According to Piaget, which description matches early moral development where children see rules as fixed and unchangeable, but later realize rules are made by people; older children consider consequences before making moral decisions?

According to Piaget, which description matches early moral development where children see rules as fixed and unchangeable, but later realize rules are made by people; older children consider consequences before making moral decisions?

• A. Kohlberg's Moral Development
• B. Language Development
• C. Piaget and Moral Development
• D. Moral Development

Answer: (C)

Piaget's stages of moral development describe a shift from viewing rules as fixed and unchangeable to seeing them as human-made and modifiable. Early on, children accept rules as authorities and judge rightness by obedience to the rule itself. As they grow, they realize rules come from people and can be changed through social agreement. With older children, moral judgments increasingly depend on intentions and consequences rather than merely following the rule. This matches the described progression, making Piaget and Moral Development the best fit. The other options don’t capture this specific shift: Kohlberg centers on justice-based reasoning across stages, language development isn’t about moral rule concepts, and Moral Development is too broad to specify this Piagetian shift.

Piaget's stages of moral development describe a shift from viewing rules as fixed and unchangeable to seeing them as human-made and modifiable. Early on, children accept rules as authorities and judge rightness by obedience to the rule itself. As they grow, they realize rules come from people and can be changed through social agreement. With older children, moral judgments increasingly depend on intentions and consequences rather than merely following the rule. This matches the described progression, making Piaget and Moral Development the best fit. The other options don’t capture this specific shift: Kohlberg centers on justice-based reasoning across stages, language development isn’t about moral rule concepts, and Moral Development is too broad to specify this Piagetian shift.