Child Development

and that peers have a great influence on moral behav-
ior.

Socialization

Moral development is also fostered by the adult
control and communication of cultural values, beliefs,
and ethics. Less obvious types of support, such as role
modeling, may also foster children’s moral develop-
ment. Active reflection, however, is more likely to
lead to moral action than merely accepting social con-
ventions and laws, so adult and peer discussion are
necessary to foster moral development.

Political, academic, and social influences have en-
couraged schools to augment parent and peer influ-
ence. For example, Kohlberg was aware of increased
school violence, and he believed that large schools
fostered detachment and poor communication be-
tween staff and students. He also had observed high
levels of moral development in Israeli kibbutzim, so
he created Just Community high schools in which stu-
dent-faculty groups developed their own rules of con-
duct through discussion, reason, and argument about
fairness. Violations of the rules were subject to the
group’s criticism and discipline. Kohlberg asserted
that moral development would occur when students
shared in the responsibility of creating a moral envi-
ronment. In fact, within these schools, the students’
complex moral reasoning increased while antisocial
behavior declined. The content of the moral issues
addressed, however, was not the same from school to
school and increased moral behavior did not extend
beyond the school environment.

Providing children with opportunities to question
their own moral reasoning and behavior will foster
moral development, but discussing the intentions,
perspectives, false beliefs, and judgments of charac-
ters within a moral dilemma may also foster moral de-
velopment. When promoting moral and prosocial
behavior, parents, teachers, and other important
adults should employ activities suitable for the child’s
age. One study suggested that moral dilemmas
should concern children doing familiar things in fa-
miliar settings so that moral issues are more easily un-
derstood. Many teachers recognize this need for age
appropriate curricula; differences in age appropriate-
ness, however, vary between cultures. Therefore, not
only should maturational contexts be considered
when creating moral development curricula, but so
should experiential, cultural, and economic contexts.

The benefits of incorporating moral develop-
ment in school curricula may extend beyond de-
creased antisocial and immoral behavior. Research
suggests that it may also help children develop a theo-
ry of mind and enhance their social and academic

success. Therefore, in an effort to prepare children

for socially acceptable community involvement,

schools should continue to develop and use appropri-

ate curricula, and researchers should continue to ex-

plore the realms of moral development.

See also: KOHLBERG, LAWRENCE; STAGES OF

DEVELOPMENT; THEORY OF MIND

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Danae E. Roberts

MOTHERESE

Speech directed toward infants and young children

displays special characteristics, such as heightened

pitch, exaggerated intonation, and increased repeti-

tion of words and clauses, that differ from the speech

adults use with one another. Such ‘‘motherese’’ or

‘‘infant-directed talk’’ is typical of fathers as well as

mothers, nonparents as well as parents, and across di-

verse ages and socioeconomic groups. Motherese has

been documented in a variety of cultures and across

a typologically diverse set of languages, including En-

278 MOTHERESE