rics at Yale University. He is survived by his wife, their
three daughters, triplet sons (‘‘six spectacular chil-
dren’’), and numerous grandchildren.
Bibliography
Publications by Kessen
Mandler, George, and William Kessen. The Language of Psychology.
New York: Wiley, 1959.
Kessen, William, and Clementina Kuhlman, eds. Thought in the
Young Child: Report of a Conference with Particular Attention to the
Work of Jean Piaget, vol. 27 (2, Serial no. 83): Monographs of
the Society for Research in Child Development, 1962.
The Child. New York: Wiley, 1965.
Kessen, William, Marshall Haith, and Phillip H. Salapatek.
‘‘Human Infancy: A Bibliography and Guide.’’ In Paul H.
Mussen ed., Carmichael’s Manual of Child Psychology, 3rd edi-
tion. New York: Wiley, 1970.
Kessen, William, ed. Childhood in China: The American Delegation on
Early Childhood Development in the People’s Republic of China.
New Haven: Yale University Press, 1975.
‘‘Rousseau’s Children.’’ Daedalus 107, no. 3 (1978):155–166.
‘‘The American Child and Other Cultural Inventions.’’ American
Psychologist 34 (1979):815–820.
Bronfenbrenner, Urie, Frank S. Kessel, William Kessen, and Shel-
don H. White. ‘‘Towards a Critical Social History of Develop-
mental Psychology.’’ American Psychologist 41 (1986):1218–
1230.
Kessen, William, and Emily D. Cahan. ‘‘A Century of Psychology:
From Subject to Object to Agent.’’ American Scientist 74
(1986):640–649.
The Rise and Fall of Development. Worcester, MA: Clark University
Press, 1990.
‘‘Nearing the End: A Lifetime of Being 17.’’ In Frank S. Kessel,
Marc H. Bornstein, and Arnold J. Sameroff eds., Contemporary
Constructions of the Child: Essays in Honor of William Kessen. Hil-
lsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1991.
‘‘Avoiding the Emptiness: The Full Infant.’’ Theory and Psychology
3, no. 4 (1993).
Emily D. Cahan
KLINEFELTER’S SYNDROME
Klinefelter’s syndrome (genotype 47, XXY) is a chro-
mosomal anomaly in which affected males have an
extra X chromosome. It occurs in 1:1,000 to 1:2,000
newborn males and has been detected in .003 percent
of spontaneous abortions. This condition generally
arises from failure of chromosomes to separate prop-
erly during meiosis. Specifically, an egg cell bearing
an additional X chromosome (or a sperm bearing
both an X and a Y chromosome) unites with a normal
sex cell. Approximately one-third of affected individ-
uals show multiple Xs (48, XXXY or 49, XXXXY) or
both normal and abnormal cell lines (46, XY/47,
XXY).
Klinefelter’s syndrome is generally not apparent
until puberty, at which time secondary sexual devel-
opment does not proceed. Clinical features include
small testes, tall stature, breast development, reduced
hormonal levels, and sterility. Mosaics, or individuals
with mixed cell lines, may be fertile. Behavioral fea-
tures include depressed verbal intelligence, reduced
activity, increased stress, and feelings of reduced mas-
culinity. Families may be advised to seek hormonal
therapy and counseling for these children.See also: BIRTH DEFECTS; DEVELOPMENTAL
DISABILITIES; GENOTYPEBibliography
‘‘Klinefelter Syndrome.’’ In the On-line Medical Dictionary, 1995–- Available from http://www.graylab.ac.uk/omd/
index.html; INTERNET.
Plomin, Robert, John DeFries, Gerald McClearn, and Peter Mc-
Guffin. Behavioral Genetics, 4th edition. New York: Worth Pub-
lishers, 2001.
Nancy L. Segal
KOHLBERG, LAWRENCE (1927–1987)
Born in Broxville, N.Y., Lawrence Kohlberg was a
professor of Education and Social Psychology at Har-
vard University and is best known for his influential
work in moral development and moral education.
As a young man, Kohlberg served in the U.S.
Merchant Marine after World War II. He then volun-
teered to help smuggle Jewish refugees out of Europe
and through a British blockade into British-
controlled Palestine. He was captured and held in a
detention center on Cyprus, finally being rescued by
the Haganah, a Jewish fighting force.
Kohlberg’s interest in morality developed from
these experiences and from the theories of Jean Pia-
get, who studied the cognitive development of chil-
dren. In his doctoral dissertation, Kohlberg
examined the ways that children reason about what
is right and wrong. He presented boys, ages ten to six-
teen, with a series of moral dilemmas—stories about
people in situations who had to make difficult deci-
sions. The most famous dilemma asks whether a man
whose wife is dying from a rare form of cancer should
steal the only medicine that might save her life from
a scientist who refuses to sell the drug at a price the
man can afford.
Based on this research, Kohlberg developed his
theory of moral development. He proposed three le-
vels of moral reasoning. At the first level (pre-
conventional), children’s decisions are based on
avoiding punishment and receiving rewards. At the
second level (conventional), upholding the rules of
society is the highest value. At the highest level (post-
conventional), individuals follow universal moralKOHLBERG, LAWRENCE 225