Elements of Moral Maturity

Kieran Mathieson

School of Business Administration

Oakland University

Rochester, MI 49309

November 18, 2002

Abstract

This paper offers an image of moral maturity that consists of seven elements: moral agency, harnessing cognitive ability, harnessing emotional resources, using social skill, using principles, respecting others, and developing a sense of meaning. The description can be used to start campus conversations on the goals of moral development programs.

Moral development is receiving more attention on campus, and the number of programs is growing. Examples include Colorado State University's Ethics Workshop, Olivet College's Self and Community course, and University of San Diego's Ethics Across the Curriculum program.[1]

Building moral development programs can be difficult and time consuming. Program designers consult with students, parents, and other stakeholders, decide what content will be included, consider forms of social interaction, select program evaluation methods, and so on. A critical part of program design is choosing the program's goals. They might be summarized in a statement like "the program will help students become morally mature." But what is moral maturity? How do program designers, students, faculty, and other stakeholders begin discussing the issue?

This paper can help get that conversation under way. It presents an image of what a morally mature person is like. Our work evokes Aristotle's notion of practical wisdom (Liszka, 2002). We are interested in what an average person in Western society can become, without needing a degree in philosophy. Further, we present an image of the moral based on traditional Enlightenment ideals. It should be recognizable to anyone familiar with Western culture.

We have identified seven elements of moral maturity. Other researchers will have different lists, of course. The elements represent our own idiosyncratic attempts to give structure to diverse writings. The elements are not independent, but each one captures a unique stream of thinking in the literature.

Of course, moral maturity is interwoven with social, emotional, and intellectual development, all of which are dependent on each other. They cannot be cleanly separated. It may be best to embrace this complexity when starting to discuss program design. Being too analytical early in the conversation risks overlooking important issues, and possibly alienating stakeholders who are suspicious of reductionism.

1. Moral Agency and Sense of Self

Moral agency means that people see themselves as having the right and the ability to make decisions, and to act on them. Developing a sense of self and the authority of one's voice is central to Belenky, Clinchy, Goldeberger, and Tarule's (1986) developmental model. People whose identity is suppressed, such as women in authoritarian cultures, or the emotionally or sexually abused (Hunter, 1990), may not think they have a right to choose their own opinions.

A morally mature person is not only a moral agent, but is also aware that he or she is a moral agent. Kegan (1994) refers to peoples' increasing ability to consider their own cognitive processes as they develop. Their own thinking becomes an object of thought, something to be understood, evaluated, and improved.

Accepting moral agency helps people appreciate their responsibility to act for the good. This naturally leads to the question of what "the good" is, a search involving other aspects of moral maturity. However, recognition that there is a self, the self chooses behaviors, and behaviors affect the self and others, is fundamental to moral maturity.

2. Harnessing Cognitive Ability

Cognitive ability is the cornerstone of moral reasoning (Kohlberg, 1976). For instance, to resolve a moral dilemma, one needs to identify stakeholders, evaluate their interests in a situation, appreciate conflicts between principles, and often make tradeoffs. All of these steps involve abstract reasoning.

Cognitive skill also helps people identify situations that have a moral component (Rest, 1986). A well-developed mind can better imagine the impact of various courses of action. Further, mindfulness, where someone pays attention to otherwise automatic activities (Langer, 1989), is a cognitively intentional act. Suppose a parent realizes he or she habitually demeans a child who makes the normal mistakes of childhood. Breaking the habit requires the parent to consciously monitor his or her automatic behavior. This takes persistent cognitive vigilance.

More mature individuals also make better use of evidence (Perry, 1970). They move from radical relativism - the notion that all opinions are equally valid - to the idea that some beliefs are better supported by evidence than others. Using evidence requires more cognitive effort than refusing to judge, or simply relying on intuitions. However, the morally mature person will use evidence as circumstances - and his or her own principles - demand.

Finally, developmental models like Belenky et al. (1986), King and Kitchener (1994), and Perry (1970) hold that cognitive development is triggered by "crises" in Erikson's (1968) sense. That is, information that conflicts with current beliefs leads people to revise their thinking. Cognitive skill enables this process, helping people recognize conflicts and create new systems of meaning.

3. Harnessing Emotional Resources

Emotions drive much of our behavior. Emotions supply goals for rational thought, and rational thought redirects and sometimes vetoes emotions (Plutchik, 2001). Morally mature people understand this complex interplay. They take their own and other peoples' emotions into account when interpreting events. They know, for example, that initial emotional reactions do not always reflect someone's deeper values.

Emotions are important in initiating and sustaining action. Resisting impulses - the virtue of self-discipline - is critical to goal achievement (Lickona, 2000). Moral anger can arouse someone to oppose injustice (Smith, 1759). To paraphrase Aristotle, the morally mature person knows how to be angry with the right person at the right time for the right reasons. Moral trespasses can also invoke disgust (Haidt, Rozin, McCauley, and Imada, 1997). Empathy, where someone feels the emotions of others (Hoffman, 2000), helps someone understand how events affect other people. Elevation is another interesting emotion. It occurs when someone observes a moral exemplar in action (Haidt, 2000). Elevation can prompt the observer to action.

4. Using Social Skill

Morally mature people have the skills to participate in the social world. They can understand others, make themselves understood, and sometimes persuade others to adopt their own point of view. Social skill is particularly important for connected knowers, those who seek to better understand the world by integrating their views with other peoples' (Belenky, et al., 1986).

Morally mature people know that group norms affect behavior, and that social pressure is used to encourage obedience. They can detect untoward social pressure applied to themselves and others. They can maintain their commitment to their principles in the face of group pressure. Some even build their own opposition groups, creating social support for opinions that are out of the mainstream.

5. Using Principles

The ultimate sign of moral development in Kohlberg's (1976) model is principle-based reasoning. A principle is an abstract moral idea applied across situations. Influenced by Rawls (1967), Kohlberg thought that justice was the most important principle. Other writers emphasize different principles. Gilligan's (1982) work on the principle of care is perhaps the best-known modern example.

Morally mature people do not slavishly obey one principle, however. They are aware of the conflicts between principles that underlie moral dilemmas. They understand community standards and the relationships that bind communities together. This sensitivity is the cornerstone of Aristotle's practical wisdom (Liszka, 2002).

6. Respecting Others

The morally mature person's respect for others shows itself in several ways. First, other people are valued. Enlightenment philosophies, such as that enshrined in the American Declaration of Independence, recognize the value of people simply because they are people. Moral principles like justice and caring reflect the inherent worth of people.

Second, morally mature people know they are part of an interdependent social network (Love and Guthrie, 1999). People move from dependence, where they define themselves by others' opinions, to independence, where they become their own authority, to interdependence. In the last stage, people recognize the complex web of relationships that tie us to each other. We are both supported by and constrained by this network.

Third, a morally mature person recognizes that knowing is dependent to some extent on the knower (King and Kitchener, 1994). Most people have more-or-less the same experiences with things like gravity. However, social "facts" vary widely across cultures. What sexual relationships are permitted? What gender roles have been established? How are children best cared for? How is civil justice best administered?

Acknowledging the effect of culture on knowledge does not mean accepting radical relativism. An Australian might believe that bribery is wrong, while knowing it is customary in many places. However, someone who recognizes that knowledge is in part socially defined can better deal with the realities of interpersonal exchange.

Finally, a morally mature person can interact with others without feeling that his or her own worldview is threatened. Belenky et al. (1986) write about "real talk:" listening carefully, encouraging, exploring ideas, posing questions, arguing, speculating, and sharing. In real talk, listening does not diminish one's capability to hear one's own moral voice.

The metaphors people use for conversation shapes their expectations (Johnson, 1993). For instance, "discussion as war" means that one "defends a position" and "shoots down the enemy's arguments." The goal is victory, not truth or understanding. Morally mature people can use different metaphors as appropriate, like "discussion as exploration," where participants cooperate to uncover new intellectual territory. Other options are "discussion as play," and even "discussion as dance." However, such openness requires a stronger sense of agency (or self) than some people have.

7. Developing a Sense of Purpose

The final element of moral maturity is a sense of life purpose. Chickering (1969), Frankl (1984), Maslow (1968), and other writers emphasize its importance. Purpose can be a superordinate achievement goal, although it need not be (Ogilvy, 1995). It might be a way of living life, a dedication to certain processes rather than specific outcomes.

Service to others is one of the more common life missions among moral exemplars. Some peoples' commitment to others is an integral part of their identity (Colby and Damon, 1995). Service to a higher power is another recognizable life purpose, which may or may not entail service to others.

A theme from various authors is that a sense of purpose makes life worth living, and death easier to bear. Kushner (2001, p. 146) writes:

Over the course of my thirty years as a congregational rabbi, I have seen many people come to the end of their lives… Most people are not afraid of dying; they are afraid of not having lived… People can accept the inescapable fact of mortality. What frightens them more is the dread of insignificance, the notion that they will be born and live and one day die and none of it will matter.

Finding life's purpose is a difficult philosophical task. It's easy to chant someone else's slogans, of course. However, to choose one's own goals - and to respect others while pursuing them, to use one's cognitive, emotional, and social skills well, to keep fast to one's own principles - is not so easy.

Conclusion

We have identified seven elements of moral maturity: moral agency, harnessing cognitive ability, harnessing emotional resources, using social skill, using principles, respecting others, and developing a sense of purpose. This can be a starting point for a campus conversation on the goals of moral development programs.

There are several things the keep in mind, however. First, the image we present is not necessarily attainable by all students. In fact, most people probably don't reach full moral maturity during their lifetimes. However, the image offers an end point to which students can strive. They can recognize the elements, appreciate them, and perhaps approach them in later life. Further, understanding moral maturity can help students evaluate statements by others. For instance, students can decide whether a political candidate possesses the moral maturity he or she claims.

Second, students develop in different ways during college. Students need to be challenged if they are to develop, but too much challenge can impede progress. For example, one student might see a challenge to conventional values as an opportunity to expand her thinking, while another sees it as heresy to be discarded. The first student appreciates nuances she didn't notice before, while the second retreats into a defensive position, rejecting people with new ideas as not being authorities. It's difficult to allow for these differences when designing programs. Perhaps each student can be encouraged to self-select materials appropriate for him- or herself. This issue deserves more research.

Finally, we encourage program designers to remember their obligations and limitations. It would be wise to approach moral development programs in a spirit of joint experimentation with well-meaning, informed stakeholders. Programs should be open to continual revision. Students should be treated as fellow travelers through life, not as objects to be transformed.

Above all, program designers should not lose their humility. They have been given the awesome responsibility of helping students set the course of their lives. It's a heavy burden, but one worth bearing.

References

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[1] A list of programs can be found at http://www.collegevalues.org/bestprograms.cfm.