Gender Differences in Moral Development and Aggression

Introduction

Today's society faces many acts of violence against its members. Shootings, date rape, gang-style murders, rapes, and robberies seem to become more commonplace with each passing year. This calls into question the morals of societal members and whether young boys and girls are being taught morals and values. Morals include things such as honesty, respect for others, and leading one's life in a way that is not harmful to others. Morals are taught in the home, in school, and in social settings. According to the Webster dictionary, teaching morals is the teaching or expression of a conception of right behavior. The internal ability to weigh choices and select the one that meets societal standards as well as basic human decency provides the foundation of morality.

Within the last few decades, questions have arisen about differences between the genders. Boys and girls share many similarities, but they also have many differences. Moral development occurs in both genders; however, there are measurable differences in how that development takes place. There is a difference between genders when it comes to moral development and the influences that shape it.

One of the most important factors in moral development and teaching is the bond between children and their parents, regardless of the children's gender. Research has repeatedly indicated that a strong and confident parental bond plays a large part in a child's moral development. It is something that transcends gender boundaries. The attachment of children to their parents or primary caretakers has a significant impact on the later development of moral reasoning and moral behavior.

A study was conducted to determine the level of attachment between children and their primary caretakers (Ijzendoorn, 1995). The study identified several levels of security and attachment among child participants, and then examined the moral reasoning of each group.

Moral Reasoning and Parental Attachment

"Moral reasoning involves making moral judgments in situations of moral conflict. Kohlberg (1984) postulated that there are six stages in the development of moral reasoning (Ijzendoorn, 1995). The stages imply distinct, or qualitatively different, modes of thinking. Each stage presupposes the understanding gained at previous stages (Ijzendoorn, 1995). As a result, each stage provides a more adequate way of making and justifying moral judgments and represents a higher level of moral reasoning. The stages are supposed to form an invariant sequence in individual development, but people can and do differ in rate and eventual level of moral reasoning (Ijzendoorn, 1995)."

There are four key stages of moral development identified in the research:

Stage 1 of moral reasoning is characterized by an egocentric point of view. Stage 2 is still dominated by one's own interests, but includes an emerging awareness that other people have interests of their own. Stage 3 introduces an awareness of shared feelings, agreements, and expectations that take priority over individual interests. Stage 4 is characterized by the consideration of individual relationships, rights, and obligations from the perspective of the broader social system.

The study concluded that moral reasoning is strongly tied to parental or caregiver attachment, regardless of the child's gender.

The belief that aggression is acceptable behavior is closely tied to moral development. Violence occurs in classrooms, in gangs, on the streets, and within families across the nation. Violence is a physical statement that the perpetrator fails to recognize the boundaries of human decency and respect.

Aggression and Moral Development

Studies have shown that there is a gender difference in violence and aggression (Livock, 1995). Violence against females by males is much higher than violence against males by females. This may be partly attributable to the relative ease with which males can physically accost females, rather than reflecting a clear difference in moral development alone (Livock, 1995).

"Physical aggression included hostile behaviors such as hitting and pulling hair that resulted in pain or injury inflicted onto another person or self. Verbal aggression was defined as any act of hostile behavior using threats, name-calling, or obscenities to provoke another person (Day, 1998). Displaced aggression was defined as hostile behavior directed toward property with the intent to damage or destroy it — for example, kicking a trash can, throwing chairs, or breaking windows (Day, 1998)."

One study focused on hospitalized adolescents for the purpose of gauging violent and aggressive acts within that population. The moral development of males and females includes their emerging ideas about aggression and its acceptability in society. This study collected data on acts of aggression among adolescent participants (Day, 1998).

"There were 545 incidents of aggression during the data collection period; 428 (77%) of them were committed by boys. Of the 545 incidents, 278 (57%) involved physical aggression; thus, physical aggression in this inpatient unit occurred at an average rate of 0.65 per day (Day, 1998). The boys committed 221, 130, and 77 acts of physical, verbal, and displaced aggression, respectively; the comparable frequencies for the girls were 57, 24, and 36. Records indicated that six incidents of aggression resulted in injury to the victim; five injuries were coded as nonserious, and one was coded as serious (Day, 1998)."

These findings support the conclusion that males have a higher incidence of aggression than females, indicating a difference between the genders in this specific aspect of moral development.

"The importance of proper moral development to the individual and to the society in which he or she is a member is a straightforward idea that is hard to challenge. How such development should be achieved, however, is much more problematic and even controversial. A little less than 20 years ago I encountered a fact that was surprising at the time (Zern, 1997): 79% of the general American public, according to a then-current Gallup poll (Gallup Poll, 1973), believed that the schools should be involved in the moral development of their students (Zern, 1997)."

Conclusion

Moral development is the mainstay of society. Without strong morals and values, society would dissolve into chaos and mayhem. The rules that are set by society are driven by a moral and value-based system in which human decency governs their direction.