The Psychology Book (92 page)

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 293

See also:
Sigmund Freud 92–99 ■ Jean Piaget 262–69 ■ Albert Bandura 286–91

rules as fixed and absolute. In the

first of its two stages (the stage of

obedience and punishment), we

determine whether actions are right

or wrong by whether or not they

lead to a punishment. In the second

Moral thought may be

stage (the stage of individualism

considered partially to

and exchange), right and wrong are

generate its own data

determined by what brings rewards.

as it goes along.

The desires and needs of others are

Lawrence Kohlberg

important, but only in a reciprocal

sense—“You scratch my back and

Mahatma Gandhi
was among the

I’ll scratch yours.” Morality at this

few who reach the final stages of moral

level is governed by consequence.

development described by Kohlberg.

The second level of moral

Throughout his adult life, he felt a duty

reasoning starts in adolescence,

to disregard unjust and oppresive laws.

and continues into early adulthood.

observe how their moral inclinations

It sees us starting to consider the

The third level of moral development

changed with age. Based on the

intention behind behavior, rather

is when we move beyond simple

answers given by his subjects,

than just the consequences. Its first

conformity, but Kohlberg suggested

Kohlberg identified six stages of

stage, often called the “good boy–

that only around 10–15 percent of us

moral development, which spanned

nice girl” stage, is when we begin

ever reach this level. In its first

three levels of moral reasoning:

classifying moral behavior as to

stage (the social contract and

preconventional, conventional, and

whether it will help or please. Being

individual rights stage), we still

postconventional.

seen as good becomes the goal. In

respect authority, but there is a

the second stage (the law and order

growing recognition that individual

Building moral reasoning

stage), we start to equate “being

rights can supersede laws that are

The preconventional level of moral

good” with respecting authority

destructive or restrictive. We come

reasoning, which develops during

and obeying the law, believing that

to realize that human life is more

our first nine years of life, considers

this protects and sustains society.

sacred than just following rules.

The sixth and final stage (the stage

of universal ethical principles) is

Lawrence Kohlberg

While in Belize in 1971, Kohlberg

when our own conscience becomes

contracted a parasitic infection

the ultimate judge, and we commit

The youngest of four children,

that left him battling with

Lawrence Kohlberg was born

persistent pain and depression.

ourselves to equal rights and respect

in Bronxville, New York. After

On January 19, 1987, after

for all. We may even resort to civil

completing high school at the

asking to leave a treatment

disobedience in the name of

end of World War II, he became

session, he committed suicide,

universal principles, such as justice.

a sailor, and helped smuggle

reportedly by walking into the

Kohlberg’s six-stage theory was

Jewish refugees into Palestine.

icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

considered radical, because it stated

In 1948, Kohlberg enrolled at

that morality is not imposed on

the University of Chicago, where

Key works

children (as psychoanalysts said),

he completed his bachelor’s

nor is it about avoiding bad feelings

degree in just one year, and

1969
Stage and Sequence

(as the behaviorists had thought).

went on to research and teach,

1976
Moral Stages and

Kohlberg believed children developed

gaining a doctorate in 1958. He

Moralization

a moral code and awareness of

also taught at Yale University,

1981
The Philosophy of Moral

respect, empathy, and love through

and finally Harvard.

Development

interaction with others. ■

294

THE LANGUAGE
IN CONTEXT

APPROACH

Nativism

ORGAN GROWS BEFORE

1958
B.F. Skinner uses

operant conditioning to

explain language development,

LIKE ANY OTHER arguing that children learn

words and phrases through

reinforcement.

1977
Albert Bandura argues

that children may imitate the

general form of sentences, and

fill in these with specific words.

NOAM CHOMSKY (1928– )

AFTER

BOD

Y ORGAN

1994
Steven Pinker argues

that language is an instinct

from an innate program

hard-wired in the brain, which

arose because it was adaptive

for human survival.

2003
Psychologists Stan Kuczaj

and Heather Hill claim parents

offer children better examples

of grammatical sentences than

Chomsky suggests.

I
n the middle of the 20th

century, learning theory as

explained by B.F. Skinner

and Albert Bandura dominated

psychologists’ conception of

language development. These

behaviorists believed that

language—like all other human

faculties—was a direct result

of environmental input and

learning, developed through

the reinforcement and reward

techniques at the heart of operant

conditioning. Skinner noted that

when children imitate verbal

sounds, and form correct

words, they receive immediate

reinforcement and approval from

their parents, which motivates

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 295

See also:
B.F. Skinner 78–85 ■ Jerome Bruner 164–65 ■ Steven Pinker 211 ■ Jean Piaget 262–69 ■ Albert Bandura 286–91

heredity. The onset of puberty, for

instance, is an aspect of human

growth that is like the “growth” of

Young children

Young children can

the language organ. We assume

spontaneously use

understand the meaning

unquestioningly that it is a

grammatical rules

of an entire sentence

genetically determined milestone,

that they have never

without understanding

been taught.

all the words.

and though the specific details of

its onset depend on several variable

environmental influences, the

fundamental process is the same

across the human species. We take

for granted that this is a result of

basic biological programming.

Verbal imitation combined with approval and praise does not

Language growth, Chomsky

explain the
productivity and creativity
of language.

emphasizes, is another genetically

programmed inevitability of human

development, on a par with the

processes that determine that we

have arms instead of wings, or that

The human capacity to understand grammar

build the structure of our visual or

is
innate and biological
.

circulatory systems.

The concept that language is

a part of our growth process is

important because it highlights

The language organ grows like

Chomsky’s belief that it is not a

any other body organ.

consequence of learning. He

adopts a nativist perspective,

focusing on the inherited

contributions to behavior and

them to continue learning new

to understand the meaning of an

minimizing the importance of

words and phrases. Bandura

entire sentence without necessarily

environmental input. However,

broadened the concept of

understanding the meaning of each

he believes that the environment

imitation, noting that children

word. For Chomsky, this ability is

plays a role in determining the

imitated not only specific words

innate in humans—he claimed that

specific direction of language ❯❯

and sounds, but also the general

“the language organ grows like any

form and structure of sentences,

other body organ,” likening it to other

as though filling in templates with

features acquired through heredity.

specific words.

Linguist Noam Chomsky,

Nativism

however, did not believe that

Chomsky maintained that,

operant conditioning adequately

although a child’s environment

Language is a process

explained the productivity,

supplies the content of language,

of free creation.

creativity, and innovation

grammar itself is an in-built and

Noam Chomsky

of language. It also seemed

biologically determined human

insufficient to explain children’s

capacity. To illustrate his point, he

spontaneous use of grammatical

refers to other aspects of human

rules that they have neither heard

development that we accept as

nor learned, as well as their ability

being an inevitable outcome of

296 NOAM CHOMSKY

growth, insofar as an individual’s

aspects of grammar are understood

language organ develops according

without requiring any instruction,

to early experiences. For instance,

and that the knowledge is therefore

because Chomsky grew up in

innate. This is the only way to

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he

explain how people have such a

absorbed knowledge of that

rich grammatical understanding

We are designed

particular English dialect and his

and how children can use language

to learn languages based

language organ’s structure was

so creatively by the age of six.

upon a common set of

tailored accordingly. The same

Chomsky claims that “universal

principles, which we may