in young adulthood, the kinds of
partnerships that adults form, parenthood, and the difficulties of ending intimate
relationships.

Stage 6

Intimacy v. Isolation

Young adulthood
Challenge:
Establishing ties to
another in a trusting,
loving relationship
Forming Partnerships

• Almost 90% of Americans

eventually get married, but
those who do are waiting
longer.
• Cohabitation is an increasingly
popular partnership among
young and older adults.
• The characteristics for a
successful relationship apply
equally to heterosexual and
homosexual relationships.
Parenthood

• Having children is both

fulfilling and stressful.
• Parenting changes a couple’s
relationship and impacts marital
satisfaction.
• It may also heighten conflicts
between pursuit of
careers and
responsibilities
at home.
Ending a Relationship

U.S. divorce rate

• Nearly 50% of marriages end in
divorce.
• Separation is usually
initiated by one partner.
• Negative short- and long-
term effects on children,
which can be buffered by:
• A good support system
• Parents maintaining a good post-
divorce relationship
• Maintaining sufficient financial
resources
Applying Psychology
1) Carefully choose the time
and place for an argument.
2) Be a good listener.
3) Give feedback regarding
your understanding of the
other person’s grievance.
4) Be candid. Level with your
partner about your feelings.
5) Use “I” rather than “you”
statements.
6) Focus on behavior, not on the
person.
7) Don’t overstate the frequency
of a problem or overgeneralize
about it.
8) Focus on a limited number of
specific issues.
9) Don’t find scapegoats for
every grievance against you.
10) Suggest specific, relevant
changes to solve a problem.
11) Be open to compromise.
12) Don’t think in terms of winner
and loser.
The World of Work
LO 9.19 Describe gender differences in the world of work and the demands of dual-career families.

Percentage of women in
the paid labor force
– 35% in 1955
– 56% in 2008

Often difficult to balance

the demands of career
and family, especially for
women
– “Double shift”
Cognitive Change
LO 9.20 Describe the cognitive changes that occur during adulthood.

Ways in which adult and adolescent thinking differ:

Adolescents Adults
Able to test
alternatives and to Gradually come to realize
arrive at what they that there isn’t a single
see as the “correct” correct solution to every
solution to a problem—there may be no
problem correct solution, or there
may be several
Midlife
LO 9.21 Describe the changes and challenges of midlife including Erikson’s notion of generativity versus
stagnation and the concept of midlife crisis as opposed to midlife transition.

Improved psychological health

• Increased emotional stability, warmth,
self-confidence, and self-control

Midlife crisis/midlife transition

• Generativity vs. stagnation
(see next slide)
Decline in reproductive function in
both men and women
– In women:
• Sharp drop in estrogen
• Menopause: the cessation of menstruation
• Hormonal changes accompanying
menopause
– In men:
• Gradual decline in testosterone levels
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages:
Generativity vs. Stagnation
Stage 7
Generativity v. stagnation

Middle adulthood
Challenge:
Finding meaning in career,
family, and community via
productive work
Late Adulthood
Late Adulthood
LO 9.22 Describe the factors that affect life expectancy.

Population Age Structure, 2010–2050.

Life Expectancy
• During the 20th century,
the percentage of
Americans over 65 more
than tripled.
• Women live longer than
men and Whites live
longer than African
Americans, although this
gap is closing.
Physical Changes
LO 9.23 Describe the physical
changes that occur in late
adulthood, and the
possible reasons for
those physical
changes.

• Hair thins, turns white or gray

• Bones become
more fragile
• Circulation slows
• Blood pressure rises
• Lungs hold less oxygen,
resulting in less energy
• Vision, hearing, sense of smell
become less acute
Theories of the Causes of Aging

Telomeres

Genetics Free
radicals
Social Development
LO 9.24 Provide an answer to the question “What kind of lifestyle and sex life can be expected
after age 65?”

Independent Most older adults have an

lifestyle
independent lifestyle
Gradual
social changes and engage in
activities that
Retirement interest them.
Sexual behavior
Social Development

Generally older people:

Independent • Interact with fewer people
lifestyle
• Perform fewer social roles
Gradual
social changes • Become less influenced
by social rules and
Retirement expectations
• Realize there is a limit
Sexual behavior to their capacity for
social involvement,
and learn to live
comfortably with
those restrictions
Social Development

Independent Individual reactions to

lifestyle
retirement vary widely, partly
Gradual
social changes
because society has no clear
idea of what retirees are
Retirement supposed to do.
Sexual behavior
Social Development

Independent Research reveals that older

lifestyle
adults remain sexually
Gradual active, although rates of
social changes
sexual activity and sexual
Retirement responsiveness
do decline
Sexual behavior
with age.
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages:
Ego Integrity vs. Despair

Stage 8
Integrity v. despair

Late adulthood
Challenge:
Viewing one’s life as
satisfactory and worth living
 Cognitive Changes
LO 9.25 Describe the nature of mental functioning in old age. Characterize Alzheimer’s disease.

• Healthy intellectually active people

usually maintain a high level of
mental functioning
• Changes can include the following:
– Certain types of memories are more
difficult to store and
retrieve.
– The ability to process and
attend to information
gradually declines.
 Alzheimer’s Disease

• A neurological disorder
characterized by
progressive losses in
memory and cognition
and by changes in
personality.
• About 10% of adults
over age 65 and nearly
half of adults over age
85 have Alzheimer’s
disease.
Risk Factors for Alzheimer’s Disease

• Being genetically predisposed.

• Having a family history of dementia (a general
decline in physical and cognitive abilities).
• Having been born to a woman over age 40.
• Suffering a head trauma (especially one that
caused unconsciousness).
• Experiencing prolonged levels of emotional stress
during one’s lifetime.
• Being inactive (both physically and intellectually)
during their middle years.
Facing the End of Life
LO 9.26 Describe how most people cope with the end of life and the loss of their partner.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross described

a sequence of five stages people
pass through as they react to
their own impending death.
1 Denial
2 Anger
3 Bargaining
4 Depression
5 Acceptance
Widowhood
“The burden of widowhood is heavy for both men and women…but
because women have a longer life expectancy, there are many more
widows than widowers. Thus, men have a better chance of remarrying.
More than half the women over 65 are widowed, of whom half will live
another 15 years without remarrying.”
- Learning Objective 9.26 (Morris & Maisto)
Lecture Activities
Your Life Line
Pull out a piece of paper, turn it lengthwise
and draw a line across the middle. Write your
birthdate at the far left and your anticipated death
date at the far right. At the correct place on your life
line, list several significant events that have already
happened in your life. Next, list several things that
you hope to accomplish in the future—early, middle
and late adulthood.
Get together with one or two other
people and develop a mnemonic to help
you remember Piaget’s stages of cognitive
development. Here is an example:

Sam’s psychology class is fun.

A Moral Dilemma
In this activity, you will first read a story that
poses a unique moral dilemma. After reading
the story, you will be asked to make a moral
judgment about the main character’s actions.
A woman in Europe was dying from a rare disease. Her only
hope was a drug that a local druggist had discovered. The
druggist was charging ten times more than it cost him to make
it. Heinz, the husband of the dying woman, had desperately tried
to borrow money to buy the drug, but he could borrow only half
of the amount he needed. He went to the druggist, told him that
his wife was dying, and asked to let him pay the druggist later or
to sell the drug at a lower cost. The druggist refused, saying that
he had discovered the drug and he was going to make money
from it. Later, Heinz broke into the druggist's store to steal the
drug for his wife (Kohlberg, 1969, p. 379).

Should Heinz have done that? Why or why not? Write your
answer.
Now, trade papers with your neighbor and look at his/her
response to the moral dilemma. Focus particularly on the
reasoning—not just the “Yes” or “No.” Then, using
Kohlberg’s theory, decide which level of moral reasoning
your neighbor appears to be functioning at. Discuss your
insights.