A test of Piaget's theory of moral judgment.

Tested Piaget's theory that children's moral development is a function of their peer group experiences and age. 48 8-yr-old children, in 16 cohesive and 16 low-cohesive groups of 3, competed for prizes on 4 paper-and-pencil tasks, unaware that their cheating could be detected. The procedure was repeated with 48 5 yr. olds. Prior social experience was inferred from sociometric data. Findings are: (a) 5 yr. olds cheated significantly more than 8 yr. olds, supporting Piaget's belief that moral autonomy increases between ages 5 and 8; (b) at age 8, but not at age 5, cheating was an inverse function of the degree of cohesiveness, supporting Piaget's theory that group ties produce moral autonomy at age 8, but not at age 5; and (c) prior social experience bore a significant inverse relationship to cheating at age 8, but not at age 5, supporting Piaget's theory that such experience is the principal factor responsible for moral autonomy at age 8, but not at age 5. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)