| Abstract: | Addressed 3 aspects of L. Kohlberg's (1981, 1984) theory of moral development, specifically the relationship between (1) levels of moral reasoning used to support opposing positions on a moral problem (the structure issue); (2) moral stage, conceptual complexity, and attitudes about capital punishment (the form/content issue); and (3) moral orientations and attitudes about capital punishment (the orientation/content issue). A sample of 72 students (aged 17–45 yrs) completed a paragraph completion test (assessing conceptual complexity), wrote an essay on capital punishment (assessing moral stage and orientations), and responded to a capital punishment questionnaire (assessing attitudes). Results indicate that Ss at higher moral stages were increasingly complex and tended to oppose capital punishment. Ss did not always use higher moral reasoning to substantiate their own position on capital punishment; rather they used higher reasoning to oppose capital punishment. Also, Ss expressed considerations reflecting different orientations when supporting opposite positions on this moral problem. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
