Morality and Social Responsibility

The development of moral and social responsibility involves an individual’s moral commitment and knowledge to understand what is 'right' or 'wrong.' It is a vital aspect of socialization, the growth of society, and changes in reasoning and moral judgment. Moral and social development entails how an individual’s moral beliefs and values change as they mature and grow older. Morals and values are nurtured through emotional, cognitive, and social development, which aids individuals in understanding their emotions and thought processes (Zhu, 2023). Interpersonal factors such as culture, family, and peers greatly influence moral and social development, emotions, and cognitive change. This piece of literature review will focus on the theoretical framework and factors that influence moral and social development.

Theories of moral and social development

Piaget’s theory

This theory focuses on children's cognitive-developmental approaches, which revolve around their interaction with the environment, which helps construct their moral knowledge. This development occurs in stages (Jambon and Smetana, 2015). According to Piaget, moral development involves a constructive cognitive process that leads to qualitative changes in children’s knowledge of what is right and what is wrong. Piaget developed the theory by interviewing children about game rules and various concepts such as lying and stealing. Changes in children’s cognitive abilities and social relationships are closely linked to moral and social development. Piaget discovered that children focused on mandates from the authorities and became autonomous.

Kohlberg’s theory

Lawrence Kohlberg continued with Piaget’s foundation of cognitive and moral development. He focused on moral reasoning and morality. Kohlberg developed the theory in a series of different stages, pointing out that moral reasoning is the foundation of ethical behavior. He proposed three broad stages of reasoning, which are subdivided further into six distinct qualitative stages that lead to knowledge and conception of rights and justice (Jambon and Smetana, 2015). These levels are pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional reasoning.

The pre-conventional level of reasoning correlates with Piaget’s pre-operational period and the pre-school period. There are two stages in this level: Obedience and punishment, which are common in young children. Obedience is crucial to avoid punishment. The other stage is individualism and exchange, which deals with how children assess and judge individual needs and self-interests (Jambon and Smetana, 2015). The conventional level focuses on children's moral development as they move into the school years. They get the opportunity to interact with the community and their peers. This level has two stages, which include developing good interpersonal relationships and maintaining social order. The post-conventional level focuses on understanding the principles of morality (Jambon and Smetana, 2015). At this level, there are two stages, which include the social contract, which is portrayed by individual rights and the balance of social order, and universal ethics, which is revealed through principles of internal morality.

Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory

According to Gülsen and Pinar (2018), Bandura's theory focuses on human functioning, and it integrates cognitive theories and behavioral theories. The theory points out that people learn through modeling, imitation, and observation. Bandura also emphasized that cognition also plays a vital role in social and moral development. It also provides an understanding of changes in human behavior and shows how individuals operate cognitively on their social experiences. This theory also emphasizes that people are likely to imitate behaviors that are rewarded, while behaviors that attract punishment are less likely to be imitated. The theory argues that people become socially and morally responsible by interpreting the results of their actions, which later affect their behavior, personal factors, and environment.

Factors that influence moral and social development

Family

Family plays a crucial role in shaping an individual's values and behavior, especially for teenagers. Therefore, functioning families in society are vital in developing the moral and social responsibilities of community members. Family is the pillar in modeling and nurturing the maturity of young people's behavior and personality. Relationships in the family positively or negatively affect the social and moral development of adolescents. The ability to communicate and unite in the family reflects the kind of relationship in the family (Zhu, 2023). The ethical values of both parents determine the extent to which parents socialize with the moral values of their teenagers. A study conducted by Ujang (2019) to investigate teenagers' moral education in families, the study showed that parents who provided a good example and a religious atmosphere to their teenagers were able to nurture the morals of their kids as desired. Families with good relationships and communication skills but with low moral standards will influence their adolescents to be of low moral standards. Therefore, parents' moral concepts and standards play a crucial role in the development of moral and social responsibility of teenagers.

Community

The community plays a crucial role in impacting the morals and values of young people in the community. School-community partnerships are essential in supporting students socially, academically, and emotionally. Learning opportunities and resources provided in schools enable students to learn the values of different communities. According to Zhu (2023), a study conducted by Ramakrishna and colleagues depicted that the moral values of students directly affect the moral values of other students in the school. The relationship between the school and the community enhances the moral and social development of teenagers. The community acts as a bridge between the family, peers, and the school. Community-based service learning promotes positive changes in students' empathy, social and moral development, and future awareness, which enhances socialization.

Peer influence and relation

The socialization process of teenagers is crucial to peers. At this point, adolescents leave their families and move into society (Zhu, 2023). Communication is the first aspect that a teenager needs in order to engage in the socialization process in the community effectively. Peers can engage in both harmful and good moral influences. Adolescents facing peer problems will often find themselves in unfavorable situations. As age increases, moral judgment is also expected to increase. Older adolescents are less affected by peer problems. A study conducted by Najia (2020) to examine the connection between the development of moral judgment and peer problems of older and younger teenagers showed that poor moral judgment is directly correlated with peer problems.

Education

Education is critical in promoting social and moral virtues; educational institutions cultivate beliefs and norms. Education molds the personality of individuals through their association with skilled teachers, peers, and other co-curricular activities. Teachers play a vital role in the community for the social and moral development of the learners. According to a study conducted by Ahmad and Reba (2018) to investigate the ethical and social development of non-Montessori and Montessori students in private schools, the study aimed to compare two groups from 10 schools. The finding of this study indicates that students from Montessori were more socially engaged compared to other students because these students were actively involved in peer and outdoor activities; therefore, an education system has a crucial role in the social and moral development of students.

Sociocultural factors

Religious beliefs and cultural norms influence moral judgment; moral decision-making in individuals is determined by sociocultural forces in society. According to Zheng (2024), a group of scientists conducted a study to determine the connection between moral judgment and sociocultural factors; a sample of 659 participants was involved. Participants from different regions were required to make responses to a set of moral dilemmas through an internet-based research initiative. The study found that participants from the West emphasized the avoidance of harm and fairness, while those from Russia gave priority to group cohesion and loyalty. Participants from Russia showed diverse moral judgment compared to participants from the West Zheng (2024). The study depicts that variations across cultural lines exist, and this indicates that moral judgment is influenced by cultural socialization.

Conclusively, a clear understanding of the theories of moral and social development lays out a good framework of knowledge of morality and social responsibility and factors that influence moral and social development. Society's morals and virtues are a result of individual's responsibility and choices of their behavior. The society should educate its members on the importance of social and moral responsibility. Moral education enables members of society to appreciate, discover, and uphold the values of society.