On Mon, 13 Mar 2000, Kirsten Rewey wrote:
> Hi TIPsters -
>
> Several years ago I think I read a criticism of Kohlberg's moral reasoning
> theory in which the crux was that children, especially young children, may not
> have had an emotional connection to the typical Heinz Dilemma. The author
> (whomever they may be) used a different dilemma in which one of the choices
> was a child going to a birthday party vs. a 'promised' commitment with another
> child.
>
> So my questions for the TIPsters are:
>
> a) is my recall accurate, and
> b) does anyone have a copy of the other dilemma?
>
Yes and no. Berk (2000, p. 504) credits Nancy Eisenberg (1982, p.
231) for a story which sounds like the one Kirsten may be thinking of.
"One day a girl named Mary was going to a friend's birthday party. On
her way she saw a girl who had fallen down and hurt her leg. The girl
asked Mary to go to her house and get her parents so the parents could
come and take her to a doctor. But if Mary did run and get the child's
parents she would be late for the birthday party and miss the
ice-cream, cake , and all the games. What should Mary do?"
According to Berk, it differs from Kohlberg's Heinz dilemma in that
Heinz must consider whether to disobey an authority figure or the law.
In this story, the child must choose between helping someone and
personal gratification. So it tests a different aspect of moral
thinking. And you just gotta feel for that poor Mary.
-Stephen
Berk, L. (2000). Child Development, 5th ed. Allyn & Bacon
Eisenberg, N (1982). The development of reasoning regarding
prosocial behavior. In N. Eisenberg (ed.) The development
of prosocial behavior. Academic.
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Stephen Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lennoxville, QC
J1M 1Z7
Canada Department web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
Check out TIPS listserv for teachers of psychology at:
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