AN INSTRUMENT FOR ASSESSING IMPACT OF CURRICULAR EXPERIENCE. 0N VALUES Dissertation for the Degree of Ph. D. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY H. CHARLES ROOST 197.5 III 23 II III II I I IIIILIIII Michigan Sta 1:2:- ‘ University IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIBII ~ I MWQMI \ 'J .I m 7 33 4r A ' . " I“ ' i ’ . 9 F. ' t ,. - .0 V ; 9 it ’ §_ ‘_ “\j:>g7~»8:fifl ‘ SEP 1 J, 11% 1 r ‘ ‘ . r!- . \lvu. ‘~‘(. ‘ In .. \ _ ““4 .‘ '_ . V M‘ ‘ {m 1 ~5- ‘3'?“ I -(,I{f ABSTRACT AN INSTRUMENT FOR ASSESSING IMPACT OF CURRICULAR EXPERIENCE 0N VALUES By H. Charles Roost Lawrence Kohlberg's moral development theory provides educators with a new perspective from which to consider values/ moral development education. The theory postulates six stages of cognitive structural development in an individual's growth in the ability to reason morally. The theory is limited in its direct application to design and evaluation of curricula because the assessment proce- dure used with the theory is functionally inappropriate for the classroom. Kohlberg and his associates have developed an exten- sive individual interview as the assessment procedure for the theory. There is need for a paper-and-pencil assessment proce- dure which can be administered in the classroom to groups of students. Because the theory is based on measurement of cognitive structure, in contrast to cognitive content, the assessment con- cepts associated with the theory are difficult to translate to group paper-and—pencil procedures. H. Charles Roost The task to which this study presented itself is the identification of concepts and procedures which can open the door to curricular evaluation from the perspective of the moral develop- ment theory. The process used to accomplish this goal is the development of a specific instrument which assesses the impact of a curricular experience on students. The instrument developed is called the "Values Impact Assessment" (VIA). Review of the research previously undertaken with the moral development theory and the research related to cognitive structure and values lead to the choice of types of assessment to be employed in the VIA. The final instrument consists of two interrelated parts using both the forced-choice and Likert modes of response. I The study uses a film on drug abuse as the curricular experience. The impact of the experience on the moral reasoning matterns of the student was related to the effect of the experi- ence on the attitudes of the students toward drug abuse. Eight groups of teenage students, three church-related youth groups, two public school classes, and three groups of male teenage delin- quents combined to form the population for the study. Four or five students from each group were chosen to be personally inter- viewed to establish the level of their reasoning on the issue of drug abuse. Each group of students completed the VIA, watched the film, and completed an alternate form of the VIA. H. Charles Roost Data analysis responded to several questions generated‘ out of expectations which were reasonable in light of three basic variables: l. The concepts of the moral development theory. 2. What was known about the moral reasoning level of the film's messages, and, 3. The various levels of moral reasoning maturity possessed by the students. Construct and content validity were the primary charac- teristics sought as the VIA developed. Loyalty to the theory and its commitment to the concept of cognitive structure prompted con- sistent evaluation of the instrument's function. Reliability co- efficients were sufficiently high for the total instrument and the various sub-scales. The process of instrument development lead to identifica- tion of assessment concepts and procedures which indicate that paper-and-pencil group assessment of moral reasoning maturity as related to specific curricula is a possibility. While not all of the expectations formulated in the study were realized in the use of the VIA, the instrument did perform in an encouraging fashion. The VIA's assessment of global level of moral reasoning on the issue of drug abuse closely matched the assessment made through the personal interviews. 0f the nine specific expectations generated, two were fully realized and others were important in generating questions for further study. AN INSTRUMENT FOR ASSESSING IMPACT OF CURRICULAR EXPERIENCE 0N VALUES By x.\ H? Charles Roost A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Secondary Education and Curriculum I975 DEDICATION to Sherry . . . who, with faithful, patient encouragement, has contributed richly, not only to this pro- ject, but to its author. to Cindy and Marilee . . . who, even in their childhood, have willingly shared in the time and energies required by this study. 11' ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A dissertation is always the product of more than one person's efforts. It reflects the investment of several people who combine insight, energies, and skills to facilitate the completion not only of the project but of the invaluable experi- ence called "graduate education." More people than can be listed here have in some way contributed to this project and the foundation experiences on' which it was built. Special gratitude is expressed to professors Russel Klies, Dale Alam, Richard Johnson, and John Stewart for their consistent encouragement and assistance. They have served not only as prompters to larger ideas but guides to problem clarification and solution. As a student, yet more as a man, I have deep gratitude and appreciation for Dr. Ted Hard. He has both challenged my perspective and enlarged my vision. For academics as well as for life he is a true teacher and friend. If a man is what he thinks, Dr. Ward has been a major contributor in the development of this man. For being who he is and for serving so effectively, this student expresses sincere thanks to him. 111 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter II. VALUES DEVELOPMENT AND CURRICULAR EVALUATION . . . . The Research Problem ............... Purpose of the Study ............... Historical Overview of Values/Moral Education John Dewey's Developmental Theory ........ The Moral Development Theory ........... Justice: The Core of Morality ........ Moral DevelOpment Stages ........... Structural Assessment .............. Assumptions ................... Summary ..................... THEORY DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH REVIEW ...... A History of Values/Moral Education ....... The Authoritarian Approach .......... The Relativity Approach ........... Eclectic Approaches ............. The Hidden Curriculum .............. A Foundation for the Moral Development Theory Organismic .................. Structural .................. Developmental ................ Egocentrism ................. The Moral Development Theory ........... The Concept of Cognitive Stages ....... Justice: A Central Concept ......... Kohlberg's Dissertation ........... Research into the Moral Development Theory . . . The Universality of the Developmental Stages ................. iv Page u—l Chapter III. IV. The Categories of Moral Judgment ...... The Maturing Process ............ Values Research .................. Research Identifying Cognitive Structure ...... Values and Structural Assessment .......... Summary ...................... DESIGN AND PROCEDURE ................ The Research Problem ................ Research Questions ................. The Working Hypothesis ............... Data Supportive of the Hypothesis ......... The Research Design ................ The Curricular Experience ........... The Population ................. Instrument Development ............. Evaluation of Data ............... Summary ...................... INSTRUMENT AND PROCEDURE DEVELOPMENT ........ First Efforts ................... The First Structured Instrument .......... The Developed VIA ................. Field Testing ................... Analysis of the Curricular Experience ....... Summary ...................... THE DATA ...................... The Analysis of Personal Interviews ........ Public School Groups .............. Church Groups ................. Delinquent Groups ............... Post-Film Interviews .............. Initial Data Analysis: The VIA .......... Instrument Reliability ............. Page 103 107 108 109 128 128 129 129 130 ‘ 132 133 135 Chapter Page Sub-scale Correlations ............. 135 The Research Participants ........... 139 Basic Data ................... 139 Preliminary Conclusions ............ 155 A New Approach to Data Analysis .......... 158 Part I of the VIA ............... 161 ' Data Analysis 1 ................ 163 Data Analysis 2 ................ 167 Data Analysis 3 ................ 171 Data Analysis 4 ................ 173 Data Analysis 5 ................ 175 Data Analysis 6 ................ 182 Data Analysis 7 ................ 184 Data Analysis 8 ................ 186 Data Analysis 9 ................ 189 Summary ...................... 197 VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......... 200 The Theory and the Instrument ........... 200 Two Approaches to Data Analysis .......... 202 Instrument Critique ................ 202 VIA's Introductory Section ........... 203 Part I of the VIA: Strengths ......... 204 Part I of the VIA: Weaknesses ......... 206 Part II of the VIA: Strengths ......... 207 Part II of the VIA: Weaknesses ........ 209 Analysis of the Instrument as a Whole ..... 209 General Conclusions ................ 213 A Respected Theory ............... 214 A Step of Progress ............... 215 A Basic Comparison ............... 216 Content and Structure ............. 217 Recommendations .................. 218 Item Reworking ................. 218 Tapical Statements ............... 219 Instrument Organization ............ 221 Instrument Scope ................ 221 Knowledge of the Theory ............ 222 Summary ...................... 223 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................... 224 APPENDICES ........................ 228 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Percentage of film's messages couched in stages and levels of moral reasoning ............ 2. Tabulation of pre-film and post-film statements volunteered by 35 interviewed students ....... 3. Sub-scale reliability coefficients ......... 4. Correlation between measurements of the total instrument and the various sub-scales ........ 5. Single correlations between total and sub-scale instrument scores .................. 6. Average correlations between level-oriented sub-scales ..................... 7. Tabulation of completed instruments ......... 8. The number of students experiencing level of values/moral reasoning shift at the various possible increments ..... . . . . ......... 9. Total and sub-scale group mean attitude shifts 10. ‘Total and sub-scale attitude shift means grouped according to level of shift ............. 11. Frequency of moral reasoning level scores on VIA pre- -test ................... 12. Total and sub-scale group mean attitude shifts grouped according to pre-test level of reasoning maturity ................. 13. Mean level shift grouped according to pre-test level scores .................... 14. Total and sub-scale group mean attitude shifts comparing male and female responses ......... vii Page 126 136 140 142 144 146 148 151 Table 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. Total and sub-scale group mean attitude shifts for groups reflecting grade clusters for the public school and church-related groups ....... Total and sub-scale group mean attitude shifts for groups reflecting grade clusters for the- groups of delinquent boys .............. Total and sub-scale group mean attitude shifts for groups reflecting various age ranges in the public school and church-related groups ....... Total and sub-scale group mean attitude shifts for the three types of research groups ....... Part I scores classified in levels and stages . . . . Students registering on pre-test at the six possible levels of moral reasoning maturity as measured by Part I of the VIA .......... Comparison of pre-test and post-test data for Part I of the VIA ................ Average attitude shifts in Part II, stage 1, 2, and 3 items for students grouped by pre— and post-test levels as determined by Part I ...... Average attitude shift for students grouped according to level movement from pre-test to post-test .................... Average attitude shift in "working stages" for students grouped by level from post-test data . . . . Values/moral reasoning level and attitude data for those favoring drugs before the curricular experience , ..................... Values/moral reasoning level and attitude data for those against drug abuse befOre the curricular experience ................ Average attitude shift for the three students whose level of values/moral reasoning was in the area of the film's messages and who were stimulated to higher levels of consideration by seeing the film . . viii Page 151 153 153 156 162 163 165. 169 172 174 177 183 184 Table 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. Average attitude shift for the three students whose level of values/moral reasoning was in the area of the film's messages and remained unchanged Total average attitude shifts for those reasoning in the same level as the film compared with others reasoning above the film's level .......... Total average attitude shifts for those reasoning in the same level as the film compared with others reasoning above the film's level; not including the extreme high in each of the groups ......... Average attitude shift grouped by closeness of "working stages" of the student to the stages used in the messages of the film . . .. ....... Average size of attitude shift for those students grouped according to the relationship of their level of values/moral reasoning to the level of the film's messages ................. ix Page 186 195 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Eclectic educational approaches to values/moral development .............. 28 CHAPTER I VALUES DEVELOPMENT AND CURRICULAR EVALUATION Educators concerned with values education and/or the development of moral character are finding new stimulation in a theory espoused by Lawrence Kohlberg. Kohlberg's cognitive developmental approach to understanding moral reasoning is called the "moral development theory." Initially introduced in 1958, the theory has generated concepts and propositions which hold great promise for curricular design and evaluation (Kohlberg, 1958). Based on propositions of John Dewey and Jean Piaget, Kohlberg postulates a large rational component in moral behavior that can be traced developmentally in a pattern similar to Piaget's stages of cognitive development. Kohlberg's research with seventy boys and men in Chicago led to the postulation of a series of six stages of moral reasoning maturity. Further research, both domestically and cross-culturally, has refined and verified the theory. Individuals move through a series of invariant stages of moral reasoning as concepts of justice mature. The higher stages are reached developmentally, but not everyone will experience all stages. The processes of moral reasoning maturity are stimulated or stagnated in the transaction of the organism with the environment. The educational implica- tions of the moral development theory are obvious. From a values/ moral perspective, quality education will assist students in movement from one stage to the next. The refinement of the theory has been realized through the assessment procedure developed by Kohlberg for measuring an individual's level of moral reasoning maturity. The assessment procedure is clinical in nature, and hence apparently impractical and unworkable in the classroom. The Research Problem The newness and complexity of Kohlberg's theory, and the research commitment of Kohlberg and his associates to clari- fication and growth of the theory, have limited research efforts directed toward implementation of the theory for the classroom. For their lS-year longitudinal study, Kohlberg and his associates have developed an intricate and time-consuming individual inter- view technique as the tool for assessment of moral reasoning maturity (Kohlberg, 1973). Each one to two-hour interview with each student uses discussion relating to a series of moral dilemmas. The responses of the student are recorded and later scored by the researcher. This assessment procedure is complex in its development, extremely time consuming in function, and difficult to score. It is the assessment procedure that poses a major prob- lem in implementing the moral development theory for use in classroom-oriented curricular evaluation. The average classroom teacher or professional related to teaching does not have: 1. The opportunity to develop the interview materials and skill, 2. The large amount of time required for the interview with each student, 3. The time and ability for scoring such a procedure. The teacher with normal work load is limited in application of the theory because of the current assessment techniques associated with it. The need is for a values/moral* reasoning maturity assessment procedure which is objective in structure, developable by the individual thoroughly familiar with the moral development theory, and useable by the teacher who hosts several dozen students each day. Without such a tool, curricular design and evaluation can only partially profit from the promising concepts in the moral development theory. The teacher familiar with the theory can apply its concepts in designing curricula, but evaluation of the effectiveness of the curriculum is limited to the teacher's *The combination term "values/moral" is used in this study in harmony with the vocabulary of the Values Development Program at Michigan State University. It is meant to communi- cate an interest in the broad area of a person's valuing process with specific‘émphasis on that process as it operates in choices having moral dimensions. personal reflections. Objective evaluation of student response from the perspective of the moral development theory is beyond the reach of the teacher without assessment procedures differing from those presently used with the theory. The challenge in identifying objective assessment pro- cedures for the theory is found in Kohlberg's basic premise that the important consideration in values/moral reasoning assessment is not the intensity of feelings or behaviors regarding certain virtues, but the cognitive structure which leads to values/moral judgments. Measurement of cognitive structural maturity is basic to the moral development theory. The primary goal of the study is not the theoretically appropriate development of a specific assessment instrument. It is the identification of basic assessment concepts and procedures in the relationship of curriculum evaluation to the moral develop- ment theory that will move the theory closer to constructive and responsible use in the daily task of education. Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study is to develop and test a generalizable model of an assessment approach to values/moral judgment.' The development of a specific instrument provides the process in which the general assessment procedures can be identi- fied.‘ The instrument is to be theoretically based on Kohlberg's moral development theory. The eventual goal for which the study is an initial step is the evaluation of curricular experiences from the perspective of their effect on the values/moral reasoning maturity of the student. The instrument developed in the study will have limited use beyond the study because of its direct relationship to a specific curricular experience. Rather, the concepts of assess- ment and the related procedures are to have transferability to the classroom. While its measurement function will be analyzed, the developed instrument will be primarily evaluated in terms of its loyalty to the theory. Any study rests on a firm theoretical foundation in direct pr0portion to the amount of research that has been pre- viously invested in concomitant areas. Relatively little research has been undertaken on the cognitive processes 0f values/moral reasoning. Choosing such a relatively unresearched tapic presents both the challenge of virgin territory and the risks of unknown and untested dimensions. The study begins with the realization that its instrument may well not become a mature model for immediate application of assessment in the classroom. Sufficient reward will be realized if the study is but the initial assessment effort which, through modification and maturation, can contribute to curricular experiences which are productive in values/moral rea- soning growth. The study will provide a basis for conclusions and recommendations on the following matters: l. The adaptability of Kohlberg's moral development theory to classroom-oriented assessment of curricular impact on values/moral reasoning maturity, and 2. The usefulness of such assessment in the evalua- tion of a curricular design. The working hypothesis pr0poses that the lengthy and intricate assessment procedures used in Kohlberg's research can be modi- fied to allow for assessment procedures useable in the typical classroom. To the extent this proves to be feasible, the moral- development theory will become more useful in curricular evalua- tion and design. The hypothesis will be tested through the development of a measurement instrument. The assessment procedures identi- fied in instrument development will have generalizability from the specific situation of the study to other areas in public and religious education. It is expected that the concepts and pro- cesses uncovered during instrument development will lead to guide- lines for curricular evaluations from the perspective of the moral development theory. Historical Overview of Values/Moral: Education The history of formal education reveals several differ- ent stances and approaches toward the vast subject of moral- education--education that affects the values and moral commitments of students. Some educational efforts have deliberatelylattempted to create an absence of moral education, others have considered moral education the only reason for their existence. Since much formal education of centuries past was directly related to organized religion, it is understandable that the development of moral values was a primary consideration. Early education was shaped to the goal of transmitting a specific value system. From grammar school to graduate school one of the basic functions of school was moral education based on religious concepts. The achieving student accepted the values given to him. Educational goals of intellectual development were secondary to character development. Goals were determined by specific virtues defined by the church. As education became public, other institutions of society joined with the church in defining acceptable moral standards. In the early years of this century moral education in the school was widely defined as character education. The pupil was stimulated to accept a set of virtues or values as appropriate because they reflected the moral sanctions of society. In the 1930's character development as a function of the public school began to fall into disfavor. Experimental research, such as the landmark studies of Hartshorne and May in the late 1920's, showed that traditional attempts to educate for moral living had no appreciable effect in raising the level of morality in simulated life situations (Hartshorne and May, 1918, 1930). This research evidence joined a growing voice in educational philosophy which questioned the legitimany of "pro- gramming" a student into a set of values directly stipulated by the socializing institution and the agents of that institution. Thus followed a widespread philosophical position holding that it is not the function of public education to educate for moral development. This position maintains that it is an encroachment on other social institutions for the school to "tamper" with standards of morality and values orientations. In the past quarter century, the public school has backed away from the responsibility of values/moral development. As an example, a school near Lansing, Michigan has adopted an educational philoso- phy designed to more clearly delimit the role of the teacher to guarantee that "the schools will not make direct efforts to influence student values which are taught in the home" (The State Journal, April 15, 1973). John Dewey's Developmental Theory Behind the scene, new philosophical concepts had been finding fertile ground. Near the turn of the century John Dewey focused some educationally related philosophical issues which were to serve as the foundation for the questions ultimately to be asked of the "hands off" position of public schools regarding values/moral development. In Ethical Principles Underlying Education, Dewey (1909) discussed some concepts basic to the interest which was to be revived in values/moral development. Dewey's concept of education is based on the development of the learner's critical thinking processes within the framework of his own experience. The critical thinking processes develop in-stages and are foundational to the ability to make moral judgments. Dewey proposed that intellectual education is the stimulation of the child's cognitive development. He also stressed the central importance of cognitive functioning or cognitive organization in morality. Since Dewey's introduction of the notion of cognitive development and its importance in values and morality, it has been elaborated by two generations of psychological theory and research, recently and extensively by Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg. Contemporary educators give evidence of renewed in- terest in the area of values, morals, and virtues. This accom- panies a continuing educational philosophical quest into answering the probe, "what is education?" Some educators have been satisfied with the standard considerations of character building and the basic "reading, writing, and arithmetic" for educational design. As society has become more complex, the questions to which curricular designers respond have also become challengingly more complex. No longer can the educational process give itself only to preparing a student to "find a job." Students must be 10 prepared for the grander opportunity of l'living," with meaningful- ness, purpose, and productivity. These educational goals cannot ignore the development of values and morals. They are inseparable. The Moral Development Theory Kohlberg's moral development theory, based on organismic, structural, developmental concepts, goes behind the questions of "which virtue?" to investigate the process whereby values/moral decisions are reached. In the minds of a growing community of educators, Kohlberg's approach gives new insight and stability in the complex world of values/moral development. Central to Kohlberg's theory is the principle of justice (Stewart, 1973). He briefly describes justice as "the primary regard for the value and equality of all human beings and for reciprocity in human relations." He adds, "using justice as the organizing principle for moral education meets all the criteria which any plan must satisfy: it guarantees freedom of belief, it employs a philosophically justifiable concept of morality, and it is based on the psychological facts of human development. All social life necessarily entails assuming a variety of roles, taking other pe0ple's perspectives, and participating in reciprocal relationships, so that arriving at the principle of human equality 11 is simply.an effect of maturity in interpersonal relations. Justice is a normal (if not frequent) result of social exist- ence, rather than a quirk of personality or an act of faith" (Kohlberg, 1973). Piaget led Kohlberg in these considerations with statements like "in contrast to a given rule imposed upon the child from outside, the rule of justice is an immenent con- dition of social relationships or a law governing their equili- brium" (Piaget, 1948). Stewart reports that in a 1973 workshop on moral development, Kohlberg emphasized the centrality of justice in the moral development theory by saying, "The core of morality is a sense of justice. Moral action is action to promote jus- tice" (Stewart, 1974). At the same workshop, Kohlberg emphasized the following definitions: 1. "Morality . . . an integrating and directing principle. Morality is what defines an organized unit of the personality. 2. Moral Principle . . . A moral principle is a principle for resolving competing claims for action. 3. Moral Decision . . . involves a conscious con- flict between two lines of action and the attempt to choose the better in the face of temptation. This involves strong emotional involvement" (Stewart, 1974). From the perspective of the moral development theory, the issue of values/moral development is largely a matter of the cognitive maturity with which one is able to resolve competing claims for action in a just manner or with a sense of justice. As 12 one moves from a less mature resolution of competing claims to a more mature resolution, Kohlberg theorizes that he goes through an invariant set of cognitive development stages related to moral rea- soning. "What improves with moral maturity, with movement up the moral stages, is the ability to take the other's perspective and to resolve conflicts at even higher qualitative levels of justice" (Kohlberg, 1972). Moral Develonment Staqes Following is a description of Kohlberg's cognitive moral development stages: Level 0: Premoral Level--The individual neither under- stands rules nor judges good or bad in terms of rules and authority. Good is what is pleasant or exciting, bad is what is painful or fearful. There is no idea of obligation, should, or have to, even in terms of external authority, but behavior is guided only by can do, and want to do. Most likely ages: Birth to 6. Level 1: Preconventional Level--At this level the child is responsive to cultural rules and labels of good and bad, right or wrong, but interprets these labels in terms of either the physical or the hedonistic consequences of action (punishment, reward, exchange of favors) or in terms of the physical power of those who enunciate the rules and labels. Egocentrism is basic to the responses of the child in this level. 13 Each level (except Level 0) is divided into two stages: Stage 1: The Punishment and Obedience orientation. The physical consequences of action determine its goodness or badness regardless of the human meaning or value of these consequences. Avoidance of punishment and unquestioning deference to power are valued in their own right, not in terms of respect for an under- lying moral order supported by punishment and authority. 'Most likely ages: 5 to 8. Stage 2: The Instrumental Relativist orientation. Right action consists of that which is instrumental to satisfying one's own needs and occasionally the needs of others. Human rela- tions are viewed in terms like those of the market place. Elements of fairness, reciprocity, and equal sharing are present, but they are always interpreted in a physical or pragmatic way. Reciprocity is a matter of "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours," not of loyalty, gratitude, or justice. Most likely ages: 7 to 10. ' Level 11: Conventional Level--At this level, maintaining the expectations of the individual's family, group, or nation is perceived as valuable in its own right, regardless of immediate and obvious consequences. The attitude is not only one of conformity to personal expectations and social order, but of loyalty to it; of actively maintaining, supporting, and justifying the order and of identifying with the persons or group involved in it. There are two 14 basic stages for Level II, augmented by a relatively new concept, a stage 4%. Stage 3: The Interpersonal Concordance orientation. This is the "good boy, nice girl" stage. Good behavior is that which pleases or helps others and is approved by them. Conformity to stereotypic images of what is majority or normal behavior is the determining factor. Behavior is frequently judged by intention: "He means well" becomes important for the first time. One earns approval by being "nice." 'Most likely ages this stage will begin to appear are 10 to 12. Stage 4: The Law and Order orientation. Authority, fixed rules, and the maintenance of the social order are the orien- tations to moral considerations. Right behavior consists of doing one's duty, showing respect for authority and maintaining the given social order for its own sake. Most likely ages this stage will begin to appear are 14 to 16. State 4%: The Stage of Cynical Ethical Relativism. This "stage“ is a new addition to Kohlberg's original set of six stages. It is not a "true" stage in the sense that it is not part of the invariant sequence of the other stages. A person can get to stage 5 without going through stage 4%. This unique stage is pri- marily observed with young college students. It involves people who reach the highest stage of‘conventional morality, step outside of it, question it, reject it, but have no adequate resolution to the conflict. They do not go to principled morality but have rejected 15 conventional morality. There is a tendency at this point to become very cynical and relativistic about beliefs and values. They tend toward a position of absolute relativity in consideration of values. Level III: Post-Conventional or Principled Level.--At this level there is a clear effort to define moral values and prin- ciples which have validity and application apart from the authority of the groups or persons holding these principles and apart from the individual's own identification with these groups. Stage 5: The Social Contract Legalistic orientation. Right action tends to be defined in terms of general individual rights and in terms of standards which have been critically examined and agreed upon by the whole society. There is clear awareness of the relativism of personal values and opinions and a corresponding emphasis on procedural rules for reaching consensus. Aside from what is constitutionally and democratically agreed upon, the right is a matter of personal values and opinion. The result is an emphasis upon the possibility of changing law in terms of rational considera- tions of social utility (rather than rigidly maintaining it in terms of stage 4 law and order). Outside the legal realm, free agreement and contract is the binding element of obligation. This is the "official" morality of the American government and constitution. Most likely this stage will begin to appear in the early twenties. Stage 6: The Universal Ethical Principle orientation. Right is defined by the decision of conscience in accord with self- chosen ethical principles appealing to logical comprehensiveness, 16 universality, and consistency. The principles are abstract and ethical (the Golden Rule, the categorical imperative) and are not concrete moral rules like the Ten Commandments. At heart, these are universal principles of justice, of the reciprocity and equality of the human rights, and of respect for the dignity of human beings as individual persons. This is an adult develOpmental stage appear- ing in the late twenties and early thirties if at all (adapted from Stewart, 1972, 1973, 1974). Structural Assessment The structural characteristics of each level and stage of moral reasoning development have been identified and clarified through the assessment procedure used by Kohlberg. As a graduate student Kohlberg became interested in the cognitive developmental nature of man. His specific interest in values and moral judgment led him to question whether or not there was some pattern in the reasoning an individual used to resolve moral questions. The con- cepts of organismic cognitive development and cognitive structure became basic to his initial research. From the perspective of the structural developmentalist, the issue in assessing moral quality is not the evaluation of an individual's set of values, but identification of the cognitive patterns or processes which lead to specific decisions. The con- tent of a decision is a reflection of the cognitive structure. Assessing structure, not content, is the measurement task. 17 When Kohlberg initiated his studies, assessment of cogni- tive structure was a very young research field. In harmony with previous research efforts, Kohlberg used.the probing interview as the heart of his assessment procedure. As the procedure has been refined, the extended interview has become the only accepted assessment procedure for the moral development theory. The moral development assessment procedure requires one to two hours of individual interview plus a corresponding time for coding of the interview material. Typically, each interview is recorded so that the rating of the responses of the student during the interview can be reviewed at a later date. The purpose of the interview is to probe the content of a moral decision to uncover the thought patterns that lead to the.decision. The thought pat- terns, or cognitive structures, are stimulated by moral dilemmas presented by the interviewer. 'As each dilemma is presented, the solutions are investigated in detail. Each dimension of the solu- tion is saturated with probing responses by the interviewer attempt- ing to uncover the student's justification for each response. The reasons given as rationale for the solutions to the dilemmas identify cognitive structure. This assessment procedure has five basic characteristics which make it unuseable in the average classroom. It 1. is a one-to-one procedure. 2. is extensively time consuming with each person. 3. requires a great deal of time to score. 18 4. demands advanced interviewing skills and experience on the part of the teacher. 5. assesses total moral reasoning maturity for the individual with no isolation on specific moral or ethical issues. As a tool for curricular evaluation, the moral development theory can be applied to specific arenas of values/moral concern. The assessment procedure accompanying the more specific curricular use of the theory must be operational for each teacher within the limits of the classroom. The clinical approach of the extended interview must be replaced with a group administered, objective assessment procedure which can be developed by the teacher thoroughly oriented to the concepts of the theory. The challenge in developing such a procedure rests in the structure-content distinction. The extended interview is specifically designed to uncover cognitive structure. Any adaptation of the interview must also measure structure, not content. The theory itself will be seriously dis- torted if a simplified assessment procedure forfeits its assessment of cognitive structure.. As interest in Kohlberg's theory has grown, two additional educational centers have organized major efforts to relate the moral development theory to the practical needs of education. The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education has published works to aid the teacher in acquiring a sensitivity toward the moral develop- ment process. Michigan State University in 1973 initiated a Values 19 Development Education Program which.is in the early stages of a program in the educational implications of the values development theory. Assumptions Some assumptions must be identified relative to the basic purpose of the study. They are assumptions that relate Kohlberg's moral development theory to the educational process. Many of these assumptions are currently being tested, clarified, and expanded in detail by others in the Michigan State University Values Development Education Program. These assumptions follow: 1. The moral development theory warrants further research. 2. The moral development theory, as a social-psychological theory, is transferable to the daily concerns of the classroom teacher committed to quality in the area of values/moral development education. 3. The theory has potential, even in its complexity, for operationalization in the average classroom. It can move from the realm of theory to practical assistance in reaching the goals of the competent teacher. 4. Curriculum development and evaluation can be dynamically related to the moral development theory. It is necessary to make these statements as assumptions because of the newness of the moral development theory. Basic con- cepts of the theory are being continuously researched by Kohlberg 20 and his associates, but it is still in the youthful stage of develop- ment. Summar Lawrence Kohlberg's moral develOpment theory provides a newly clarified framework for considerations of values/moral educa- tion. Its application to.curricular.evaluation is handicapped because of assessment procedures which are individual, complex and lengthy. The research problem addressed is the identification of assessment procedures which are true to the theory and liberated from the clinical nature of current research into moral reasoning maturity. Because the theory is relatively new, Chapter II will both explain the theory and present a review of appropriate research literature. Emphasis will be given to.a brief review of the history of moral/value education, a description of the moral development theory and comparison of it with other theories, and a review of research directly related to the theory and the measurement dimen- sions of the study. Chapter III presents the research design and procedure for the study. Rationale for the choice of the curricular experience and the groups used in the study precedes the description of the approach to instrument development. Chapter IV describes the evolution of the reSearch inStru- ment. The data from the various instrument forms is presented with 21 alterations in the instrument that were suggested by the data analysis of the various forms. Included in Chapter V is the detailed data analysis from the final instrument form. This analysis looks at the relationship of several variables deemed important to an assess- ment procedure related to the moral development theory. Conclusions and recommendations are presented in Chapter VI. The study raised two types of questions--those concerned with an assessment procedure appropriate for classroom-oriented curricular evaluation and those related to the effects of specific curricular experiences on the develOpment of moral reasoning maturity. CHAPTER II THEORY DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH REVIEW Historical Approaches to Values/Moral Educationz. Two Extremes Traditionally there have been two basic approaches to values/moral education--the definition of specific virtues approach and the relativity of values approach. The.bulk of values/moral education historically has emanated from the view that there are specific character traits or virtues to be developed and correspond- ing "evil" traits to be shunned and suppressed. In marked contrast from this view there has always been the argument for the right of anyone to do whatever the impulses of freedom direct. These posi- tions are representative of extremes on a continuum of approaches to education for value choice and moral.behavior. One end of the continuum, usually considered "ultra- conservative," accepts the necessity of manipulating man to develop a predetermined set of character traits. .Values/moral development is seen as a training task similar to the way any animal is trained to perform appropriately. .This approach sees man as a "product." The other extreme, usually labeled as "liberal,” looks at man as a completely independent free being with the right to experience whatever is necessary for personal fulfillment and satisfaction. 22 23 This extreme tends to see man as his.own "deity." Each of these positions, and the various stances between them, demands some philosophical assumptions about the nature of man. Each accepts different concepts of the human organism and the relationships of that organism to other organisms and the environment. Those who face their responsibility in values/moral development must accept one of several basic approaches to the task. Approaching the task from the typically conservative or authoritarian stance will find the teacher accepting the role of -authority and benevolently or crudely molding his charges to a preconceived "product.“ One who accepts the task from an extreme liberal perspective must view values and morals as completely relative in light of individual freedom. The Authoritarian Approach The authoritarian approach postulates a body of "truth" outside the person. This truth calls for adherence to its basic precepts and standards. The Values espoused by the truth are abso- lute. In most cultures the source of such absolutes is a deity or some person 0f historical significance. The goal of values/moral development is to instill in the student standards of behavior as dictated by deity or strong leadership and accepted as the ultimate by society. This training is accomplished through the use of , rewards and punishments, reinforcement, and indoctrination. The theory of human life often accepted by those given to this approach 24 is either that the person begins life.with a "clean slate" on which must be written acceptable standards or that the child is born with innate proper.tendencies which can only be properly developed through stimulation and/or manipulation from outside the individual. The authoritarian approach to building a "bag of virtues" in the student, being based on concepts of absolute truth, usually assumes the.student to be a passive participant in the development of his values/moral system. Since the values/moral system exists outside the person, the person is considered not to possess all he needs for successful socialization. The challenge to the educator is taking the immature and working-with it until it possesses acceptable, mature values/moral standards which harmonize with external truth. The Relativity Approach In contrast to the authoritarian perspective is the posi- tion that bases its approaches to values/moral development on the conviction that individual freedom.gives.each person the right and obligation to establish his own values/morals.- Others are then obligated to accept those values/morals as appropriate for the one espousing them. This approach.rejects the concepts of the existence of absolute values and morals.. There are, in fact, no standards or criteria by which one person can judge.another. Each person is free to "do his own thing“ because values.and morals.are all relative. The consent or sanction of society on a specific value/moral is meaningless. 25 The acceptance of these concepts in.values/moral develop- ment has led to two educational approaches--the value-free curriculum and the values-clarification exercises. The value-free curriculum is a commitment to remove from education all effort affecting the values/moral system of the student. The student has the obligation and right to function on the basis of his own values and morality and to understand that his values and morals are as legitimate as those of others around him. The teacher avoids all effort toward moralizing and even attempts to remove the influence of personal value and moral‘systems from the educational process. For the educator with this commitment the only issue of discussion concerning values/moral development is how to avoid it. Several years ago it became very.evident to many that the value-free curriculum simply did not~exist. The basic assumption that led to the existence of a public or private school program violated the concept of a value-free curriculum. While it may be possible never to mention morality or values in the school, the existence of school is in itself a direct statement concerning values. A new approach was necessary for the educator given to the theory of the relativity of values. The approach became known as the “values clarification approach.“ Value clarification theorists conclude since reference to values and morals cannot be eliminated, it is desirable to help each student understand his own values/morals and the values/morals of others. The student is encouraged, even scheduled, into activities 26 which will assist him in formulating, clarifying, and adjusting his values/morals. He is encouraged to view other's values as a stimu- lus for the clarification of his own. Everyone in the system has a right to expression but no one, not even the teacher, takes the position of "rightness" concerning his values. The extreme position of complete.relativity of values assumes the person has all of the tools.necessary for acceptable ‘development as he contacts the environment. It is necessary for the individual to assert himself, uncover his own way, and construct his own value/moral system. There are no absolute values outside the organism. With a little effort one can find proponents of both extreme positions. Because the nature of existence demands social inter- action, a purely relative position is more theoretical than practical. Few educators can realistically develop a curriculum based on a pure relativistic view of morality. Many would think that the closest popular approach to this position would.be reflected in the educa- tional design of Neil's as described in Summerhill. Even in Summer: hill, however, it is evident that some basic values (re: an appeal for cooperation from all students) are expected of each student if for no other reason than to make the continuation of the school pos- sible. The authoritarian approach.is much easier to find in the real world. Every segment of society has political, educational, social and religious organizations.that:can be identified as based on the authoritarian relationship between teacher and student. 27 Eclectic Approaches In between the two extremes of pure relativity in values/ morals considerations and the authoritarian approach of imposed values/morals are several varieties of theoretical approaches. For example, there are great variances in the manner in which churches interpret basic authoritarian theology. Some entertain an approach to values/moral development that combines the concept of a less active external authority (God) with that of humanism which con- siders man endowed with his own potential for appropraite values/ moral development. This combination of concepts results in an approach proposing that man has a responsibility to include commit- ment to the external authority if his own potential is to be realized. Other churches espouse total self-rejection in light of the power of the external divine authority. Some approaches propose perfect harmony between the external and the internal as the ultimate. Others approach some external or internal authorities as subservient to the other. There are a multitude of combination approaches. Cultural relativity is also a position combining elements of both extreme positions on values/moral development. Relativity of values between cultures or societies is respected as is the absolute authority of each culture or society to establish its own standards of morality. Society "A" may be convinced that jumping rope is desirable while society "B" is committed to wiping out all rope jumping. Society "A" accepts and respects the perspective of society "8” as apprOpriate for society ”8" while being inappropriate 28 for society ”A". The determining factor of right or wrong is the society, culture, or subculture. Examples of cultural relativity in values can be seen in expressions like ”middle-class values" and "ethnic group." Figure l locates various eclectic approaches on the authoritarian-liberal continuum. Liberal Ultra-Conservative, Man as Free, Fundamentalistic, Independent, Man as a Product, His Own Deity, Outside Authority No Outside Authority * ~k * 'k I L l l Summerhill Rogerian Cultural . . Relativity Sk1nnerism Figure 1. Eclectic educational approaches to value/moral development. Approaches to values that are found between the two extremes are built on modifications of the concepts of man that are reflected in the extremes. The authoritarian approach considers man a recipient slate on which significant others and the environ- ment are responsible for designing a person. The pure relativity approach accepts man as self-endowed with time and experience re- leased appropriate definitions of meaning. Modification in the concept of the nature of man allows room for various approaches to values/moral development. Freudian psychology, in oversimplified terms, sees most men with wounded potential for successful growth 29 and dependent on the environment for support, direction, and defini- tion. In the Rogerian concept of self-actualization are notions that encourage consideration of the natural, free, independent man. Skinnerism and the related concepts of behaviorism use the "recipient slate" assumption on which to build growth theory. Orthodox theologi- cal persuasions present a variety of concepts about man, most of which require a direct and drastic intervention by the deity in order to achieve a proper values/moral stance. If one is going to approach the task of values/moral development in harmony with his concept of man, he must find intellec- tual and philosophical comfort in his definition of man or his de- scription of the nature of man. Cooperation with others in the development of values/moral educational plans involves some corporate agreement on a concept of man. This is perhaps where the issue of values/moral education has found its problem. One's definition of man is central to most other considerations, including acceptable values and judgments. Public education hosts a complexity of defini- tions of man. Into this multiple concept setting the issue of values/moral development discovers it very difficult to find a common philosophical foundation among educational practitioners. Because values and morals are so basic to life and such a direct reflection of one's definition of man and his nature, the issue of values/moral development carries significant emotional and life style commitments which are not easily compromised. One is far more willing to adjust his concepts of math than his concepts of life. It is undoubtedly 30 this subtle conflict that has stymied the unified development of a curricular design to stimulate values/morals growth. The concepts which led Kohlberg to his initial study at the University of Chicago are reflected in a statement he made with an associate, Elliot Turiel, in 1971. Having argued that neither the relativistic nor the authoritarian position toward values/moral development was valid, he says "Our claim has been that a simple acceptance of the premises that (1) all values are relative and, therefore, (2) the teacher should not engage in moral education, is not satisfactory because it provides no positive stance toward the moral problems that inevitably arise in the classroom. While relativity is unsatisfactory, we have pointed out that the usual methods for circumventing it are not supported by psychological or philosophical considerations" (Kohlberg and Turiel, 1971). While this statement is made several years after the initiation of his work in Chicago, it nonetheless reflects the conceptual frustration that led Kohlberg, while still a graduate student, a look for another framework from which to consider values/moral development. The Hidden Curriculum‘ "Hidden Curriculum" is a term currently in vogue used to describe the educational experiences students receive that are not part of the planned curriculum. The terms "unplanned curriculum" and "unstudies curriculum" are also used in this manner. 31 Much of what takes place in the school setting is the result of careful, professional planning by the administration, faculty, and staff. Curriculum development has broadened in the past two decades to include more than the teacher lecture and the student exercise. Curricular theory in its broadest con- "siderations involves the following: 1. Human resources; students, faculty, staff, parents, and community. 2. Physical resources; housing, equipment, and physical conditions. 3. A statement of objectives and goals. 4. A plan for realizing those objectives and goals. 5. A design of the process to facilitate the plan, a thoroughly considered course of action to employ all available resources. 6. A plan for evaluation of the curricular experience. 7. A plan for the further development of the resources available to the curriculum. A carefully developed curriculum will include answers to the questions logically derived from all these dimensions of curricular concerns. Even though planners of curriculum are aware of the broad ' range of influences on curricular success, there remains a sizeable segment of the educational experience which is unplanned and usually assumed uncontrolable. Administrative guidelines to assure the reasonable flow of several hundred students in the same building, measures of achievement, social presses among faculty and students, dramatic influences outside the school, these and many among other segments of the educational experience constitute the hidden cur- riculum. 32 Accompanying and/or stimulating the current theoretical and research interest in values development is the awakening of leadership in educational institutions to a deeper concern for the impact schools have on student values. Educators no longer can reject the argument that the educational process inherently in- cludes a sizable effect in the area of values. One only has to carefully view the school in operation to see "the hidden values curriculum" in the following: 1. The nature of organization basic to education has a variety of value-laden messages: "follow instructions and you can have recess," "you'll get sent to the principal if you con- tinue to behave like that," "none of us will have cookies unless we can be quiet." 2. The motivation for academic success speaks of values to the students: ”spell these words properly and you will get a .good grade," "we grade on the curve, those that do best get the A's," "you don't want to fall behind and not be able to stay with your'class." 3. The sanctions on social interaction in school develop values: "tonight's award banquet will honor those with outstanding records," "the dress and grooming code is as follows," “a good student is careful to wear clean clothes." 'For the past two or three decades public education has attempted to reduce the effect of the schools in values/moral development and so has felt limited accountability to this basic 33 element of all growth. Uncommitted to face the complex challenge of values development, educators have adopted the safe stance of purporting that values/morals are not an area of concern for the public school. There are those who believe that given a workable curriculum and school structure, the best way to approach the task of values/moral development is to ignore it and it will either go away or take care of itself. If one concludes, however, that the teaching of values is unavoidable in any educational process, he must decide how best to approach the task. Stewart states that the hidden curriculum is usually ‘the most effective values/moral education the student receives. It is also the least wise (Stewart, 1974). Education is faced with the challenge of coordinating the hidden curriculum if values/ ' moral development is to be reasonably approached. The student studying concepts of justice as a part of the American legal sys- tem but experiencing distorted justice in the classroom or in ' social relationships will surely respond to the stronger influence of the unplanned curriculum. The teacher is one of the basic ingredients in both the 'planned and unplanned curriculum. After all the lesson plans are developed and all the methods courses are fully'operationalized, it is the life-commitment of the teacher that will make a sizeable contribution to the student's growth or stagnation in the ability to reason morally. For many educational critics this is an awe- some awareness. Stewart says, "A significant percentage of educators 34 are conceptually concrete teachers, passive, dependent, autocratic, and operate at relatively low and middle levels of moral develop- ment" (Stewart, 1974). An analysis of teachers, teacher-trainees, and administrators in a study completed by Fedigan and Harvey sup- ports Stewart's conclusion. The conceptual systems theory of Harvey, Hunt and Schroder was used to determine the characteristics of these educator groups. The four levels of the concrete-abstract dimension were described as: Level 1: those viewing authority as the highest good, questions as likely having one answer, encourag- ing closed systems, reward conformity and rote learning. Level 2: those characterized by inconsistency and uncer- tainty in functioning in a manner similar to level 1. Level 3: those showing high affilative needs, desirous of mutuality and group consensus rather than rules, encouraging student expression of varied ideas. Level 4: those regarding knowledge as tentative rather than absolute consider a variety of viewpoints on issues, and encourage more complex function- ing (Fedigan, 1966). Among practicing teachers, 55 percent were level 1. Among prospective teachers, 35 percent were level 1, and another 15 percent were level 2. A study of principals and superintendents in four western states revealed that over 75 percent of them tended to function at level 1 (Harvey, 1970). It is, of course, unreasonable to place the total respon- sibility for values/moral development at the feet of the teachers. They are but a part of a system. That system in its totality must 35 bear the responsibility for implementation of an educational experi- ence designed to encourage values/moral growth. A Foundation for the Moral Development Theory, One cannot present the moral development theory without first giving credit to the two theorists who made major contribu- tions to the conceptual foundations used by Kohlberg--John Dewey and Jean Piaget. Dewey emphasized the child as a moral philosopher and prompted considerations in the theoretical arena of the rela- tionship between the cognitive development of the child and his moral reasoning. Dewey's early concepts introduced a new approach to values/moral development education. His introduction of the re- lationship between cognitive development and the ability to make moral choices introduced a new perspective from which to view the issue of education for morality. The focus Dewey suggested was consideration for the process which leads one to moral choices in contrast with consideration of the content of those choices. The basic psychological and developmental concepts used to generate growth in the new approach were fostered and encouraged by Jean Piaget (Piaget, 1928). His extensive work in cognitive development in children formed the basic theoretical backdrop of organismic cognitive development on which the moral development theory is built. His theory of cognitive development incorporates a view of man which sees the organism transacting within the envrion- ment to facilitate intellectual organization and adaptation. “In 36 the broadest sense, Piaget asserts throughout his work that cognitive and intellectual changes are the result of a developmental process. His general hypothesis is that cognitive development is a coherent process of successive qualitative changes of cognitive structures, each structure and its concomitant change deriving logically and inevitably from the preceding one" (Wadsworth, 1971). Cognitive deve10pment takes place continuously in an uninterrupted longitudinal fashion. Piaget has conceptualized cognitive development in four major periods or stages. While in reality there is no noticeable "graduation" from one stage to the next, the basic characteristics identifiable in the course of the developmental process can be organized into four periods. 1. The period of sensori-motor intelligence (0-2 years). During this period behavior is primarily motor. The child does not yet "think" conceptually, though cog- nitive development is observable. 2. The period of pro-operational thought (2-7 years). This period is characterized by the development of language and rapid conceptual development. 3. The period of concrete operations (7-11 years). During these years the child develops the ability to apply logical thought to concrete problems. 4. The period of formal operations (11 to maturity) During this period the child's cognitive structures reach their greatest level of development, and the person becomes able to apply logic to all classes of problems (Wadsworth, 1971). 37 Appendix A describes the characteristics for each cognitive stage postulated by Piaget. It should be noted that the age range given with each period is the normative range, not the exclusive range. In describing the relationship of successive stages to the preceding one, Piaget says: In a general way, the fact should be emphasized that the behavior patterns characteristic of the different stages do not succeed each other in a linear way (those of a given stage disappearing at the time when those of the following one take form) but in the manner of the layers of a pyramid, the new behavior patterns simply being added to the old ones to complete, correct, or combine with them (Piaget, 1952). Dewey's and Piaget's concepts are basic to a conceptual framework for values/moral education called the "organismic struc- tural developmental" approach. This approach can best be described by a relatively brief definition and explanation of the terms organismic, structural, and development. Use of the three terms as a unit to describe the basic themes of the theory is taken from Stewart. "It is precisely the combination of the three orientations and the conceptual significance of their integration that clearly identifies the distinguishing characteristics of this conceptual framework for values/moral education" (Stewart, 1974). Organismic The organismic approach to the study of man looks at the iruiividual as a functional, organized, integrated, systematic whole. The term "organismic" comes from the field of physical science. It is a: simplification of the term "organismatism" coined by a zoologist 38 in 1919 to describe his theory that the total of the organism is as important to explain its parts as are the parts to explain the whole. Organismic psychologists have adopted many of the basic principles of organismic biologists as equally relevant in the realm of psychology as in the physical sciences. Three of the basic notions of the organismic scientist are organic unity, determining features of the whole, and teleo- logical behavior of organism (Beckner, in Edwards, 1967). Organic unity refers to the notion that organic systems are so organized that the activities of the whole cannot be understood as the sum of the activities of the parts. The whole is more than the sum of its parts. The organism can only be fully defined by the charac- teristics of its wholeness. "Determining features of the whole" is the phrase used to describe the notion that the properties of the whole determine the pr0perties of the parts. By teleological behavior of organisms the organismic scientist means that the organism is self directed to a goal which defines the significance of the parts (Beckner, in Edwards, 1967). Smuts described the con- cept of the organismic approach (he called it 'holism') by saying, " . . an organism is really a unified, synthesized section of history, which includes not only its present but much of its past and even its future. An organism can only be explained by reference to its past and its future as well as its present; the central structure is not sufficient and literally has not enough of it to go round in the way of explanation . . ." (Smuts, 1926). 39 John Dewey further clarifies the significance of the organismic notion to psychology and education. He maintains that there is a dynamic relationship between the wholeness of the organism and the multitude of transactions that take place within the organism, between its parts, and between the organism and its environment. In this regard Dewey introduces another hallmark of organismic theory by emphasizing the necessity of completing the understanding of the human being by considering his internal pro- cesses as reflected by their interaction with the environment. His consistent plea was for man to be viewed as a unit whose motivation for growth was not dependent on outside sources. A discussion of the organismic theory cannot be complete without mention of the process called "transaction." The organismic theorist neither believes that values are transmitted from the ex- ternal world to the organism or that a person's mind inherently contains the value of life. Dewey and one of his associates, Arthur Bentley began using the term "transaction" to compliment "interaction." For them "interaction" denoted two separate agents acting to influence each other (Dewey and Bentley, 1949). Their organismic stance considered interaction an incomplete term. The organism and the environment serve as cooperating factors in growth. They function both as separate entities and transact with each other in a holistic notion. Their struggle to affect or modify each other joins them as a unit. "Transaction" is the holistic notion describ- ing the interaction of two separate entities on each other. 40 The organismic theory is also characterized by its look at man in a healthy state in contrast to other theories which major on the pathologies of the organism. This perspective separates the organismic theorist from the mechanistic behaviorist and the frag- mented psychopathological view of Freud. The organismic theorist sees man as organized, healthy, and unified in the normal state, transacting with the environment in constant stimulation from life itself (Stewart, 1973). Structural The concept of "structure" is used in many disciplines. In the context of values/moral development, it refers to a particu- lar theoretical approach to understanding the human mind, viz., "structuralism." Piaget conceptualized intellectual functioning as the acts of adaptation and organization. The mind organizes and adapts to the perceived environment. These are not separate processes. "From the biological point of view organization is inseparable from adaptation. They are two complimentary processes of a single mechanism, organization being the internal aspect of the cycle of which adaptation constitutes the external aspect" (Piaget, 1952). Organization is the underlying cognitive system of relationships that allows the mind to interpret and process the input it receives. Adaptation is the process of growth that is made necessary and pos- sible by the organization. The mind, as it organizes and adapts in 41 transaction with the environment, is viewed as having three com- ponents--content, function, and structure. Content is the observable raw data of intellectual activity. It is words, actions, gestures, solutions to problems, facial expres- sions, etc. It is the cognitive reflection of one's mental organiza- tions and adaptations in harmony with the environment and the culture. It varies considerably from age to age, culture to culture, place to place, stimulus to stimulus, and time to time. Function is the biologically-rooted invariant part of intelligence. It is the manner in which the organism transacts with the environment. It is assimilation and accommodation, two processes necessary for growth. Structure refers to the inferred organizational properties of intelligence that explain the occurrencecfliparticular behaviors (Wadsworth, 1971). It is the system that develops as the result of function. "Cognitive structures are the organized mental components of intelligence. They are created through functioning and manifest themselves in content. A structure is an organized thought pattern that undergoes transformations in its dynamic relationship with the environment, but operates in a self-regulating way in order to main- tain continuity, stability, and equilibrium both for itself and the organism" (Stewart, 1973). Structure has three defining characteristics: wholeness, transformation, and self-regulation. Wholeness refers to the logical consistency, integration, and unity of relationships found in the 42 operation of each structure. There is complete thought organization to each structure that differentiates it from other structures. Transformations are the result of the ability of the struc- ture to involve itself in some complex cognitive processes that take the elements of a situation and change them, reverse them, consider the inverse or the reciprocal, and do these things simultaneously. Structures at various levels of development will have different abilities in these processes. At each level of development there are characteristic transformations in operation within the structure. The self-regulating characteristic of structure refers to their ability to preserve their own properties, follow a pattern of logic, and maintain a boundary to that structure. Self-regulation allows the structures of the mind to operate on the basis of certain kinds of rules and thereby allows a balance or equilibrium to be maintained in the system (Stewart, 1973). The theory of structuralism is basic to the concepts of the moral development theory. It is the interest in the existence and function of cognitive structures as they relate to values/moral judgment that separates this theory from other approaches to values/moral development that concentrate on cognitive content. The moral development theory looks to the processes that result in content to understand values/morals. 43 Developmental The concept of development as employed here is an exten- sion of the organismic view of man and his relationship with the environment. It is closely related to the considerations of organism and structure previously discussed. The moral development theory is not the only theory to use the word "development." The behaviorists use the term to imply that development is a function of the environment. The organism is developed by the environment and acquires the characteristics of the environment. The human mind becomes a reflection of the external world. For the behaviorist, development is the process by which the human mind gathers appropriate stimulus-response patterns from the environment. There is also a "nativistic" or "maturational" theory for which development is a central concept. For these theorists, development is the unfolding of innate patterns possessed by the organism through heredity. The outside world is important to stimulate the release of the innate patterns, but the basic design of the patterns is carried biologically within the organism. For the nativistic theorist, development is the process of innate pat- terns being liberated and operationalized according to a maturational time-table (Gessell, 19754). Neither of the above uses of "development" is appropriate for the moral development theory. Piaget and Kohlberg see develop- ment involving many aspects of the organism in constant transaction 44 with the environment. The organism is not determined by the environ- ment, neither is the environment simply a tool for the organism. The organism transacts with the environment to facilitate its development. Development refers to a group of processes continually in operation as the result of the organism's transactions with the envirohment. These processes are identified as the growth stimu- lating processes for the structures. The primary aspects or processes of development are the following: —I 0 structure (previously presented) egocentrism-perspectivism dimension of the self stage development 2 3 4. genetic emergence, maturation of the organism 5 experience 6 social transmission 7 the equilibration process. Development refers not only to the possibility of growth but the manner in which the organism relates to the world to facilitate growth (Stewart, 1973). Piaget suggests four broad.factors that are related to all cognitive development. These factors in the developmental his- tory of the individual will have a direct bearing on the "ability" to respond to any curricular experience. The four factors related to cognitive development are (l) maturation, (2) physical experi- ence, (3) social interaction, and (4) equilibration (Wadsworth, 1971). 45 Maturation involves neurological growth and the development of the endocrine system. These are biologically rooted, genetically determined growth patterns. Physical experience as a factor in cognitive growth is necessary as the interacter of the person with the environment. The person experiences both physically and logi- cally a contact with the world on which he must act. His response is more than a reaction to the environment, it is a transaction with it. To the extent that the person actively assimilates and accommo- dates the environment, he will develop cognitively. Social inter- action is another factor important in cognitive development. Ideas between people form the heart of this developmental factor. The fourth factor in cognitive development is equilibration (Wadsworth, 1971). Growth in the cognitive organism results from the initiative of the organism to equilibrate the conflicting mes- sages received. The resolution of cognitive disequilibrium is the process which results in growth and development. This resolution process is directly related to the structural components of the mind, content, function, and structure, as introduced by Piaget. The human mind functions in transaction with the environment in two ways: it assimilates and it accommodates. Assimilation is the pro- cess by which the mind makes the data from the world fit its struc- ture. Data from the outside is processed in terms of the existing known, the existing cognitive patterns. It is the cognitive process by which the person integrates new perceptual matter into existing patterns. Assimilation is a term Piaget adapted from his interest 46 in biology. It is the cognitive counterpart of eating, wherein food is eaten, digested, and assimilated into a usable form (Wads- worth, 1971). Accommodation is the process which stimulates functional change prompted by the environment. The organism initially attempts to assimilate all data. If the organism can "force" the data into existing patterns, even though the perception must be distorted to be welcomed, assimilation is the process which operates. If the organism cannot host the new data (even with some distortion) it must "accommodate" the new perception by creating a new cognitive category (or host), or modify old.categories. It is the processes of assimilation and accommodation that convert infants' rather inaccurate cognitive patterns into the more useful adult-like pat- terns. Without these processes in action, education is impossible. When new data does not fit existing patterns, the organism faces the problem of what to do with new data that has no cognitive host. The complementary processes of assimilation and accommo- dation do not operate without interaction. While each is individu- ally important, of equal importance is the relative amounts of each in the development of the organism. ‘A person who always assimilates and never accommodates has a few, large cognitive patterns or hosts and is unable to detect differences in things. On the other hand, one who only accommodates has a great number of very small cognitive patterns and little generality. Thus the balance between assimila- tion and accommodation is extremely important. The two form a 47 dynamic equilibrium in the process of trying to cope with new data. "The mind seeks to keep things in balance. Growth (quantitative change) and development (qualitative change) proceed through the continuous process of going through cycles of equilibrium . . . disequalibrium . . . equilibrium . . . disequilibrium. Thus, equilibration (attaining equilibrium) is seen as in internal self— regulating system that operates to reconcile the roles of matura- tion, experience, and social interaction" (Stewart, 1973). It is this equilibration process that can be viewed as directly related to education. This cognitive functioning process is similar to the concept of "cognitive dissonance“ in communication theory. The existence of cognitive dissonance in the listener prompts activity which seeks harmony and opens the possibility for and necessity of change. "The basic paradigm of cognitive development for Piaget is seen as the assimilation and accommodation of experience, resulting in qualitative structural change in cognitive machinery. In this sense the child is truly the father of the man" (Wadsworth, 1971). Egocentrism Another concept basic to Piaget's cogntivie stages and also very important to the moral development theory is that of egocentrism and egocentricity. Cognitive development may be viewed from this dimension as the progress one makes from egocentrism to perspectivism. The newborn infant is totally egocentric. He cannot differentiate between "self" and "not self." The mature adult is assumed to have 48 developed the cognitive ability to look at life from the perspective of the other person. Stewart says the move from egocentrism to per- spectivism is "possibly the single most important dimension" in the development of moral reasoning maturity in that it is the foundation for the development of justice, which in turn is the heart of moral reasoning as defined by the moral development theory (Stewart, 1973). Each new plane of cognitive functioning is characterized by a new type of egocentrism. -As the child progresses in cognitive maturity, his egocentrism is challenged and further growth is dependent on his ability to see himself and others from a more objective perspective. As his view of others becomes less subjective by honoring the right of others to exist as unique selves, he adjusts his egocentricity and opens the possibility of growth. Robert Selman, an associate of Kohlberg, has researched the development of perspective and role- taking ability in relationship to moral maturity and has postulated stages parallel to those presented by Kohlberg and Piaget (selman, ‘197l). "Egocentrism subsides when the adolescent learns to use his logic effectively in relation to the reality of life, and not only in relation to life as he thinks it should be" (Wadsworth, 1971). With these basic concepts in mind a description of the moral development theory is appropriate. The Moral Development Theory One of the difficulties in presenting the moral development theory is the fragmentation with which Kohlberg and his immediate associates have published pertinent research reports and theoretical 49 updates. Stewart has probably synthesized the fragments of the theory more clearly than anyone to date. We are largely dependent on his work for this detailed overview of the theory. Kohlberg gives a summary of the basic concepts of moral development from a cognitive developmental perspective in his second version of "From Is To Ought” a paper presented for review and criticism in 1971. The revision, which responded to criticisms by Peters and Alston was published in 1972. Kohlberg says: A cognitive-developmental theory of moralization holds that there is a sequence of moral stages for the same basic reasons that there are cognitive or logico-mathematical stages, that is, because cognitive-structural reorganizations toward the more equilibrated occur in the course of interaction between the organism and the environment. In the area of logic, Piaget holds that a psychological theory of development is closely linked to a theory of normative logic. Following Piaget, we claim the same is true in the area of moral judgment. A cognitive-developmental theory of moralization is broader than Piaget's own theory, however. By cognitive-developmental I refer to a set of assumptions common to the moral theories of Dewey and Tufts (1932), Mead (1934), Baldwin (1906), Piaget (1932) and myself. All have postulated(a).stages of moral development representing (b) cognitive-structural transforma- tions in conception of self and society. All have assumed (c) that these stages represent successive modes of taking the role of others in social situations, and hence (d) the social- environmental determinants of development are its opportunities for role-taking. More generally, all have assumed (f) that moral stages and their development represent the interaction of the child's structuring tendencies and the structural fea- tures of the environment, leading to (g) successive forms of equilibrium in interaction. This equilibrium is conceived as (h)a level of 'ustice, with (i) change being caused by dis- equilibrium, where (j) come optional level of match or discrep- ancy is necessary for change between the child and the environ- ment (Kohlberg, 1972). Given these assumptions, which have been and are the source of much of the research Kohlberg and his associates have undertaken, 50 it is helpful to understand the basic notion behind the title of the article in which this summary is found, "From Is To Ought." Kohlberg notes that through the centuries moral theorists have emphasized the "distinctively universal and prescriptive nature of adequate moral judgments." In the moral development theory, more mature moral judgments are reflected in the differentiations of the moral development stages. The stages comprise a series of moral judgment differentiations from "is," morality as internal principles, to "ought," morality as determined by external events. "Our interactional theory claims that moral judgments and norms are to be ultimately understood as universal constructions of human actors which regulate their social interaction, rather than as passive reflections of either external facts (including psycho- logical states of other humans), or of internal emotions" (Kohlberg, 1972). Kohlberg's notion is that what "is," the cognitive structure behind moral judgment, is a more basic and fruitful area of concern for the study of morals and values than what "ought," either as a reflection of the cognitive structure ("is") or as determined by some external source of authority. A true look at the development of values/morals must not stop short by looking at the “ought" (the prescribed virtues or values), but must for universal and comprehen- sive purposes look at the cognitive structure, the "is." The notions central to understanding Kohlberg's "is" are cognitive structural stages (in contrast to content) and justice as the core of morality. Understanding the importance of the concept 51 of cognitive structure to the moral development theory is basic. The difference between content and structure is central. The dif- ferentiating moral stages listed in Chapter I are defined as the "structures," not the content of values/morals. The choice one [makes in a moral decision is the content of values. The cognitive system or operation which results in that choice is the structure. In simplified terms, cognitive structure is the process through which the raw data of a moral dilemma passes before it emerges as a decision or a choice. "In any given moral situation and on any given moral dilemma, the choice of the respondent is the content, and the underlying organized pattern of thought that constitutes that sub- jects' logic and reasoning forms the structure" (Stewart, 1973). The Concept of Cognitive Stages Closely related to the concept of cognitive structure is that of "stages" of cognitive development. Piaget, in hypothesizing very specific cognitive stages from the sensorimotor modes of thought in the newborn infant to the formal modes of logic employed by the mature human being, described the criteria for developmental stages. Kohlberg elaborates these characteristics or criteria for a credible stage theory as: l. Qualitative differences in the behavior patterns must be observable from one stage to the other. 2. Invariant sequences of development occur through the stages. The order, structure, and organization of stages is univer- sal. The content and rate of progression through the stages may 52 differ from culture to culture or even person to person, but the sequence of development is not altered by individual differences or cultural peculiarities. 3. Structural wholeness or structural integrity_of each stage. Each stage can be identified from the others by underlying characteristic thought organization (cognitive structure). 4. Hierarchical integration of the stages in the develop- mental process. As development is experienced, the stages form a sequence of increasingly differentiated and integrated cognitive structures, with each succeeding stage more complex than the pre- vious stages. The mature stages are the result of assimilation and accommodation leading the cognitive structure to increased integration of the critical aspects of the previous stage into a more mature, articulated, and systematic organization (Kohlberg, 1968). In contrast to the concept of maturation, where all pro- gress is predetermined and time released, stage development is the product of organism-environment transaction. Rate of development varies with each individual in regard to age of entry into each stage, length of stay in the various stages, and level of maturity achieved. Not all individuals will reach all the stages in the sequence. Some never get beyond the earlier stages of development. Stage development concepts do not guarantee completion of the total sequence. "The central hypothesis is merely that cognitive develop- ment is an organized and coherent process of sequential qualitative 53 changes with each stage deriving from and dependent of the preced- ing ones, and requiring the relationship between the organism and its environment" (Stewart, 1973). Justice: A Central Concept Justice is a central concept in the moral development theory. Literature is dominated by philosophies and discussions regarding the importance of justice; these seem adequate to support Kohlberg's argument that justice is the heart of morality. Kohl- berg effectively argues that the integrating and directing principle of morality is a sense of justice. "The claim of principled morality is that it defines the right for anyone in any situation" (Kohlberg, 1971). That claim is in terms of justice, the "primary regard for the value and equality of all human beings, and for reciprocity in human relations" (Kohlberg, 1972). In contrast to principled morality based on justice, "conventional morality defines good behavior for a Democrat, but not for a Republican, for an American, but not for a Vietnamese, for a father but not for a son" (Kohlberg, 1971). "To try to truly understand someone's level of moral develop- ment you must determine that person's developmental level of justice. And that is precisely what the Kohlberg moral development stages are all about: the underlying principles of justice used by people from the lowest stages to the highest and most mature" (Stewart, 1973). Each stage of moral development is characterized by its perspective toward justice. Brief descriptions of the type of jus- tice employed in each stage follow: 54 Stage l.-—-Justice is seen in terms of retaliation and punish- ment emanating automatically from things themselves. Stage 2.-—Expiatory justice makes things "come out even." Justice is realized in penalities to be paid. Stage 3.--Justice is embedded in concern for approval from others and conformity to expectations. Justice is retributive. Stage 4.--Socia1 order, rules and roles, determine justice. What is best for society and the entire community is the basic con- sideration. Retribution is still a part of justice. Stage 5.--Distributive justice replaces retribution. Moral conflicts are resolved by taking the perspective of an impartial spectator and resolving the conflict to do what is best both for the individual and the greatest good for the greatest number of people in the society. Stage 6.--Objectivity toward all perspectives and all claims determines justice. The perspective of the least advantaged is honored. A stage 6 person serves as the ideal moral agent (Stewart, 1973). Basic to an individual's ability to reason with a mature level of justice are two capabilities of logic, reversibility and perspectivity. Kohlberg argues that the concept of understanding reasoning from the viewpoint of justice is similar to understanding cognitive development from the ability to think logically. These notions are directly related to characteristics of cognitive develop-. ment discussed by Piaget during the stage of concrete operations. 55 The concrete operational person evolves logical thought processes and attains reversibility of cognitive operations that were not available in preoperational thought._ Reversibility is the cogni- tive ability to look at an experience, idea, or action backwards and forwards. The individual can review the situation in question and perceive it from more than one viewpoint. The preoperational person can only conceive of a multi-segment event or series of cognitions in the same order in which they were first received. Reversibility allows the individual to look at the various compo- nents of the event in an order other than that which was original. Reversibility is central to the individual's ability to reason with an emerging sense of justice. "Justice requires the ability to see relationships in conflict from all points of view, both backwards and forwards" (Stewart, 1973). Closely related to reversibility is the possibility of perspective from other than an egocentric thought orientation. The preoperational person is dominated in thought by egocentrism, "an inability to assume the viewpoint of others and the lack of a need to seek validation of his own thought from others" (Wadsworth, 1971). The person moving into the concrete stage of thought begins to have an awareness that others can come to reasonable conclusions that are different than his. As a consequence he seeks validation of thoughts from others.. The limit of thought only directed in- ward deteriorates and the individual experiences the beginning of liberation from total egocentrism. Social interaction in its most 56 elementary form begins the breakdown of egocentrism and the intro— duction of perspectivism. "If one is unable to see his point of view and other's points of view (perspectivity) both ways (reversi- bility), then obviously one cannot resolve it justly. What improves with moral maturity, with movement up the moral stages, is the ability to take the other's perspective and to resolve conflicts at ever higher qualitative levels of justice" (Stewart, 1973). The notions of cognitive structure described in stages, and justice as the core of morality and the universal principle underlying all mature values/morals are foundational in Kohlberg's moral development theory. The stages of moral reasoning maturity are cognitive structural stages. They, in detail, meet the pre- viously discussed criteria for stage theory. They identify the deep seated thought patterns that, when operationalized, lead the individual to value choices and moral decisions which are observable in everyday life. While cognitive structure can be observed in the course of normal living, most of that which has been labelled moral- ity or values is content. It is the result of the cognitive struc- ture, not the structure itself. The characteristics of each stage are not necessarily specific solutions to specific moral problems. The words and phrases used to describe the various cognitive struc- tures in the various stages may appear in specific problem solutions, but even then they will most likely represent content and not structure. Identifying structural notions in the individual demands a specific attempt to look beyond content to the mode of reasoning 57 which allowed specific content to emerge. "If a person demonstrates the making of a moral choice by employing a particular kind of struc- tural logic that genuinely represents the characteristics of a particular stage (or if he demonstrates the rejection of the logic of the earlier stages), if he focuses on salient concerns for that stage, and if he understands and employs concepts of justice con- sistent with that stage, then the person is either in that stage of moral development or is in transition to it" (Stewart, 1973). The task of education then is to develop a curricular design and institutional posture that stimulates the student to new levels of cognitive growth in moral reasoning. Such growth increases the ability of the student to respond to a moral dilemma with a higher level of justice. Kohlberg's Dissertation The initial research leading to the basic notions in his moral development theory was Kohlberg's doctoral disseration in 1958. In the introductory remark of the dissertation, Kohlberg states that while the research does have relationship to the discipline of moral philosophy, his basic interest is in the area of social psychology. The purpose of his research was to address a problem which he stated as "How does the impulse and sensation bound infant (or savage) be- come moral?" He posed this question in contrast to the oft attended problem of "How does a child learn his culture"? 58 In preliminary discussion, Kohlberg reviewed the following theories: 1. The Utilitarian Frameworkrepresented by Hume, Smith, Mill, and Stephen. 2. Morality as a Defense against Instinct represented by Freud and Nietzsche. 3. Morality as Respect for Society_as most commonly re- lated to the work of Durkheim. 4. Morality as Society Approved Role-Taking_represented in the works of G. H. Mead. 5. Moral Development Related to Cognitive Characteristics as introduced by Baldwin, Dewey, and Piaget (Kohlberg, 1958). In choosing to base his research on the cognitive characteristics related to moral development, Kohlberg accepted other theoretical approaches as valuable but limited until the issue of cognitive development was investigated. "We wish to provide evidence that moral development is a genuine and fundamental trend in social development. It remains an unverified assumption that all values or social attitudes are alike in form or structure, that all are learned by the same social influence processes regardless of their content, and that this learning may be measured by a strength or a like-dislike rating" (Kohlberg, 1958). His purpose was to set up a general developmental dimension of morality on a basis other than that of cognitive content and strength of various cultural conformi- ties. 59 In reviewing the popular theories, Kohlberg discussed the relationship between Baldwin's and Piaget's concepts. He con- siders Piaget's work to be the empirical laboratory stimulated by Baldwin's armchair theorizing. Both deal with values/moral deve10p- ment in terms of cognitive development. In this respect they are very similar. As concerns the process of cognitive development in relationship to the effect of social relations on morality and values, there is a sizable degree of variance in the respective theories. While Kohlberg agrees with the notion of moral develop- ment being best described in stages, he disagrees with the specific moral stages espoused by Piaget and Baldwin. To answer his research question, Kohlberg developed an extensive, probing, open-ended interview about hypothetical con- flict situations which posed genuine dilemmas to educated adults. Some of these situations were adaptations of those used in previous research by Sharp (1950) and Stendler (1949). The questions used in the interviews were designed to present the conflict between conformity to a rule or authority and the choice of action based on considerations of greatest good utilitarianism. These conflict situations were also designed specifically to elicit an indication of the students' progress in the cognitive areas of reciprocity, distributive equality and reversibility (Kohlberg, 1958). The procedure for the interview was a presentation of a moral dilemma followed by a series of probing questions. The 60 following is an example of the moral dilemmas and suggested ques- tions: Joe was a l4-year-old boy who wanted to go to camp very much. His father promised him he could go if he saved up the money for it himself. So Joe worked hard at his paper route and saved up the $40 it cost to go. His father's friends had decided to go on a special fishing trip and Joe's father was short the money it would cost him to go with them. So he told Joe to give him the money he had saved from the paper route. Joe didn't want to give up going to camp, so he thought of refusing to give his father the money. 0. Should Joe refuse to give his father the money or should he give it to him? Why? Probing Questions A. If should give 1. Would a loyal son have to loan his father the money or is it up to Joe? (Does Joe have a right to refuse?) 2. Does his father have the right to tell Joe to give him the money? (a) Would a good father have asked for the money like that? 3. What would be the best reason for Joe to refuse? B. If should refuse 1. Would a loyal son loan his father the money? 2. Does his father have a right to ask Joe for the money? (Would a good father?) 3. What would be the best reason for Joe to give his father the money? 4. Joe wanted to go to camp but he was afraid to outright refuse to give his father the money. So he gave his father $10 and told him that was all he had made. He took the other $40 he had made and paid for the camp with it. He told his father than the head of the camp said he could go then and pay for it later. So he went off to camp, but his father didn't have enough money to go on the fishing trip with only the $10. 61 Did Joe do wrong in doing that or was he justified in doing that under the circumstances? C. Both 5. Joe's father broke his promise about letting Joe go to camp. Was that wrong or was it all right under the circumstances? 6. Which is worse: a son breaking a promise to his father or a father breaking a promise to his son? Why? Why shouldn't someone break a promise anyhow? 7. Later Joe's father found out that Joe had lied to him about the money. What should his father do when Joe gets back from camp? (If not mentioned) Should he punish Joe for lying? (If merely predicts) What would you do if you were Joe's father? 8. Would the punishment do Joe good when his father had broken his promise in the first place? (Kohlberg, 1958 . The responses of the student were tape recorded to facilitate coding at a later date. Probing questions involving obviously uncompre- hended concepts were not repeated in succeeding dilemma discussions. On three of the dilemmas the interviewer openly disagreed with the student and gave arguments designed to change the mind of the students. These arguments were initiated in "low level" terms. If the child maintained his decision, a higher level argument was introduced. This procedure was used to test both the independence of the students decision and the concepts of developmental levels (Kohlberg, 1958). It is the nature of this investigative procedure that holds impact for this study. Since the initiation of this first study, Kohlberg has limited his investigative procedures to this arduous process believing that it is the only acceptable method for 62 measuring the level of cognitive development in moral reasoning maturity. Other intelligence tests, sociometric tests, and Q sorts of respect for various occupations were given to each of the stu- dents to provide further insight into the data received from the interview. For the project, Kohlberg chose subjects in three age groups, ages 10, 13, and 16 and various socioeconomic and reli- gious groups, including specific choice of a group of delinquent boys. It was believed that a broad range of life-style types within those interviewed would contribute to a more meaningful set of con- clusions. The representativeness sought in the population allowed principles and analyses useful in comprehending development in the extreme or prototypical cases to be considered useful in comprehend- ing the development of any American child in a similar age group. The population for the study consisted of eighty-four boys. 0n the basis of the recorded interviews, Kohlberg set out to construct empirically a developmental type or pattern. It soon became evident that responses clustered together in more than one individual. There seemed to be a limited number of plausible prin- ciples of thought and evaluation of which these clusters could be expressions. The individuals possessing the thought-trait-clusters represented various age and class.groups, indicating that the ‘cluster represented something more than common exposure to some environmental cluster 0f stimuli or cluster of cliches. Refinement 63 and reorganization of the clusters on the basis of several different considerations led to a final schema with three major "levels" (at the time of his dissertation, Kohlberg*called these "stages") each of which was subdivided into two "stages" (called in the dissertation "types"). The bulk of Kohlberg's dissertation describes the analysis of the recorded interviews. In summarizing his data, the responses made to the moral dilemmas were evaluated in light of concepts which seemed most often to occur in the writings of Piaget, Baldwin, Mead, Durkheim, Fauconnot, Bovet and others (Piaget, 1965). Kohlberg dis- cussed the characteristics of each stage of moral development from eight perspectives: 1‘ 19111.9. In what way, or through what cognitive process, did the student attribute value to acts and persons? What were the modes of assessing value consequences in a situation? 2. 9119.12 In thinking through the moral conflict presented, how did the student reach his choice of action or opinion which resolved the conflict? 'The social process of moral argumentation and the ability to make independent choices were carefully evaluated. 3. Sanction To what dominant rewards, punishment, or goals is 64 conformity oriented? What considerations are included in the conformity patterns of the student, and why? 4. Negative Standard.or Rules What are the elements of duty or moral compulsion against which an act is assessed? 5. Self Image and Rule How does the student identify or define a good person or a good role? 6. Authority‘ What is the response of the student to authority and status and what reasons are given for these responses? 7. Content What are the particular rules or virtues stressed by the student? 8. Justice What are the concerns for and concepts of rights and the legitimate relationship of one act to another? What standards of exchange, reciprocity, contract, punishment, and reward operate in the moral choices? (Kohlberg, 1958) Kohlberg introduces the statistical analysis of his data by stating the following four requisits for a test of moral develop- ment. He considers these to be the same as those for intelligence testing. 65 l. The data must be developmental in nature or develop- mentally differentiating: 2. The various tests or situations for their assessment should intercorrelate substantially. 3. The test and data should have some face relationship to the concept at issue. 4. The data should show some correlation with whatever external criteria is available, though no such criteria can be definitive for morality (or intelligence) since these concepts are not defined by any external oreinta- tion. Several aspects of Kohlberg's dissertation are important not only because of their relationship to the completion of this study but because they have also become basic procedures for studies which have led to the refinement of the theory. Research into the Moral Development Theory Kohlberg's dissertation was the initial research effort related to the moral development theory. The theory has been altered and expanded as the result of reanalysis of data and further research conducted by Kohlberg and those who work with him. Basic to this continuing research is the longitudinal study still being carried on with the original boys in the dissertation effort. Every two or three years Kohlberg and his staff reinterview the original subjects, now young men, and carefully synthesize this data with previous material. Much of the research accomplished with the theory has never been 66 published by Kohlberg. It is only mentioned in manuscripts and work- shops associated with Kohlberg. As is true with so many emerging theories, publication of new findings and the synthesis of these into the main body of the theory is lagging years behind the times. The Universalitygof the Development Stages One of the major additions to the theory as initiated by Kohlberg's dissertation is the work done in other cultures permitting the theory to be presented as universal stages of moral development found in all classes and culture. VReviews of the many studies of class differences in Piaget or Kohlberg's measures of moral judg- ment in many cultures all show that the direction of age change is the same for lower class children in all cultures on all measures, showing regular age trends in either class group. . . ." (Kohlberg, 1971). The first cross-cultural studies were completed in vil- lages in Atayal, Malaysia and Taiwan. The moral dilemmas used in Kohlberg's dissertation were adapted for each village. For instance the "Heinz dilemma" on stealing was adapted for the village as follows: Domestic Version In Europe, a woman was near to death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging 10 times what it cost him to make the drug. He paid $200 for the radium, and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband, Heintz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about half of what it cost. He told the druggist 67 that his wife was dying, and asked him‘tO‘sell“it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said “No; I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it, so I won't let you have it unless you pay $2,000 now." ”So, Heintz got desperate and broke into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife. Should Heintz have done that? Why? * Atayal Village Version "A man and his wife just migrated from the high mountains. They started to farm, but there was no rain, and no crops grew. No one had enough food. The wife got sick and finally she was close to dying from having no food. There was only one grocery store in the village, and the storekeeper charged very high prices for the food. The husband asked the storekeeper for some food for his wife, and said he would pay for it later. The storekeeper said "no, I won't give you any food unless you pay first." The husband went to all the people in the village to ask for food, but no one had food to spare. So he got desperate, and broke into the store to steal food for his wife. Should the husband have done that? Why? (Kohlberg, 1971) The extended interview method of analysis was again used. The data support the proposition that the moral development stages are cul- turally universal in the same sequence presented by Kohlberg in earlier studies. Further studies in Mexico, Turkey, and Yucatan support the universality of the theory. 'The Categories of Moral Judgment In his dissertation Kohlberg analyzed the interview data 'from several perspectives which were cited earlier in this chapter. (Jver the past fifteen years, those perspectives have been modified aruj expanded as the result of the continuing domestic and cross- anltural studies. They are called aspects or categories of moral 68 judgment and valuing. Kohlberg builds the notion of moral categories from the Piagetian psychological tradition. "Piaget's structural analysis of cognitive development is based on dividing cognition into basic categories such as logic,.space, time, causality, number. The categories define basic kinds of judgments, or relationships, in terms of which any physical experience must be construed . . . that is, must be located in spatial and temporal coordinates, considered as the effect of a cause, etc." (Kohlberg, 1971). Dewey provides more foundation for this consideration by discussing units of space, time, mass, and energy as definitions that limit the conditions under which judgments in physical science are made. Likewise there are characteristic features, or categories, of ethical science that limit the judgments made in morality and valuing as objects of those judg- ments interrelate with each other. "A discussion of moral judgment from this point of view may be termed the 'Logic of Conduct.‘ Ethi- cal discussion is full of such terms; the sensuous and the ideal, the standard and the right, obligation and duty, freedom and responsibility are samples" (Dewey, 1909). Kohlberg cites three basic categories of moral judgment: 1. The modes (functional kinds) of judgment of obligation and value. 2. The elements (principles) of obligation and value. 3. Universal moral issues or institutions (the application of the categories to content area). 69 Any moral judgment may be simultaneously assigned to a mode, to an element, and to an issue. Each mode, element, and issue is defined at each stage of cognitive development: The modes,_or functional descriptors, of obligation and Judgment of right 2. Judgment of having a right 3. Judgment of duty and obligation 4. Judgments of responsibility . . . conceptions of con- sequences of actions or of the demands on opinions of others one should consider over and above strict duties or strict regard for the rights of others. 5. Judgment of praise or blame. 6. Judgment of punishability and reward. 7. Justification and explanation. 8. Judgments of nonmoral value or goodness. The elements, principles, of obligation and value: 1. Prudence . . . consequence desirable or undesirable to the self. 2. Social welfare . . . consequence desirable to others. 3. Love. 4. Respect. 5. Justice as liberty. 6. Justice as equality. 7. Justice as reciprocity and contract. 70 The universal issues of moral judgment: 1. 2. 3. 10. 11. Social norms Personal conscience Roles and issues of affection Roles and issues of authority and democracy, of division of labor between roles relative to social control. Civil liberties .'. . rights to liberty and equality to persons as human beings, as citizens, or as members of groups. Justice of actions apart from fixed rights . . . reciprocity, contract, trust, and equity in the actions or reactions of one person. Primitive justice Life Property Truth Sex (Kohlberg, 1971). These categories of moral judgment are useful in the assessment inter- views conducted by Kohlberg and his researchers. They provide a framework of concepts for the analysis of the interviews. Without this conceptual scheme for use as an organizing tool, the analysis of the immense quantity of interview verbage would be an extremely cum- bersome task (Blatt and Kohlberg, 1971). 71 The Maturing Process While much of Kohlberg's research has been devoted to the development and clarification of the theory, some of his associates have begun to research some questions that naturally emerge from the theory. The most obvious questions that arise ask how an individual matures from one stage to another. What is it about the organism that stimulates it to grow through the stages in invariant sequence. The organismic-structural-developmental view of man holds that every- one is innately inclined to growth, yet some experience more growth than others. How is growth stimulated? How is the sequence deter- mined? James Rest, one of Kohlberg's associates, investigated the individual's pattern of comprehension and preference for moral stages. This study was an extension of earlier work by Kohlberg, Turiel, and Rest that supported the proposition.that there are hierarchial stages (rf moral judgment. New stages don't simply replace the previous stage, they transform elements of the lower stages into a new, more differentiated and integrated structure. This growth process is called "vertical integration." Rest prepared prototypic statements for each of the six stages and used them as stimulus material. Subjects were asked to (iiscuss those statements. For each of the 47 subjects the discus- sion was scored for degree of understanding of that stage'sconcepts. Subjects had previously been given the moral judgment interview to determine their predominant stage. 72 The study had three hypotheses: 1. Statements at stages above the subject's own stage are increasingly more difficult to comprehend, and state- ments at levels below are comprehended even though the subject does not spontaneously use these levels. Subjects tend to prefer the highest stage comprehended. There should be a match between the subject's spontane- ous stage on the interview and the highest stage that was comprehended of prototypic statements. Subjects were presented the prototypic statements one at a time and asked (a) to give equivalent restatements, (b) to compare the prototypic statement with their own ideas, (c) to evaluate or criticize the statements, (d) to rate each statement from 1 to 5 on the basis of agreement, and (e) to rank order the statements. There were four major findings in the study. 1. Subjects tend to either completely comprehend the state- ments of a stage or completely miss comprehension of a stage. If a subject showed.high comprehension of a stage he also showed high comprehension of the preceding stages. There is a close relation of comprehension scores to the subject's own spontaneous stage of judgment in the pre-test. Up to the subject's own predominant stage, average comprehension scores were high, then they began to fall increasingly as the statements were higher than the subject's level. 73 4. The highest stage used in the pretest (not necessarily the predominant stage) was the best prediction of com- prehension. A large majority of subjects who used stages above their predominant stage also showed com- prehension of these higher stages. There were also two major findings in the area of statement or stage preference. 1. Subjects tended to prefer the highest stage compre- hended. 2. Of all statements, both those comprehended and those not comprehended, subjects tended to prefer the highest stage statement (Rest, 1971). Rest's study, both in technique and findings, is helpful. Elements of its design are potentially helpful in designing a new instrument and the findings are important as foundations for the relationship of the theory to curricular design and evaluation. Moshe Blatt and Kohlberg conducted an experiment applying the data regarding stage preference and comprehension to the educa- tional endeavor. This study is a follow-up of work by Turiel and Rest into similar areas of concern. The moral development theory 'hnplies that "the aim of moral.education is the stimulation of the next;step of development rather than indoctrination into the fixed conventions of the school, the church,-or the nation. It. assumes that movement to the next step of development rests not only on exposure to the next level of thought, but to experiences of conflict 74 in the application of the child's current level of thought to prob- lematic situations" (Blatt and Kohlberg, 1973). Two basic principles must be employed to stimulate growth in moral development: 1. Genuine moral conflict, uncertainty, and disagreement about conflict situations must be experienced by the student. 2. The presentation of modes of thought one stage above the predominant stage of the student stimulates reso- lution of the conflict in a growth producing manner. These two principles were operationalized with junior and senior high school students. "The essential rationale was to expose the children to cognitive conflict about moral reasoning, to the aware- ness of different moral points of view, and to expose them to judg- ments one stage above their own; by encouraging children at adjacent stages to argue and discuss until some change of the lower stage children took place" (Blatt and Kohlberg, 1971). The design of the study was pretest, experiment, posttest with control groups. It was initiated in a Jewish Sunday School and replicated in a public school. The pretest indicated a range of stage 1 to stage 4 level of maturity in the groups. For a period of twelve weeks the groups were led in discussions of moral conflict situations with the group leader guiding the discussion to assure that each of the participants was "argued" with statements one stage above his own. 75 The classroom experience led to a significant increase in moral judgment maturity. The increase was still evident one year after the study. The mean increase in maturity by the Jewish Sunday School class experimental group was 66 percent of one stage. The control groups moved in moral judgment maturity in a range of ~17 percent to +8 percent of one stage. Of the experimental child- ren, 63 percent moved up one stage, 9 percent moved up half a stage and 28 percent remained at the same stage. The mean stage increase for the public school students was one-third of a stage. Values Research Faithfulness to Kohlberg's moral development theory assumes a commitment to cognitive structural considerations in contrast to cognitive content classifications. With the exception of the research completed by Kohlberg and his associates, research on values/morals has been limited to considerations of content. While there is a sizeable body of research which in some way uses the terms "values" and "morals," its considerations are focused on contentual.specifi- cations and not structural dimensions. Given a commitment to the structural nature of the moral development theory, no significant body of research regarding values/morals concerns outside the works of Kohlberg and his associates has been reported. A major requirement in the application of the moral develop- ment theory to curricular evaluation is the identification of assess- ment procedures which are practical for the average teacher. While the theory has not given itself to typical assessment procedures, a 76 review of previously employed “values" assessment instruments con- sidered in light of the theory provides some guidance for instrument design. While a marriage between the theory and commonly used psychometric techniques has been considered unworkable by those closely related to the development of the theory, an introductory courtship between the two is the heart of the study. Caution must be exercised not to force the theory out of shape in order to make it appropriate for psychometric measurement. Quality assessment also requires that this project not distort basic measurement guide- lines in seeking to relate the theory to reasonable and manageable assessment procedures. "The classic instrument purporting to measure value types in human personality is the Allport—Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values" (Thomas, 1969). This test is based on the theories of Edward Spranger who proposed that human personalities are most clearly revealed in their evaluative attitudes or values. Spranger classi- fied personality into six types: (1) the theoretical, (2) the economic, (3) the aesthetic, (4) the social, (5) the political, and (6) the religious (Spranger, 1928). The six types were identified in the following manner: 1. The theoretical person was interested in the discovery of truth and the relationship of ideas. 2. The economic person expressed concern for that which was useful and efficient. 77 3. The aesthetic individual was interested in form and harmony. 4. The social person was committed to interest in and love for people. 5. The political person evidenced an interest in power. 6. The religious individual expressed a desire for com- prehension of and unity with the cosmos as a whole. In 1931, G. W. Allport and P. E. Vernon developed and published their test designed on Spranger's theory with the intent to empirically test the conclusions of the theory. Since its intro- duction the test has been widely used and has been reviewed consis- tently in the research literature. Since its publication in 1931, the Study_of Values test has been revised twice, the most recent revision being published in 1961. The test is composed of forty-five items employing a forced—choice technique of response and interdependent item scoring. The total score must reach 240, with final scores for the six value- variables thereby reflecting only the relative intensity of each value, not absolute strength. This scoring design has received some criticism because a high score in one variable demands a cor- responding low score in other variables. To identify strength in one value orientation the individual also indicates weakness in another orientation (Lurie, 1973). W. A. Lurie and L. L. Thurstone in reviewing the Study of Values test also indicate that the econo- mic, social and political variables tend to measure more than one 78 basic orientation within that variable. For instance, the economic variable items reflect two kinds of economic value orientations: the thrift tendency and the materialistic desire for money and things. Likewise the social and political variables seem to mea- sure multiple and different concepts within the variable (Thurstone, 1954). Wesley Poe and Walter Thomas both developed values assess— ment instruments using the Lickert response mode asking the subject to choose intensity of agreement or disagreement with the statement. Poe's Intensity of Values instrument used a five point response opportunity (Poe, 1954). Thomas' Differential Value Profile elimi- nated the "undecided" option in the five point scale believing that it gave opportunity for distortion in the data (Thomas, 1969). Maller and Glaser constructed an "Interest-Values Inven- tory" which is based in part on the Allport—Vernon "Study of Values." This inventory employs two ranking procedures and self rating for its assessment. The instrument consists of five parts with two parts using relative ranking alternatives, one part using what the authors call "absolute rating" and the remaining two parts using self-ratings (Maller and Glaser, 1939). These studies represent the three basic types of response modes that have been used to investigate an individual's orienta- tion to a set of values, perspectives, interests, or life styles. They are worthy of brief review here not because what they assess is similar in nature to that being assessed in this project but 79 because they are used in projects whose goals are similar to assess- ment goals of the study. Each of the above mentioned instruments has been designed to measure an individual's orientation to a set of value-related personality traits or personality characteristics. In these projects, much of the work in instrument development and criticism reflects concern as to whether or not that being measured is theoretically as clear as desirable. Factor analysis studies on several of these instruments indicate much flexibility in defi- nition of terms and description of behaviors hypothetically indicat- ing a commitment to the basic traits and characteristics being measured (Thomas, 1969). The moral deve10pment theory does not attempt to isolate or describe basic value orientations. It looks behind value orien- tation to discover the cognitive structures and processes which host the various value/moral orientations. For Spranger, who initiated the studies of the six types of values orientation, choice related to value was determined by the strength of the individual's commit- ment to one or more of the six basic characteristics. This early work in values measurement seemingly became a guide for others who defined personality traits in value terms and measured those traits. The moral development theory asks the more basic question of how cognitive processes, because of structure, give solution to value- laden or moral conflict questions. 'Regardless of personality type, Kohlberg's work indicates an invariant sequence of cognitive stages to which each individual is subject in his growth toward maturity in moral reasoning. 80 There is reason to suggest, however, that the methods employed in the previously reviewed studies have potential for measuring more than cognitive content. In his “Differential Value Profile," Thomas selected "values areas as factors" which were con- sidered basic. He tapped the theories of Spranger, Woodruff,’ Wichert, and Murray and adjusted these with the help of the fac- torial studies of value instruments by Brodger, Lurie, and Duffy and Grissey. The value factors used by Thomas.were: l. Aesthetic.—-a person who perceives his environment according to its form, beauty, harmony, etc. 2. Humanitarian.:-a person characterized by love for people. 3. Intellectual.--a person who emphasizes the rational and cognitive things of life. 4. Material.--a person for whom economic worth is pri- mary. 5. Power.--a person given to control and leadership of persons and things in his environment. 6. Religious.--a person deeply committed to a cherished relationship with the Divine and to transcendent and lofty purposes (Thomas, 1969). Initially these descriptions of personality types appear to be basically contentual.in nature. Each of them, however, could be identified as potential orientations in several moral development stages. In solving a hypothetical moral dilemma from the perspec- tive of each of these personality types in each of the Kohlberg 81 stages, it becomes evident that these content orientations are not unrelated to cognitive structure. 'For instance, an individual classified as "material" in his value orientations would find it very difficult to move into the principled level of moral reason- ing. Most likely this person would tend to maintain a level 1, stage 2 plateau of moral reasoning ability. A person characterized as truly "humanitarian" would of necessity have to have moved to a high level II or level III of moral reasoning maturity. The ego- centrism of level I is difficult to correlate with true humanism. The definitions of the value traits "imply" a range of cognitive moral reasoning maturity. Consideration of Kohlberg's theory often infers the notion that cognitive content is functionally inferior to structure in considerations of moral reasoning maturity and therefore less important or useful in assessment procedures. Kohlberg's assessment procedures have, in fact, as has been pre- viously mentioned, sought only to use content as a direct entry to structure. Further research must answer the question "to what degree can we accurately infer structure from items that consist of carefully worded content"? Research Identifying Cogpjtive Structure Research probes into cognitive structure are relatively new. The majority of these efforts investigate structure as it relates to basic intelligence or personality. In all of these 82 efforts there is an assumption leap between the data in the instru- ment and the structural properties the data supposedly reveals. Schroder and Suedfeld in Personality_Theory and Informa- tion Processing, review the various attempts of objective and quantitative measurement of structural characteristics. The basic aspects of structure are listed as follows: 1. Differentiation: the number of elementary dimensions (stable, unique orderings of stimuli) in a complex cognitive structure. 2. Discrimination: the fineness of organization among the stimuli that are ordered along a given dimension. 3. Integration: the complexity of the schemata that determine the organization of several dimensions involved in a complex cognitive structure (Schroder and Suedfeld, 1971). Piaget would probably describe differentiation as the result of assimilation; discrimination as the result of accommodation; and integration as the result of equilibration. The maturity of the cognitive structure is seen by Schroder and Suedfeld as the inte- gration among dimensions and by Piaget as the level of the struc- tural development. The history of the measurement of structural properties is reviewed in three sections, that which measures differentiation, discrimination, and integration. Central to the development of these measures is the theorized relationship of the abstract- concrete continuum to the high integration-low integration 83 continuum. A person able to exhibit high degree of abstractness is assumed to be highly integrated in his cognitions (or mature in his cognitive structure). As relates to personality types, the authoritarian person was found to be weak in discrimination and the nonauthoritarian strong in this structural property. Three types of tests have been used to measure differen- tiation; the object sorting test, the role concept reperatory test, and the multidimensional scaling. Object sorting was initially designed to test for brain damage. A subject Was asked to sort stimulus objects into categories on the basis of as many different relationships as he could conceive. The number of categories used measured differentiation. This technique was reduced to paper and pencil by Sloane and Clayton at Pennsylvania State University in 1959. Scott improved on this technique in 1962 (Scott, 1962). The Role Concept_Repertory test, usually referred to as the Rep test, was first developed by Kelly as a measure of the differentiations used in perceiving other persons (Kelly, 1955). This is a paper and pencil test which needs improvement but exhibits promise in identifying the ability of the subject to differentiate. Multidimensional Scaling is a technique of psychological measurement identifying the various ordinal dimensions a person uses in making judgments. Revisions of the process since 1954 have adapted it to use in social dimensions and with subjects who could be considered other than average. Initially the method seemed 84 limited to physical dimensions and was thought to be inappropriate for describing the dimensions of the "abnormal" person. Much of the work in adapting MOS to social dimensions has been carried on by S. Messich in cooperation with Abelson, Jackson and Tucker. While the three measurement methods briefly described above are limited in their ability to assess differentiation with complete satisfaction, the combination of the three is recommended as an "effective measure of differentiation." Discrimination is the second aspect of structure for which measurement procedures have been developed. "Discrimination is the capacity of a dimension to distinguish stimuli. Dimensions with abstract organizing schemata are expected to have mechanisms that enable them to identify a wide range and variety of stimuli" (Schroder and Suedfeld, 1971). The measurable manifestations of discrimination are: (a) stimulus range, (b) fineness of'discrimi- nation, (c) capacity to delay stimulus assignment, and (d) scale flexibility. For the abstract characteristics of stimulus range adaptations of measures like object sorting, the Rep test, Mes- sich's category width test, and Pettigrew's category width test are listed as appropriate instruments. Scale level, the fineness with which a dimension discriminates in various categories, can be measured by three techniques: ratio estimation best developed by Torgensen; direct rating of internal placement of stimuli in test and retest; and Multidimensional Scaling. Adaptations of Pettigrew's category width test are used to measure the tendency 85 to delay final assignment of stimuli and is coupled with various versions of object sorting to measure the flexibility of information processing in a dimension. The ability of the structure to integrate is considered the most relevant aspect to be investigated. When looking at in- tegration, the task becomes far more complex because more than one dimension is being considered. "When focusing on integration we need some technique that allows us to specify and directly examine some complex, multidimensional schema (Scott, 1961). The only two methods suggested for measuring integration are Multidimen- sional Scaling and analysis of Verbal responses. Extending the basic MDS technique used in measuring differentiation and discri- mination, MOS can be used to infer integration in complex schema. The analysis of verbal responses is, of course, the method used by Kohlberg and his associates in their extended inter- view technique. Other types of verbal responses that have been analyzed are: (a) incomplete sentence stems, (b) incongruent adjectives as a stimulus for impression formation, (c) essay answers to questions, and (d) statements of factors necessary for decision making by individuals and groups. Analysis of verbal responses demands explicit instructions and thorough training for the judges or raters. As is true with the measurement procedures previously discussed, much of the research available for structural assess- ment in verbal responses is limited to identification of cognitive complexity in terms of intelligence or psychological constructs. 86 There are two significant factors observable in this brief review of structural measurement techniques. First, all of the procedures discussed have been translated in one form or another to paper and pencil instruments. For general utilization the weakness of several of the techniques in their original form was the inability to adapt them to group use. This and other perceived weaknesses in the technique stimulated various researchers in the past twenty years (Sloane, 1959, Clayton, 1959, Jackson, 1961, Scott, 1962, Messich, 1960, Kelly, 1955, Tucker, 1963, and others) to revisions of the instruments that have made them more useful in nonclinical settings. It must be noted here that several of the transformations to paper and pencil procedures have weakened the procedures in the breadth of their measurement. As originally designed the procedures were seen to measure more variety in the structural aspect being assessed. The limitations of packaged wording in the paper and pencil procedure directly affect the thoroughness of the measurement procedure. The mea- surement of structure seems to be best achieved when the subject is free to do whatever his structure allows him to do with given stimuli. Limiting that freedom by presenting prepackaged ideas or orientations tends to narrow the measurement. Even with this limitation, the transformations to paperhand-pencil instruments have been noteworthy. They represent encouraging progress in the maturing of the art of measuring various aspects of cognitive structure. 87 Secondly, the conclusions from all the measurement procedures discussed above are inferences about structure. In some of the measures the inferences are possible because of theoretical connections which are open to question. The "infer- ence leap" required in some cases is sizeable. Consistently throughout the literature the bridge between that which is mea- sured and that which is concluded is a series of assumed relation- ships reasonably definable within the theory. Because that which hopefully is measured is cognitive structure and not content, the relationship between data and conclusions is heavily dependent on inference. All measurement requires some inference. Struc- tural measurement will mature as the size of the "inference leap" is narrowed. Values and Structural Assessment Two objective types of response seem most often to appear in various measurement procedures involving the concepts of "values" and "cognitive structure." The Likert Method of in- tensity choice provides an opportunity to assess a subject's response pattern to a series of statements. The forced-choice response mode is used in a variety of ways to isolate a subject's preference for one statement over another or several others. Four important considerations stand out in the cognitive structure research literature: 1. Ideally a method of assessment should permit the investigator to gain construct relevant information 88 through a range of sources. A variety of assessment procedures is preferable to reliance on a single method. In general it seems that stimulus situations implying conflict, uncertainty, and control in a given domain produce more construct relevant responses than other approaches. A major requirement of reliable and valid assessment is a thorough grasp of the theoretical variables describing structural variations. Regardless of structural concepts being researched, the researcher must have an extensive understanding of the theory before he can design reasonable measurement procedures. Three variables that have the greatest affect.on test response are verbal fluency, social desirability, and intelligence. Verbal fluency is especially signifi- cant and potentially troublesome in essay or sentence completion analysis procedures. The temptation is to confuse verbal fluency with structure complexity. Social desirability stimulates a subject to choose responses or make statements that he assumes would.be desired by the test administrator. Basic intelligence is related.to structural integration (some theorists suggest they are identical) but the specifics of the relationship are not clear or uniformly agreed upon. 89 Kohlberg and his associates have used analysis of exten- sive verbal responses as the primary assessment procedure for the moral development theory. No other structural assessment techni- que has been developed to match its quality. Measures of the level of information processing are most valid when the individual generates the response. Research techniques used in values and structure assess- ment have limited relationship to the structure perspective of the moral development theory. Previous research does, however, intro- duce the various assessment procedures which.have been considered as potentially useful in the areas under consideration. It is evident that the objective measurement of cognitive structure is very young science needing a vast amount of pioneering. Summar The moral development theory provides a new basis for approaches to values development education. In its theoretical formulations it stands in contrast to both traditional authoritarian- ism and values relativity approaches. The concepts of wholistic organisms, cognitive structure and cognitive development are basic to the moral development theory. Cognitive structures develop as the organism transacts with the environment. Various operationalizations of justice are evidence of levels of cognitive development in areas of values and moral choice. John Dewey and Jean Piaget have provided the background 90 for many of these theoretical concepts on which Lawrence Kohlberg constructed the moral development theory. Kohlberg initiated his research with a study of 70 boys in Chicago. This study has since been extended into a longitudi- nal study still in operation and has been duplicated in other cultures. The extension and cross-cultural duplication of the study has resulted in its refinement and claims that its concepts are universal. Central to the issue of the current study is the moral reasoning maturity assessment process used by Kohlberg. Because the theory relates to the cognitive structure (in con- trast to cognitive content), assessment procedures have been limited to lengthy probing interviews attempting to identify the pattern of reasoning behind moral and value choices. The assessment techniques most commonly used in such values research have been forced choice, sentence completion and attitude rating. There is limited research into the concept of cognitive structure. Cognitive differentiation, discrimination, and integration have been studied largely by three methods: object sorting, the role concept reperatory test, and multidimen- sional scaling. These tests have employed verbal response instru- ments and, to a limited extent, forced choice tests and attitude scales. CHAPTER III DESIGN AND PROCEDURE The purpose of the research was to develop and test a generalizeable model of a procedure to assess values/moral impact through a curricular experience. The approach to design of pro- cess and assessment was achieved through the development of a specific instrument. The theoretical base for the assessment was the Kohlberg theory of cognitive moral development. Public and private education increasingly recognizes its participation in values/moral development. A history of varied approaches to values/moral development has seen rigid indoctrina— tion at one extreme and values relativity at the other. The results have been unsatisfactory. Into this climate Kohlberg introduced the moral development theory. He and his associates have researched and theoretically analyzed the relationship between values/moral development and cognitive development. The result is a fairly complex theory which is steadily gaining respect in the deliberations of those concerned with values/moral develop- ment education. The moral development theory looks beyond the content of an individual's value decisions to the cognitive structure 91 92 leading to those decisions. The organism in transaction with the environment develops cognitively along a series of six moral development stages. Kohlberg and his associates have theorized these cognitive stages to be universal, invariant, and basic for all moral development. Values/moral development education con- sists of educational stimulation to higher levels of cognitive development in the moral arena. As the moral development theory continues to be validated, its application to the daily activity of the school seems highly desirable. The educational experience enjoyed (endured) by each person is in reality immoral if it fails to stimulate the maturing of one's ability to make moral choices. While every aspect of the existence of the school should be reviewed in light of its contri- bution (or lack of it) to values/moral reasoning development, this project specifically initiates some considerations of curricular evaluation in light of the moral development theory. A basic assumption indirectly tested in this project was stated in two parts: 1. The Kohlberg theory of the cognitive structural developmental approach to values/moral reasoning is useful in assessment of individual growth in values/moral reasoning through curricular experiences. 2. If the theory is useful in evaluating an individual's response to a curricular experience, it can also be useful in evaluation of a curricular design. 93 The task was not to prove or disprove the theory. While the theory is young, it has a decent foundation in the research completed by Kohlberg and others. It is continuing to stimulate new research. The use of the theory in curricular evaluation is the focus of this study. The choice of Kohlberg's theory as the framework for this study posed some complex considerations in instrument design. The theory and related assessment procedures were not developed with the classroom teacher in mind. The major problem faced using Kohlberg's theory for curricular evaluation was Kohlberg's complex assessment procedures which are individualized in nature and extremely time consuming in function. For their fifteen year longitudinal study, Kohlberg and his associates developed an intricate and lengthy individual inter— view technique as their tool for assessment of values/moral reason- ing maturity. Each interview with each student uses detailed discussion relating to several moral dilemmas presented by the interviewer. The responses of the student are recorded and later studied and scored by the researcher. Such a clinical approach to assessment is not only complex in its design but extremely cumber- some with larger groups of persons and limits of time. Kohlberg has suggested that each interview requires a minimum of 90 minutes and maximum of 150 minutes. The usefulness of the theory in curricular evaluation is directly related to the adaptability of the theory to the individual classroom and the specific curricular endeavor. 94 The Research Problem The Kohlberg assessment design and procedure is func- tionally inappropriate for the average teacher and classroom. It is too lengthy, difficult to administer, and complex to score. The problem addressed in the study was how the current moral development theory assessment procedure can be reduced to pro- cesses and concepts usable in the classroom. The development of a model instrument served only as a means to the primary goal. The questions asked in the deve10pment of the instru- ment were more of a conceptual nature than they were of a statis- tical nature. The Kohlberg theory of values/moral development and its antecedent Piagetian concepts lead to the expectation that within a given curricular experience the amount and kind of learning that takes place in the values/moral arena depends on: 1. The clarity of the communication effort. 2. The relationship between the level of values/ moral reasoning in the presented information and the maturity of values/moral reasoning in the student. Evaluating the impact of a curricular experience in values/moral deve10pment is a complex and basically unexplored problem. Kohlberg and Rest have conducted some research on the effectiveness of approaches to stimulating values/moral develop- ment. Their research attempted to clarify developmental patterns 95 more than to evaluate curricula. Curricular evaluation using moral development theory focuses on complex relationships sug- gested in the theory. Even with an adequate and acceptable level of communication design and skills, the complexity of the Kohlberg theory makes curricular evaluation a challenging task with several interrelated variables. One variable (or set of variables) is the curricular message which of necessity contains factors from both Kohlberg's "content" and "structure" domains. It is also couched in one or more levels or stages of values/moral reasoning. Blatt and Kohlberg state that a message must exhibit two principles if it is to stimulate values/moral reasoning growth. The message must: 1. "Arouse genuine moral conflict, uncertainty, and disagreement about genuinely problematic situations, and 2. contain presentations of modes of thought one stage above the child's own" (Blatt and Kohlberg, 1971). A second variable is the student's characteristics both in terms of content and structure. The content of the student's approach to morality is open to cognitive conflict prompting the possibility of structural revision. Issues of content are the gateway for new or revised cognitive structures. The third variable is suggested in the concept of equi- libration. Equilibration is the cognitive adjustment necessary 96 vvhen the learner's content and structure transact with the instruc- 1:ional experience's content and structure. The initial question posed by the study asked concerning the usefulness of Kohlberg's theory in evaluating the impact of a curricular experience on values/moral development issues. To an- swer this question an attempt was made to develop an instrument to assess the impact of a values/moral laden curricular experience. Basic to the development of the instrument was identification of measurable factors and relationships that indicate predictable changes in values/morals reasoning maturity as a consequence of a given curricular experience. The first stages of instrument development provided working data, the interrelationships of which were carefully considered before refinement of the instrument was possible. Research Questions The research questions relate to the translation of an 'intricate interview assessment procedure into a simplified proce- cthe. The following questions called for some response if the F>r~oject was to reflect any responsibility to the moral development tzrieory on which it is based. 1. Can we look at cognitive structure through the use (D‘F’ responses to stimuli which appear to be content? The use of the personal interview for assessment data allows the researcher the flexibility of continual new tacks if the respondent's reaction is nonstructural in nature. A paper and pencil instrument enjoys no such 97 flexibility and therefore must be designed to eliminate as much as possible the "content only" response. 2. Can we do justice to the notion of "values/moral treasoning ability," in its broadest concepts, by looking at one \Jalues/moral issue presented in a curricular experience? The concept of values/moral reasoning maturity as Kohlberg discusses it is a wholistic cognitive notion. The evaluation of a curricular experience is limited in cognition to one or a few concerns much less expan- sive than the total person concerns of the moral deve10pment theory assessment model. How can we avoid injustice to the theory in using it for assessment of impact on values/moral reasoning for a single curricu- lar design or experience? 3. Can we develop an evoluation instrument that objec- ‘tifies the moral development theory without losing contact with cognitive structure? . The process of looking through content to cognitive structure demands that the respondent take a position on a values/moral dilemma and provide reasons why that position is a legitimate choice. This is a two-stage interview process. The instrument to be developed must reflect this two-stage inquiry process. 4. How can the instrument developed be designed to ref] ect basic concepts of the theory without distorting the theory? 98 A theory as complex as the moral development theory, with all its potential for values/moral develop- ment education, runs the risk of becoming a new fad for educational novelty sellers, thereby becoming abortively diluted. Can a simplified assessment technique avoid simplifying the theory beyond credibility? 5. What objective mode of inquiry can best be used to assess cognitive structure? The answer to this question may still be several studies away but some initial effort will be made in the study to suggest reasonable, just directions. The WorkipggHypothesis The working hypothesis was best stated in two parts: 1. The assessment of values/moral reasoning maturity as described in the moral development theory is useful and prac- tical in curricular evaluation. 2. The assessment procedures implicit in the moral development theory are reducible to a paper and pencil instrument developable by the curricular evaluator thoroughly acquainted with the theory. Data Supportive of the Hypothesis Part two of the working hypothesis received the greatest attention in the study. In the average classroom setting, Part one 99 of the hypothesis is dependent on the development of a simplified assessment procedure for the moral development theory. Part two of the hypothesis was tested by comparing the results of personal assessment interviews with the assessment of the developed instru- ment and by evaluating the degree to which the instrument performs as expected. The moral development theory implies some necessary rela— tionships between curriculum and student if values/moral reasoning growth is to be realized. Two principles of stimulating growth are mentioned earlier in this chapter: the student's position on an issue must be in conflict and the discussion surrounding the con- flict must be couched in concepts definitive of a stage one stage above his own. The data from the developed instrument: 1. gave indication that the instrument does in fact measure the moral reasoning, cognitive structure of the student, and 2. gave evidence of the change in the cognitive function of the student on the curricular subject. Given the analysis of the curricular experience from the perspective of the moral deve10pment theory and the assessment of the level of values/moral reasoning maturity of the student, several expected directions of change (even though very small in size) were predicted and reflected in the data from the instrument. For instance, since the curricular experience is a presentation that is modally at stage 2, 100 the students who register in pro-curricular interviews to be modally stage 1 should indicate the strongest indication toward stage shift and the greatest attitudinal change. Likewise, for stage 3 students in a stage 2 curricular experience, there should be minimal effect on the attitude and values/moral reasoning level. Specific relationships were generated in harmony with the theory when more was known about the values/moral reasoning level of the students and the curricular experience. The Research Design The study approached curricular evaluation through mea- surement of the impact of a curricular experience on the values/ moral reasoning maturity of the students. There were four primary functions involved in the development of the assessment instrument. 1. The choice of the curricular experience that was evaluated. 2. The determination of the population used in the in- strument development. 3. The development of early versions of the instrument. 4. The application of the curricular experience and the assessment instrument followed by evaluation of the instrument. Several of these functions were operational concurrently to facili- tate their necessary interaction. Interpretation of the data in light of the expected results required an additional activity, that 101 of an analysis of the curricular experience in terms of the moral development theory. The Curricular Experience With the focus of this study on the issue of curricular impact on values deve10pment, it was necessary to consider cur- ricular theory in light of the limitations of the study. Ideally, curricular experiences are viewed as mosaics of experiences, designed or facilitated by the teacher and informally influenced by the setting. Seldom is curriculum viewed in single segments of activity, especially curriculum related to values/moral development. It is unlikely that there are any single instructional experiences that are independently responsible for marked growth in values/moral rea- soning. Likewise there are no moral issues which exist without re- lationships to a host of other issues. To reduce the number of variables that must be considered, this study, being introductory in nature, looked at a relatively uncomplicated curricular experi- ence. More complex curricular considerations were appropriately entertained once the possibility of instrument development was carefully considered. Given the validity of the techniques, pro- cesses, and concepts investigated in this project, the usefulness of'the model can be considered for the flexible, multi-variable setting of the complex curriculum and classroom. 102 Every curricular mosaic is constructed of individual pieces. Each makes its own unique contribution to the whole. The development and testing of this assessment tool was related to one of the individual pieces of a values/moral deve10pment curriculum mosaic. The film "High on the Campus," produced by Youth Films, a division of Gospel Films, Inc., Muskegon, Michigan, was chosen as the curricular experience for this study. A film was chosen because of the constancy of its teaching over the six month period of the data collection phase of the study. A film, no matter how often replicated, always behaves in the same manner. This par- ticular film was chosen because it relates to the moral issue of drug abuse. Drug abuse is not only a contemporary issue, it is one that seems to be somewhat less conceptually complicated than other issues. It can be more clearly defined than many other moral issues. "High on the Campus" is taken from a book by the same name authored by Gordon McLean of San Jose, California (McLean, 1969). The film is a series of dramatic interviews with young people and adults who have had first-hand experience with drugs. It is 55 minutes in length with the clear purpose of stimulating ,young people to avoid drug abuse. "High on the Campus" was chosen from among other films because it has a record of consistent use in public schools and favorable evaluation by school personnel. 103 The Population According to the Management of Youth Films, Inc., the film was produced for secondary education students, with emphasis on grades 9 through 12. Thus, the students involved in this pro- ject were from those grades. After very early development of the instrument, the film was shown, the instrument administered, and interviews were held with three general types of students; public school students, church oriented students, and delinquent teenagers. These groups were only casually defined since no effort is made to guarantee that there are no church—oriented students in the public school group, delinquents in the church groups, or public school students in the delinquent groups. There is no attempt to generalize the conclusions of the study to a larger population, therefore rigorous sampling proce- dures for choosing the participants were not required. The three types of groups were chosen to allow a greater range of life-style and academic achievement within the same general age group. Instrument Development In the development of an instrument to assess impact on values/moral reasoning using the moral development theory, priority 1~as given to the need for the instrument to be understandable, m_ No. mgu no acouoewcmom mucmcmmm_o monocm :mmzumms NN.¢- o¢.- mN.~- mN.- pm.- mo.- op.- om.- wN.- m oN.- mp.- NF. mp.- No. mm.- _N.- mo.- NF. N oN.m- 0—.1 No.P- mm._- mm.- op. NF.- oN.- o_. F mmpowucwco smmwo 2o; xFTEoo mucmwcm mcopoo new: xoom Pouch goose mmpoomloom .Epoe mop to u_:mmc mop mo Pm>m_ swoop ummwoc m ooocm coo .mmcocu ~m>m_ oc omucmwsmoxm N ooosm .mcwcomooc mo ~m>mF ms» omLmZop 0:3 mmozp eo mumomcou F oooco .Epwe on» op mmcoomms cw N$P;W.Pm>mp op mowucouoo umooocm mcoms pewsm muouwppo mpoumuosm coo Pouch .o_ mpoop 147 less attitudinal shift. Those whose level of reasoning was stimu- lated toward change, experienced the larger attitudinal shift. Question 0: Does the level of values/moral reasoning maturity possessed by the student indicate the amount of attitude shift realized as the result of seeing the film? To look at this question, the level of values/moral rea- soning maturity as indicated by the pre-test was tabulated for each individual. The lowest pre-test score was 1.56 with the highest being 2.12. Table 11 identifies the frequency for each of the increments between 1.56 and 2.12. The 132 participants were divided into three groups: (a) those with scores 1.56-1.75 (level 1) in group one, (b) those with a score of 1.81 (the mean) in group two, (c) and those with 1.87-2.13 (high stage 3 through stage 6) in group three. Group one had 47 participants, group two 41, and group three 44. The division was made on the rationale that those with the score of 1.81 definitely reflected the median and because they were approx- imately one-third of the population, those below and above 1.81 being the other thirds, the population could be divided into approximate thirds on the basis of low, median and high scores. Comparing the gain scores in attitude shift for these three groups allowed consideration of whether there was a difference in attitude shift for those with low scores as compared to those with high scores. While the mean attitude shift for all these groups was negative (toward favoring drug abuse), the statistical analysis indicates that there was no significant difference in the size of Table 11. 148 Frequency of moral reasoning level scores on VIA pre- test. * Moral reasoning pre-test level score Number of students 1.56 1 1.52 9 1.68 10 47 1.75 27 1.81 41 41 1.87 14 1.93 12 2.00 11 44 2.06 6 2.13 1 the shift for the three groups (see Appendix G). The level of values/moral reasoning possessed previous to seeing the film did not seem to affect the response to the film. Table 12 indicates the mean shift for these groups. Question E: Does the level of values/moral reasoning maturity posessed by the student previous to seeing the film indicate readiness or lack of readiness to consider thought structure of a higher level as the result of seeing the film? The same grouping used to consider question 0 was used for this question. The analysis indicates that there was some shift in the level of values/moral reasoning, as indicated by com- paring the post-film assessment with the pre-film assessment, but 149 -mm.N- no.1 mP.F- Pm.P- om.- No.1 Nm.- no.1 mm. m mn._- NP.- . no.1 mo. om.- N_.- oo.- No. oN.- N on.m- mo.- NF._- NF.F- co.- No.1 _N. _m.- m_.- _ mmpooo:_co me_4 3o; xposoo mocmwcm meopoo one: xvom ~opop ooocw mmpoumlnzm .cowums on» m>ooo mmocp m ooocm uco .cooume on» N ooogm .cowome mop zoFmo among eo mpmomcou F macaw .mposopoe mcocomomc we Pm>mF “www-mco op mcoccouuo cmooocm mpeosm muouvppo some goosm mFoumuoom coo Pouch .N_ mpooh 150 the shift was from both high and low extremes to the mean. It is likely that this is due more to the regression effect than it is to the effect of the film. Table 13. Mean level shift grouped according to pre-test level scores. Group 1 consists of those below the median, group 2 the median, and group 3 those above the median. Group Level Shift 1 7.30 2 1.22 3 -8.93 Since the scores converge toward the mean from both extremes, the phenomenon of regression must be seriously considered. Question F: Is stimulation to consider higher levels of values/ moral reasoning or shift in attitude about drugs as the result of seeing the film different for: The two sexes? Various school grades? Various age groups? Students of various backgrounds? COW) Because all the participants in the delinquent groups were males, the question of whether males and females react dif- ferently to the film was considered only for the groups from public school and church-related activities. Analysis of the gain scores for males and females is indicated in Table 14. There is no significant difference between sexes in their reaction to the film (see Appendix G). 151 .Pm>mp mo. won an acouoewcmwm mmucmsmmeou oaosue om.- Fm. om.- om. mm.1 oo. «0. mm. om.- +m~ mN.m- _F.- om.- No.F- mm.- om.- mN.- NN.- No.1 m_-op mm. mN.- Nm.- mm.- No._ mm. No.1 om. mN. mic mmoosw mmpowucoso . mew; zoo exposed mucmwsu weapon ocwz zoom Pouch noose mmpoum1oom IiII ililll illli 1.! L W I .mooocm umpoFmslcugozu oco Foozum UPFnoo mg» toe mcmpmopo moocm mcwpumpmmc mooosm com mpewcm wcouwppo come ooocm mpoomnoom coo Pouch .mp upon» mm.F- mo. Po.- No.1 50.. mp.- No.1 No. oF.- mpoemo om.m- mm.- oo.F- mm.- o¢.- Fm.- on.. m_.- om.- mFoz mm_o_ucwco mew; zoo AFPEom mnemogo weapon cow: xuom Fopop ooosw mmFoumnnom .mmmcoammc mPoEmw use wpos mcocooaou mpmwsm moopwpuo some ozocm opouminsm coo Pouch .ep apnok 152 In considering the possibility of differing reactions from various grade clusters, it was again felt that the delinquent groups should be considered separately because of the limitations their social problems have caused educationally. For the public school and church-related groups, the 98 participants were divided into three grade clusters, grades 6-9, 10-12, and early post-high school. Table 15 indicates the group means for this question. The only significant difference found between the grade clusters was in the area of concern for family relationship to drugs. Those in grades 6-9, because of family concerns, moved in an attitude shift away from favoring drugs while those in high school and post- high school moved slightly toward favoring drugs when considered in light of family. With the exception of this one area of con- sideration, there was no significant difference in the shift between the three grade clusters of the public school and church-related participants (see Appendix G for test of significance). The delinquent population was treated separately by grade clusters for reasons mentioned above. Two grade clusters were chosen for these groups, grades 6-9 and grades 10-14. Table 16 indicates the mean attitude shifts for these groups. The only significant difference found for these two groupings was in the consideration of the body as it relates to drug abuse. The younger grades moved away from favoring drugs because of concerns for the body while the older grades moved toward favoring drugs in relation- ship to body concerns. With the exception this one area of concern, 153 ._m>m~ mo. ago no pcooomwcmom mmucocmmmou ozoswa No.N- on. o¢.- ON. mu.- No.1 No.1 ON. No.—- +oN mm.P- mP. No.1 mm.- em.- mo. mm.- MN. mN. m_-mp Nm.N- PN.- om.- PN.- No.1 o¢.- op. PN.- mp.- mplmp oo.N- NN.- FF._- NN.- oo.~ NN. mm.- NN.- FF. oplNF mom mm_qwucwco mew; zoo xpwEod mucmocm weapon new: «xuom Pooch macaw mmpoumuoom .mooocm ompopmcucucogu coo Poogum oopooo mop ow mmmcoc moo moowco> mcopumpemc monocm Low mpwocm muouwppo come ooocm mpoumloom woo Pouch .NP mpooh .Fm>m_ mo. mg» uo acouoewcmwm mucmcmme_n ooocwe No.5- mo.- No.P- oo._- oo._- Nm. mm.P- mm.P- No._- eFIOF oo.m- oF.F- mm.F- ow._- o_.- mo._- mm. mo.- N0.F mum mucosa mmpawucwco memo zoo a—wsom mucmwcu weapon new: axuom Pouch ozosw mwpoumloom .mxoo ucmoccopmu eo mooosm on» so» msmumo—u woman moopumpemc monocm Low mpewsm moopwppo come ooosm mFoomloom coo Fopop .mF epoch 154 there was no significant difference in the attitude shifts between the two groups (see Appendix G for tests of significance). In considering the shift of attitudes by various age groups, once again the public school and church-related partici- pants were considered separately from the delinquent groups. The 98 public school and church-related participants were divided into four age groups, age 12-14, 15-16, 17-19, and 20+. Table 17 indi- cates the attitude shifts for these groups. The data analysis indicates that the only consideration that reflects significant difference in attitude about drugs is the consideration for the body. The oldest age group moved in a positive attitude toward drugs while there was little shift in attitude in the other age groups. With this one exception, there is no significant differ- ,ence in the reaction of the various age groups in the public school and church-related participants to the film (see Appendix G for test of significance). The delinquent groups were divided into three age brackets for consideration of difference. The age groups are 12-14, 15-16, and 17-25. The data analysis indicates that there is no signifi- cant difference in the reactions of these groups to the film (see Appendix G). The data were analyzed to determine whether or not the three basic types of groups differed in their reaction to the film. The three types of groups used throughout the study are: (1) public school classes, (2) church-related groups, and (3) groups of delinquent boys. 155 In harmony with the report in response to question A, the analysis indicates that there is no statistically significant difference among the three types of groups in total attitude shift. The shift for all three group types is toward favoring drugs with the delinquents making the largest shift, the public school stu~ dents the next largest shift and the church—related participants the smallest shift. Table 18 gives figures for each group. The two topics in which statistically significant dif- ferences were found between the groups were concerns about drugs in relationship to the law (generally a conventional level, level II, concern) and purpose for life (generally a principled level, level III, concern). In each of these concerns each of the types of groups moved toward favoring drugs. In the other six concerns there was no significant difference between the groups in their reactions to the film (see Appendix G). Preliminary Conclusions These statistical analyses raised questions about the effectiveness of the curricular experience and/or about the pro- ductivity of the instrument in measuring impact on values/moral reasoning maturity. The use of the instrument with these eight groups raised instrument refinement questions and lead to revision of approach to statistical analysis. The area of scoring and data analysis underwent the greatest scrutiny at this point. Three considerations prompted the next steps of refinement: 156 .Fm>m_ No. mop yo pcouowocmom mmocmcwmewn Quotas o oN.o- oo.- oo._- mo._- No.- No.- oo. oo.- Po. mmflwwo _m._- mp. No.- oo.- o_. oo.- oo.- NN. oo.- oeooeooo No.o- oo.. oo.- oo.- oo.- om.- No.- oo.- No.- wmmuuw mo_oooo_eo eeeoo .zoo NFPEoo mooooeo oeoooo oooz oooo Fouoh ooocw mmpoUm-o:m .mooogm nucommmc we mono“ moss“ on» com mpewcm muopwppo come aoocm mpoum1oom oco Fopoh .wp mFQoo 157 l. The computer program developed to analyze the first set of data did not adequately relate the attitude shift reflected in the 48 prototypic items of part II to the level assignment of part I or the stage notions in part II. Each statement reflects a specific values/moral development stage within or near the global level in which the topic is couched in part 1. Discussion of atti- tude change as the result of the curricular experience should care- fully look at the items related to the topics in the area of the student's maturity in values/moral reasoning. If the student re- flects a pre-conventional level of cognitive judgment, the items to be analyzed should reflect the stages in and near that level. 2. The analysis of the first eight groups was designed to investigate how groups of students responded to the curricular experience. For the classroom teacher, interest would be in the individual student analysis first and then a compilation of indi- vidual data to get some notions of group response. From a curricu- lar design perspective, and from a values/moral development perspective, the analysis of individual response is of primary interest to the teacher. For the administrator the group data would probably be most important. These group data, however, could be generated from a compilation of individual data rather than the method used in the computer program for the first eight groups in this study. 3. The classroom teacher expressing an interest in cog- nitive values/moral reasoning maturity would ordinarily not possess 158 access to computer analyses. If the concepts of instrumentation developed in this study are to be a generalizable, they must possess the characteristics of classroom convenience and scoring ease. In response to these weaknesses in the first approach to data analysis, a new tack was considered in an attempt to look more closely at the various theory-suggested relationships in the instrument. While the data produced through the previous analysis were helpful, they lacked in both their usefulness to the class- room and their individuality. Both of these characteristics are central to the purposes of the project. A New Approach to Data Analysis There are several major variables in the relationship of the moral development theory to curricular evaluation. These variables interrelate in a consistent fashion and should give pre- dictive insight. In considering individuality in use of the VIA, the predictive relationships are a source of internal validation for the instrument. To make the data from the VIA accessible for a greater variety of analytic approaches, two sets of data were randomly picked from each of the eight groups participating in the project. These sixteen sets of instrument responses were individually scored to provide data from which various further analyses could be con- sidered. Based on the moral development theory there are within 159 the instrument and within the curricular experience several basic sets of data that hold promise for a multitude of predictive rela- tionships. The major sets of data are the following: 1. The moral reasoning level of the curricular experi- ence. 2. The pre-test data from Part I; the eight topics which were rated "most important“ and "least important" indicating global leyel_of moral reasoning maturity. 3. The post-test data from Part I. 4. The pre-test data from Part II. A. Three items for each topic in Part I, favoring drugs, and couched in cognitive structure terms reflecting each state of moral reasoning. B. Three items opposing drugs, couched in cognitive structure terms reflecting each stage of moral reasoning. 5. The post-test data from Part II, consisting of the same drug favorable and drug unfavorable set of items. 6. Within the total of eight groups participating in the study, there are three basic types of groups: two public school groups, three church-related youth groups, and three groups of delinquent boys. The data for the pre- and post-tests for both parts of the VIA instrument were quantified in a manner similar to that used for 160 the computer analysis done by groups. Part I, the eight topical statements, was quantified by assigning a "3" to the topics checked as "most important," a "2" to those indicated as a middle impor- tance, and an "I" to those checked as "least important." Topics stated in "level I" structural terms were assigned a weight of 1, those stated in ”level II" structural terms were assigned a weight of 2, and those stated in "level III" structural terms were assigned a weight of 3. Multiplying the weight of the topic by the number assigned as the result of the students' rating and dividing by the total possible, 16, we arrived at a figure between 1.56 and 2.18 with increments of .065. Low level I students would register a 1.56 and high level III students would register as 2.18. The 48 items in Part II of the instrument consist of 24 items favoring drugs and 24 opposing drugs. Within each set of 24 there are three stage 1 statements, three stage 2 statements, six stage 3 statements, five stage 4 statements, five stage 5 state- ments, and two stage 6 statements. The student's task was to register his degree of agreement or disagreement with each state- ment on the five-point scale. The polarity of the statements favoring drugs was reversed in the computation allowing a total score in one direction. For statements favoring drugs: 1. Strongly disagree was assigned a +2. Disagree was assigned a +1. Undecided was assigned a O. #0)“) Agree was assigned a —1. 5. Strongly agree was assigned a -2. 161 For statements opposing the use of drugs: —-I C Strongly disagree was assigned a -2. 2. Disagree was assigned a -l. 3. Undecided was assigned a O. 4. Agree was assigned a +1. 5. Strongly agree was assigned a +2. For each stage an average attitude was computed. The assumption of the educator in the curricular experi- ence used in this study is that the experience will have some positive effect on the student. Kohlberg's moral development theory has several things to say or suggest about how the educator could successfully reach his goal. The relationships studied in this data analysis reflect what the educator could expect in harmony with basic concepts in the theory. Study of the expected can conceivably aid in both clarification of the expected and refinement of the instrument. It is appropriate to mention here that the results discussed after looking at each relationship must consider both theoretical and instrument validity questions. No claim is made at this point for the validity of the VIA instrument. The relationships investigated attempt to give added clarity to the direction for future instru- ment development. Part I of the VIA While Part I of the VIA instrument is only designed as a I'global" indication of the level of values/moral reasoning 162 maturity, it is conceivable that patterns may be evident in compar- ing pre- and post-calculations for the 16 sample sets of Part I data. The increments assigned to each level have been divided to suggest high and low level or possible stage description. Table 19 gives a general breakdown of classification of Part I data in levels, then further in possible stages. Table 19. Part I scores classified in levels and stages. :— f -_ Score range Level Stage Score range 1.56 - 1.75 I l 1.56 - 1.61 2 1.68 - 1.75 1.81 - 2.00 II 3 1.81 - 1.88 4 1.93 - 2.00 2.06 - 2.19 III 5 2.06 - 2.13 6 2.13 - 2.19 Since the intention of the curricular experience, the film, is definitely to discourage drug abuse, attempt must be made to relate change of attitude about drug abuse to inclination to change in pattern of cognitive reasoning in topics related to drug abuse. The phrase "inclination to change" is used in this context because it is readily admitted that one curricular experience in the total mosaic of learning undoubtably does not cause a specific change or large growth in cognitive deve10pment. Each curricular "piece" does, however, contribute uniquely to the total mosaic. 163 Data Analysis 1 Since Part I is a global look at the student's level of values/moral reasoning development, it is reasonable to initiate the look at potential relationships between variables by looking at the comparison of pro-test Part I to post-test Part I. Of the 16 sets of sample data, the pre-test indicated that the bulk of the participants registered a global values/moral reasoning maturity of late level I and early level II. This corresponds with the pre- film interviews which indicated the level of values/moral develop- ment to be largely stage 2 (late level I) and stage 3 (early level II). Table 20 indicates the breakdown of the 16 students in pre- test levels. The moral development theory and limited research would indicate that 3 out of 16 adolescent students registering early level III-Stage 5 on Part I of the VIA instrument, is a larger than expected number and somewhat misrepresentative. Table 20. Students registering on pre-test at the six possible levels of moral reasoning maturity as measured by Part I of the VIA. Pre-test level S's Early level I: Stage 1 Late level 1: Stage 2 Early level II: Stage 3 Late level II: Stage 4 Early level III: Stage 5 Late level III: Stage 6 owooo-b—a 164 Table 5 gives credence to this possibility. Out of the total 132 participants in the study, only 6 registered early level III-Stage 5 on Part I of the pre-test. According to that table, 77 percent of the 132 registered early level II-Stage 3 or below on pre-test Part I. This corresponds with the information from Table 1 that the 35 students privately interviewed gave 85 percent of their statements in stage 3 terms or below before seeing the film. Since the curricular experience used in this study is predominately level I (stages 1 and 2) and early level 11 (Stage 3), it would be logical to predict that post-test data for Part I would show those registering: 1. Level I on pre—test scoring remaining stable or stimulated to higher level ideas. 2. Level II on pre-test stimulated to stability or considerations in lower levels. 3. Level III on pro-test stimulated to lower level thought patterns. Table 21 shows the direction of shift in level of values/ moral reasoning as determined by comparing Part I data of the post- test with Part I of the pro-test. There are two interesting observations to be made from Table 21. In light of what we would expect as previously discussed, four out of eight students registering early level II-Stage 3 on the pro-test were stimulated to considerations slightly above their pre- test level. As the result of seeing the film (or some other stimulus) these students were stimulated to considerations above their pre-test 165 .pummnom zoom so; mmoocu we mmmoum mo amass: mcoouo xn umpo_:o—ou eaeosm Pouches o o o o o o m N m — o o m m o o o o o o c m F _. m w w m N p _. P F c N o o o N F F _. ooooooooo oooewom osozozoo eoeoewom oeozoo m moon mowcwosms m.m mmmoum Pogo» ommcocu m.m mmmopm Pooch owmoosu m.m .m m pmmu1pmoo ummp1mso . on“ No H pcoo cow opou pompuumoo oco pmmpumco mo comwsooeou .FN mpooh 166 stage. Granted the research done by Kohlberg and his associates indicates that an individual "prefers" considerations one stage above his present stage. It would seem logical that stage 3 stu- dents would be stimulated to stage 4 considerations if the film contained several stage 4 messages. It did, in fact, however, have only 2 percent of its messages above stage 3 (see Table l). The number of students stimulated downward is also in- teresting to consider. Since 76 percent of the messages in the film are level I, it would seem logical that several students would be stimulated to consider lower level ideas. Only three out of the 16 indicate lower level stimulation. Table 4 indicates that 38 percent of the 132 participants experienced a downward trend in values/moral reasoning as a result of seeing the film. The one "stage 5" student who was stimulated to lower level considerations moved in his thinking from stage 5 to stage 3, a very sizeable shift. There is a possibility that this indi- vidual, being an institutionalized delinquent male adolescent has experienced a sense of stark realism from the film that was not present in the pre-test exercise. There does not seem to be, on the basis of this look at pre- and post-test data from Part I, a pattern of shift in con- siderations of global level that closely matches expectations. Perhaps the most expected result can be seen in the 7 out of the 16 who did not indicate stimulation to a level of thinking differ- ent from that indicated before the experience. Any shift to 167 considerations above stage 3 seems highly unlikely as the result of film that contains extremely little stimulation above stage 3. The fact that few people were stimulated downward could support the Kohlberg proposition that value laden messages in a stage below the listener tend to be ignored or rejected. Data Analysis 2 The purpose of Part I of the VIA is general in nature. It is to indicate in global perspectives the level in which the student does his reasoning regarding moral and value issues related to drug abuse. Based on the moral development theory, a student's attitude toward a values/moral issue should be more open to desired change if the messages presented are couched in his language and near or one values/moral reasoning stage above his own. The amount of attitudinal change for those registering at specific levels of values/moral reasoning would indicate the relative success of the curricular effort as a values/moral development tool. If the film successfully communicates its message, those whose global level of values/moral reasoning is in the same level or one stage below the messages of the film should experience the greatest tendency for the attitudinal change encouraged by the film. In other words, those whose reasoning is one stage immature to the film, should profit most from it. To look at these possible relationships, the amount of attitude change (difference in pre- and post-test attitude 168 measurement) as reflected in items written in Stages 1, 2 and 3 (the stages used in the film's messages) was calculated for each of the sixteen students. The students were grouped for comparison accord- ing to both pre-test and the post-test level (Part 1) scores. Pre- test level scores were used for grouping to look at the importance of entry levels on attitude change. Similar scores from the post- tests were reviewed to determine the effect of level resolution at the conclusion of the curricular experience on attitude change. Is the pre-test level or post-level most likely to reflect desireable attitude change? Is entry or exit level inclination most important in attitude change? For each student the total amount of attitude change was calculated for items in Part II of the VIA reflecting stages 1, 2 and 3; these being the stages used in the messages of the film. Table 22 shows the average attitude shift for the students regis- tered at each level on both the pre-test and the post-test. The first set of columns represents attitude change for those grouped at the various levels on the pre-test. The second column lists the average attitude shift for those grouped at the various levels on the post-test. It would be expected, on the basis of the moral develop- ment theory, that the film, if successful, would stimulate the greatest positive attitudinal shift in those registering on Part I of the VIA as level I (stages 1 and 2) or early level 11 (stage 3). It would also seem logical to assume that these shifts would be 169 Table 22. Average attitude shifts in Part 11, stage 1, 2, and 3 items for students grouped by pre- and post-test levels as determined by Part I. ‘1 -_—_ Pre-testr Post-test Level 5.5 Average attitude 5' Average change attitude change I Stage 1 l -l.23 l .74 Stage 2 4 -.66 4 -.67 II Stage 3 8 .41 5 -.73 Stage 4 O 3 .50 III Stage 5 3 -.12 3 .94 Stage 6 O 0 greatest in the positive direction for those registering at these levels in the post-test data. The totals in Table 22, in fact, do not indicate that our expectations were realized. It must be remembered at this point that positive figures represent an attitu- dinal change toward opposing the abusive use of drugs and a nega- tive figure indicates a position favoring drug abuse. With only one participant at early level l-stage 1, there is reason to ques- tion the usefulness of these totals. This could be considered unfortunate since the bulk of the messages in the film are stage 2, and are, therefore, prime material for the stimulation of early level 1 persons. The one person in this category on pre-test data did respond very unfavorably. Pre-test stage 2 individuals, also responded in an unfavorable direction. With the film being largely stage 1 and stage 2 messages, those carrying these levels of rea- soning into the film should have responded favorably. 170 The averages for the post-test levels indicate that those for whom it would seem logical to predict the greatest change have, in fact, changed in a negative direction. Those whose post- film levels were in the area of the film's majority of messages would either be prime "subjects" for the desired effect of the film or would have experienced a level of stimulation inferior to their reasoning and responded negatively to the film. They did, on the average, react in a negative fashion. These averages have not been subjected to sophisticated statistical analyses. (The sample size does not clearly merit detailed analysis.) They are given here simply to provide a view of trends. This trend may be another example of a phenomenon written about by many drug abuse researchers who indicate the efforts toward drug education have, in effect,’ desensitized the participants in their hesitancy toward the abuse of drugs. The result being an increased readiness to "experiment" with drugs. It may be important to note that the one individual who, by the film, was prompted to stage 1 considerations (as indi- cated by the post-test) showed a desirable response. Is there a theoretically significant difference between the entry level of the student and the "stimulated level" of the student? Perhaps the entry level is significant. The issue for curricular developers may be the availability of a level to be stimulated in the student, not the general level at which he now functions. If a student measures stage 4 but has stage 1 cognitive patterns still strongly functioning, perhaps a low stage message will bring 171 a favorable response. For curricular purposes, the range of cogni- tive functioning may be more important than the mode of the range. The 6 students registered at levels above the concerns of the film, late level II and early level III, responded to the concerns of the film (couched in stages 1, 2 and 3) with an average positive shift in attitude toward the avoidance of drug abuse. These students, according to the moral development theory, should have been somewhat bored or unaffected by the presentation, realizing that the reasoning behind the film's messages was "im- mature." The positive response indicated by VIA could be the result of: 1. General exposure to the drug abuse issue stimulating related concerns to which a "healthy" stance seemed logical. 2. Testing . . . with little effect from the film. However one desires to explain the positive response from those in stages 5 and 6, it remains that less consistent or scattered, ran- dom results would have been logically predicted for those in these stages. Data Analysis 3 In looking at average attitude shifts on the basis of data from Part I of the VIA, the unexpected results of the pre- vious data analyses lead to another question. Of the sixteen sample sets of data, Table 16 indicates that seven students did not indicate stimulation to consider a different level of values/ moral reasoning maturity as the result of the curricular experience. 172 Six of the sixteen tended to consider reasoning of a higher level and three were inclined to lower their level of values/moral standing. Table 23 indicates the average attitude change for these three groups of students. Developmental theory suggests that pat- terns in cognitive function are altered through the processes of assimilation and accommodation. For those experiencing no inclina- tion to reason at a different level, there is no equilibration (balancing of assimilation and accommodation) process in effect and, therefore, no significant change in the patterns of values/ moral reasoning. Table 23 indicates that those who did experience stimulation to different levels of thought, both higher and lower, experienced average attitudinal shifts in the positive direction, even though relatively small. Those who were not stimulated to different levels of reasoning experienced an average negative attitudinal shift, in size greater than the positive shifts. These two analyses would indicate that some form of equilibration or related cognitive developmental function is necessary if the film is going to have its desired effect. Kohlberg and his asso- ciates have researched the effect of messages one stage above the Table 23. Average attitude shift for students' grouped according to level movement from pre-test to post-test. Level change S's Average attitude shift No change 7 -.21 Upward change 6 .02 Downward change 3 .14 173 current reasoning level of the student. Equilibration is seen as a necessary function for growth. Little is said of the results of stimulation lower in values/moral reasoning level than that cur- rently employed by the student. Kohlberg has done some research in a prison setting and has discovered that under environmental pressure a person can be "driven" to function at a stage lower than that to which he has previously grown. To do this there must be a cognitive process which "entertains" or "welcomes" a lower level message or set of messages. Could it be that in a limited manner the intensity of the film stimulates even for those lowering their level of values/moral reasoning a cognitive function which makes the message of the film acceptable? Data Analysis 4 Attitudinal shift (Part II of the VIA) in light of the global level of values/moral reasoning suggested by Part I of the VIA has been considered. The first look at this relationship averaged the attitudinal shift in items couched in language and reasoning of stages l, 2 and 3. Since the great majority of the curricular experience's messages are stages l, 2 and 3, it is reasonable to believe that the significant shifts in attitude would come in statements related to those stages. It is of theoretical interest, however, to measure the attitude shift reflected by re- sponses to statements in stages adjacent to the level of the student. These stages are called the student's "working stages." Table 24 shows the average attitudinal shift in the Part II statements stated 174 Table 24. Average attitude shift in "working stages" for students grouped by level from post-test data. L. ——j wt 1 Post-test levels S's Attitude shift Early level I - Stage 1 l .74 Late level I - Stage 2 4 -l.03 Early level II - Stage 3 5 -.61 Late level II - Stage 4 3 .40 Early level III - Stage 5 3 .38 Late level III - Stage 6 O in stages the same as and adjacent to the levels and stages reflected in post-test of Part I of the VIA. For instance, for the five stu- dents who registered on post-test Part I as early level II or stage 3, attitude shift in statements in Part II of the VIA written in stages 2, 3 and 4 was calculated. The discussion of this data would closely match that of Table 22. It is interesting to note that the pattern of attitudinal shift is the same for the "working" stages of the l6 sample data sets as it is for the "working" stages of the film. Only five of the sixteen sample data sets have "working" stages exactly the same as the predominent stages of the film all others include some stage 4 or above in the three stages matching or surrounding the operational stage as reflected in the post-test of Part I of the VIA. With these data, as with the data discussed in Table 22, two of the stages we would reason to host significant attitudinal positive shift have, in fact, hosted negative shifts. 175 Whatever the pattern suggests, it suggests it similarly for responses calculated both for the predominent stages of the film and the pre- dominent stages of the student viewer. Data Analysis 5 Of the sixteen sample sets reviewed for the purposes of these looks at predictable relationships between variables, four, on the basis of pre-test data from Part II of the VIA, seem to favor the illegal use of drugs and twelve indicate attitudes against drug abuse. Two of the four favoring drugs come from the two public school groups and the other two from the delinquent boys groups. The relationship between attitudes possessed toward specific values/moral issues and cognitive development in the values/moral reasoning arena is assumed to be direct in most of Kohlberg's writings. The moral development theory, in dealing with cognitive structure, does not intend to avoid comment on specific issues, it simply posits the opinion that basic to the acceptance of appropriate values/morals and standards is a cogni- tive structure which, when developed,encourages standards which are socially and personally justifiable on the basis of universal justice and the worthiness of human life. It is, therefore, very appropriate that in relationship to the issue of drug abuse, edu- cators look at the values/moral reasoning maturity of the student. Appropriate change in attitude toward drug abuse, or any other issue, is most likely in coordination with the advance of l76 value/moral reasoning development; assuming other aspects of the communication are appropriate and efficient. Within the context of this study, the curricular event is assumed to have some quality of appropriate and efficient communication because of its extensive use by educators across America. (Of all the free films available from the film producer, the film used in this study is the one most requested and the highest rated by educators.) Because the film's messages are level I and low level II, predictable attitu- dinal shifts, as indicated in Part II of the VIA, should be most noticeable for those who register on Part I of the VIA in the lower levels of cognitive development. It is also reasonable to postu- late that the greatest attitude shift in the desired direction should occur for those who previous to the film either had a neutral stance or favored drug abuse in a reasoning level of the lower stages. Table 25 gives the pertinent data for the four participants who, previous to seeing the film, seemed to favor the use of illegal drugs. It will help in the discussion of this table and the next table to explain the columns in the tables. Column l: Identification number; each participant has an assigned number for computer processing purposes. Column 2 and 3: Level determination--Part 1; le 1; lo st 2 = level l, low stage 2. Each stage determination in Part I of the VIA has two increments with it. "Low Stage 2" indicates the lowest of the stage 2 increments. 177 H pen; :0 nmcmumHmmc mm .pcmnspm as» mo mmmpm Hmvoe as» mcHucsoccam omega mew =mmmmum mcchoz=« . asp we m¢.+ 0H.+ No.+ om.+ 00.- Ho.- mH.- NN.- mo.- a: m pm 0; mHHH m4 m pm 04 mHH 04 Nommo .w mm.+ m~.+ mu.+ mm.- HH.+ HH.+ mm.- No.- N@.- 2209 N um H: MH «4 m um HI mHH m4 mommo .m «N.+ «N.+ mH.+ NH.- NH.- mN.- He.. He.. He.. czoo H pm 04 mH m; N pm H: mH m4 oHHNo .N No.- No.- mo.- om.- 00.- NN.- mm.- mm.- mu.- a: N um HI mH o; N am 04 mH m4 NNHHo .H 2 NH 2. mm: m am am 9 mm c m N H m pm m.N.H m pm «m pm m.N.H m um wwwm NmH mmum ..mct_coz= mmpm :m 353203.. mmpm Sm wawflmwo H ”23433 H pgmaqumH “Mama” = . a cow gee .mo Low .Low 0 mm - m mm -m . -xgoz= mmpm HH m>< m>< m>< m>< m>< mw< coHuumLHo p p p on p a La -chpcmvH pewsm .ppm mwvspHuum mmuspHpam .m>m Ho pczos< “mm“-pmoa pmmp-mca .wucmHLmaxm LmHaqugsu mgp weocon mazeu mcho>mc mmosp Lo; upmv muszppm ecu Hm>mH mchommmg ngos\mm:Hm> .mN mHan 178 Column 4: Direction of level shift: comparison of pre- and post-test data for Part I of the VIA. Column 5: Pre-test attitudes: totalling the average at- titude for the statements in all six stages, as indicated in Part II of the VIA, and dividing by 6 to get the average attitude. A nega- tive figure indicates an attitude favoring drugs. Column 6: Pre-test attitudes: totalling the average attitude for the statements in stages l, 2 and 3 in Part II of the VIA and dividing by 3 to get the average attitude for the predomi- nant stages used in the film. Column 7: Pre-test attitudes: totalling the average at- titude for the statements in the 3 "working" stages of the partici— pant in Part II of the VIA and dividing by 3 to get the average attitude for the stages in which the participant usually functions as determined by the data from Part I of the VIA. For instance, participant #08302 was level II, stage 3 on the pre-test and level III, low stage 5 on the post-test. Therefore, it is logical to assume that the "working" stages of the participant are stages 3, 4 and 6. "Working stages" are those identical to or surrounding the current indicated stages of the participant. If there is doubt as to which stages to identify as "working stages," since Kohlberg's research indicates people prefer the stage one stage above their most common stage, that stage has been included in the set of the working stages. 179 Columns 8, 9 and 10: Post-test attitudes: average for the same data as described for columns 5, 6 and 7 except on the post-test responses to Part II of the VIA. Column ll: Amount of average attitudinal shift for all stages: Column 8 subtracted from column 5. A negative figure indicates a shift toward favoring the use of illegal drugs. A positive figure indicates a shift toward disapproving of the use of illegal drugs. Column 12: Amount of average attitudinal shift for stages 1, 2 and 3: Column 9 subtracted from Column 6. Column l3: Amount of average attitudinal shift for the participants "working stages": Column l0 subtracted from Column 7. Logically (according to the moral development theory) those favoring drugs who exhibited a level of values/moral reason- ing maturity near or one stage below the levels of the film's mes- sages should have experienced the greatest positive change. Those unchallenged by the levels of the film's messages, as indicated by a stimulation to a lower level of reasoning (Part I of the VIA) should reflect relatively no effect as the result of seeing the film. Stated more simply, and more generally, those who by the curricular experience were stimulated to higher levels of values/ moral reasoning probably responded more favorably to the message of the film. Table 25 indicates that these expectations are not fully met. Columns ll, l2, and 13 give us these data. Partici- pants number Oll22 and 08302 both move up in stimulation to con- sider different levels of values/moral reasoning, but of the four 180 they had the smallest gain in favorable attitude. With the excep- tion of the average attitude in the "working stages" for partici- pant 08302, the amounts of favorable attitude shift for these participants are either small or negative. Since the "working stages" for participant 08302 are stages 3, 4 and 5, it is reason- able to believe that the variance between the working stages averages and the other averages reflect a response to higher stage considerations prompted serendipitously by the film or the instru- ment. This response could have been triggered, although somewhat unlikely, by some statements in the film which were translated from stage 1 statements to stage 4 statements by this student who globally was stimulated to move from considerations of level II to level III reasoning by the film. Whatever the explanation for the unusually high (in light of other data) positive response in one of six possible relationship considerations, the indication still remains that those predicted to make the greatest positive attitude shift responded less favor- ably than others. The data for the two participants, numbers 021l0 and 06303, who did make positive gain in the attitude toward the avoid- ing of drug abuse, indicate that their shift in level consideration was into the area of the film's messages. Wren cognitive patterns exist for lower level reasoning (even though the student "prefers" higher levels), and the curricular message stimulates these, the response seems to be favorable. Both of these individuals were 181 stimulated by the film to considerations of a lower levelcnivalues/ moral reasoning (Part I). One was stimulated to reasoning four increments down and the other two increments down in the level measurements. These are sizable responses to the curricular experi- ence. On the basis of these responses, it would seem logical to predict that the film would have negligible effect because it appealed to levels of reasoning beneath the develOpment of the viewer previous to seeing the film. Both of these individuals, however, did respond to the film in the way intended by the film producers. Their attitude favoring drug abuse was affected and they moved toward the position of opposing drug abuse. While their response to the goal of the film was desirable, their response in terms of levels of values/moral reasoning was not desirable. Kohlberg would probably predict that this attitude change separate from the cognitive growth that results from equilibration of new cognitive data would experience a sharp "extinction curve" in the days and weeks ahead. Longitudinal studies of this phenomenon would be most productive. Do attitude changes as the result of imput in cognitive patterns immature to the student have less sta- bility than those attitude changes prompted by messages which stimulate cognitive growth and development from the perspective of the moral development theory? 182 Data Analysis 6 0f the sixteen sample participants, twelve indicated by the pre-test that they favored relative abstinence from drug abuse. Table 26 identifies the data for these twelve. As with the four that favored drug abuse, it could logi- cally be predicted that those whose level of values/moral reasoning was near to the film or stimulated to heightened levels by the film would have the greatest attitude shift against drug abuse. Of the twelve that possessed attitudes against taking drugs before the film, seven were stimulated by the experience to higher levels of values/moral reasoning, four experienced no stimulation to change levels of cognitive process, and only one was stimulated to lower levels of thought. Participants 03202, 07303 and 07304 responded with global reasoning levels within the area of the film's messages, stages 1, 2 and 3, and were stimulated to higher levels of reasoning. It is interesting to note that all three of these indicated on the post- test that they were stimulated to the highest level of reasoning used more than a token amount in the film, stage 3 messages. It is also interesting to note that out of the nine average attitude shift figures (three for each of the three participants), Columns ll, 12 and l3, eight indicate a sizable attitude shift toward_ favoring drugs. Table 27 isolates "average attitude shift" for these three participants. The one average shift that is not negative is 183 mo.H- Hw.- mm.- NH. Hm. NH. mN.H HH.H NH.H 23c N am o4 MH 64 m pm o4 mHHH 6; Hommo NH mo. mo.- mH.- oH.H am.H cm.H Ho.H mo.H mo.H a: m um H: mHH 6; m pm 0; mHH m4 comHo HH H¢.- H¢.- mm.- «H. «H. mH.- mm. mm. mm. a: m um H: mHH 6; H pm 0; mH 64 momuo oH mN. HH.- mo. mm. He. mm. «m. Nm. me. a: c pm o4 .HH m; m am e; mHH m4 Nemoo m mH. NN. 0H. vo.H Hm. mo.H mm. mH. cm. a: a pm 0; mHH m; N pm 6; mHH m4 mONmo m wo.- om. HH. om. 0H.H mo.H mm. mm. Nm. -- m pm o4 mHHH m4 m pm 6; mHHH m4 mono H OH. mo.- Ho. mo.H H¢.H mm.H mm.H mm.H Nm.H .. m pm 0; mHH mg m um o4 mHH m4 coNeo o mN.- -o- om.- .NNsm, mm.H HN.H. m¢.H mm.H Hm.H -- m pm o4 mHH m; m pm o4 mHH m4 NONeo m mm.- m¢.- Nm.- eH. Hm. HH. om. om. mm. a: N am H: mHH m4 N pm H: mH m4 NONmo a mo. NH. HH. mm.H N¢.H mm.H oH.H mN.H H¢.H a: m um H: mHHH m; m pm 0; mHHH m4 mONmo m Hm.- Hm.- mm.- mH.- mH.- mo.- NH. NH. cm. s. N pm H: mH m4 N am H: “H m; moHNo N Ho.- om. HN.. mm. Ho.H om. om. Hm. mH. a: a pm 0; mHH «H m um o4 mHH m4 HoHHo H mH NH HH oH m m H m m e m N H 9: m.N.H 33 9.320: mmpm HHm 9.3.83 mmpm HHm Hm>mH Ho H ugmaHgmH H tBHmEH H853 -xcmz mmum HH< coH L9H Ho com L9H Ho :oHp ummpipmom ammuuwgg -HHchmuH m><. m>< m>< m>n m>< m>o Ho pczoe< mmuapHuum ummp umoa mmvszupm ammuumga .mucmHgmaxm LmHsuHLcao any mLona mmanm mzcn pmchmm mmocp cow upmv ovauHupm new Hm>mH mchommmg Hmcoe\mm:Hm> .mN oHan 184 Table 27. Amounts of average attitude shift for the three partici- pants whose level of values/moral reasoning was in the area of the film's messages and who were stimulated to higher levels of consideration by seeing the film. Amount of average attitude shift Identification number All Stages Working Stages 1, 2, 3 stages 03202 -.52 ' -.43 -.36 07303 -.68 -.4l -.4l 07304 -.l9 -.05 .03 a slight .03. This means that those in the group rejecting drug abuse who were predicted to experience the best possible results from the film did, in fact, respond in a notable negative manner. Their commitment to avoid drug abuse was weakened rather than strengthened. Perhaps there were insufficient stage 3 arguments to affect the desired attitude shift. Data Analysis 7 Three of the four who indicated no stimulation to higher levels of thought were reasoning in the general areas of the majority of the film's messages. It is predictable that these students were not challenged to processes of equilibration and therefore did not actively engage the ideas of the film in cogni- tive process. It is also reasonable to predict that since the 185 film was in their area of values/moral reasoning skills they could understand its messages better than others who cognitively "lived in a different world." Therefore, in terms of attitude adjustment, it is reasonable to predict that they would have desirable attitude shifts but not as large as those expected for the three students reflected in Table 22. Table 28 gives the attitude shift data for these students. There does not seem to be much of a pattern that emerges from these data sets. As is true with the data for all twelve students in Table 26, the attitude shift toward favoring drugs is greater than those shift- ing in the desired direction. There is very limited shift in the desired direction. Students 04202 and 04204, both of whom come from a church-related group, registered very strong pre-test attitudes against taking drugs, 1.5 and 1.62, respectively, with 2.00 being the strongest possible attitude indicated by the VIA. The shift for both these, while in different directions, left both with very strong feelings against drug abuse. Student 02105 responded strongly to the film and was one of two out of the twelve whose pre-test attitude was against drug abuse and shifted to a position favoring drugs. The other student who shifted polarities in attitude is student 07303, one of the students whose level of values/moral reasoning was stimulated upwards (see Table 22). 186 Table 28. Average attitude shift for the three students whose level of values/moral reasoning was in the area of the film's messages and remained unchanged. W Amount of average attitude shift Identification number All Stages - Working Stages , l, 2, 3 stages 02105 -.57 -.91 -.91 04202 -.30 0 -.26 04204 .07 -.08 .10 Data Analysis 8 The two previous tables lead to asking whether or not the average shifts for those registering a global level of values/moral reasoning similar to that in the film is greater than those whose level of cognitive reasoning is definitely above the film's reason- ing. Six of the twelve in Table 26 registered pre-test levels similar to those used in the film. The other six registered levels substantially higher than those used in the film. Table 29 compares the total attitude shift for these two groups. It is evident that those whose level of values/moral reasoning was above that of the film completed the excercise, pre-test, curricular experience, and post-test, with less negative attitude shifts than those whose level of values/moral reasoning matched the messages of the film. This is not as would be expected unless one gives credence to the possibility that it was the basic idea of drug abuse to which those 187 reasoning above the film responded, not the specific content of the film. The moral development theory would suggest that those whose level of values/moral reasoning is already above the content of a value-related message would be somewhat unstimulated by the message and unlikely to react. It is possible, however, that those who reason with greater cognitive maturity from a values/ moral perspective could react to the subject of the messages and not the content of the messages. In so doing, because of greater likelihood that they would be prone to a position against drug abuse, they would show a more desirable response to the film than others. Table 29. Total average attitude shifts for those reasoning in the same level as the film compared with others reason- ing above the film's level. There were six students in each group. Total average attitude shifts Group 5.5 All Stages Working stages 1, 2,3 stages Those with levels similar to the film 5 "2°21 "1°88 '1-8' Those with levels 6 -.28 .27 _.74 above the film The difference between the two groups of six would be more obvious if the totals after dropping the extreme attitude "shifter" from each category were considered. This is suggested because of the extreme negative response of the only one of the‘ 188 twelve whose level of values/moral reasoning was stimulated down- ward. This one, student 08301, was pre-tested at a global level on the pre-test of level III; low stage 5 and post-tested at level 1, low stage 2. This is a highly irregular stimulation of eight increments. This is the only one of the 132 students who took such a drastic global level drop. Table 30 gives the data for total average attitude shifts excluding the extreme high in both groups. Table 30. Total average attitude shifts for those reasoning in the same level as the film compared with others rea— soning above the film's level; not including the extreme high in each of the two groups. W Total average attitude shifts Group All Stages Working stages 1, 2, 3 stages Those with pre-test levels similar to -l.62 -.97 -.90 the film level above the film Not only is the total difference between the two groups in each category notable in this table, but the direction of the attitude shift is important. Those who pre-tested at global levels of values/moral reasoning similar to the film indicated a negative attitude shift in each set of stages used for computation. 189 Those who pre-tested at global levels of values/moral reasoning above the stages of the film's messages had a positive attitude shift as the result of the experience. Again, this would seem to be the opposite of what would be expected. Tables 29 and 30 have been based on totals grouped by pre-test data from Part I of the VIA. Totals on the basis of the post-test data would have a similar but more extreme pattern since the only student to be stimulated to shift levels of values/ moral reasoning from one group to another is the student with the extreme shift from level III responses on the pre-test to level I responses on the post-test. His attitude shift figures are so drastically negative that combining his with the others of a nega- tive trend would only add to the distinction between the two groups. This would only add strength to the statement that students in the lower levels of values/moral reasoning watching this drug abuse film stated in lower levels tended to respond negatively in con- trast to those reasoning above the level of the film. Could it be that controversial value-laden messages couched in lower stage statements tend to bring negative results from higher stage students? Data Analysis 9 Another aspect of Table 26 that suggests some analysis is reflected in the differences between columns 11, 12 and 13. The moral development theory would suggest that a student's atti- tudinal commitment to a position on a value issue would be strongest 190 in the levels of values/moral reasoning which are a current experi- ence in his cognitive functioning. It is on this very basic and general principle that the relationship between Part I and Part II of the VIA is assumed. Part I is a global look at the level of values/moral reasoning now employed by the student. Part II takes the "life topics" on which Part I is built and presents a series of statements couched in the "working stages" of those topics. For instance, concerns for the body are generally level I concerns. Therefore, the statements in Part II of the VIA that relate to bodily concerns are couched in concepts of stages 1, 2 and 3, the "working stages" of level I topics. Part II of the VIA asks the student to register his intensity of agreement or disagreement with the statements. In over-generalized terms, if a student registers as a level I values/moral reasoner on Part I, his attitudes con- cerning drug abuse should be both strongest and most adjustable in statements couched in level I and early level II concepts. Kohlberg states that content and structure tend to converge as the individual moves toward principled levels of moral reasoning. This indicates that at the lower levels of reasoning, there is more option for accepting divergent opinion and behavior patterns on any given moral issue. A principled functioning individual (level III) is most likely to have a smaller number of options available to him in a value dilemma than a level I person. Another way of saying this is that a group of level III persons discussing a value or moral issue are far more likely to agree on a course of 191 action than a group of level I persons. As a person progresses in cognitive development of values/moral reasoning capabilities, he is more likely to accept a position on a moral issue which is just, healthy, and productive of self actualization. Level I persons coping with a multitude of pressures relating to drug abdse, because their reasoning is other than principled, face a battery of options, most of which can be justified in a multitude of ways from an egocentric perspective. If a person's basic con- cern is fulfilling his egocentric impulses, most any choice of options will be reasonable. This brief review of the convergence tendency of cognitive content and structure as cognitive develop- ment matures speakes directly to the relationship between attitude and cognitive development. Column 11, 12 and 13 indicate three possible considera- tions in developing and interpreting an instrument like the VIA. Column ll gives the average shift for each of the 16 participants. This average was determined by subtracting column 5 from column 8. Columns 5 and 8 are the average attitudes for the six stages for each participant in pre- and post-test measures, respectively. These averages were computed by adding the attitude totals for each stage and dividing by 6. The rationale for totaling all stages relates to the theory that a person processes all state- ments, even though the distortion in stages more than one above his own could be sizable. 192 Column 12 is computed by subtracting column 6 from column 9. These two columns reflect the average attitude for stages 1, 2 and 3. These averages were considered disirable because it is in these stages of maturity that the messages of the curricular experi- ence are couched. A student participating in the curricular experi- ence "should" have been "enlivened" to the consideration of these stages and either prompted to more active attitude change in these stages or, if these are immature stages for him, prompted to little response to the film which would be reflected in limited attitude change. Column 13 is computed by subtracting column 7 from column 10. These averages reflect the average attitude in the "working stages" of the student. It is reasonable to suggest that the atti- tude shift would be greatest in these stages, especially if these stages are closely aligned with the stages used in the film. It is these stages that theoretically are the most active in the cogni- tive patterns of the student. Table 31 rearranges columns 11, 12 and 13 of Tables 20 and 21 in a manner which assists in the analysis of these average attitude shifts. Rows 1 through 4, Group l, are the students whose "working stages" are identical to the stages used in the film. Rows 5 through 10, Group 2, are the students whose "working stages" are one stage above the film's stages. Their upper "working stages" is stage 4 while the film basically does not go above stage 3. Rows 11 through 16, Group 3, are the students whose "working stages" are two or more stages above the upper limit of the film's messages. 193 Table 31. Average attitude shift grouped by closeness of "work- ing stages" of the student to the stages used in the messages of the film. Average attitude shift Identification . number All Stages Working stages 1, 2, 3 stages Group 1 1. 01122 -.05 -.02 -.02 2. 02110 .16 .24 .24 3. 02105 -.59 -.91 -.91 4. 07303 -.68 -.41 -.41 Group 2 5. 06303 .78 .78 .33 6. 03202 -.52 -.43 -.36 7. 04202 -.30 0 -.26 8. 04204 .07 -.08 .10 9. 07304 -.19 -.05 .03 10. 08301 -.95 -.81 -l.06 Group 3 11. 08302 .02 .16 .43 12. 01101 .21 .50 -.07 13. 03206 .ll .17 .03 14. 05203 .11 .30 -.08 15. 05205 .16 .22 .19 16. 06302 .08 -.11 .25 194 The initial glance at Table 26 reveals a noticeable dif- ference in the number of negative attitudinal shifts between groups 1 and 2 and group 3. Group 1 has 75 percent of its computations in the negative direction, group 2 has 6l percent of its computations in the negative direction, and group 3 only has 17 percent of its listed attitude shifts in a negative direction. It was previously indicated that group 1 and 2, being most closely alligned with messages of the film would most likely have the most desirable response to the film. It is, of course, the assumption of the cur- ricular design that that response would be in a positive direction. These percentages do not seem to support this expectation. To determine whether or not it appears that l and 2 did have a greater response to the film, the totals in each column were averaged for each group. Without regard to polarity, the figures were totaled and an average amount of attitude shift was computed for each group in each column. Table 32 indicates these average attitude shifts. Again, it must be understood that these averages are not with regard to direction of attitude shift, only the size of the shift. It appears that groups 1 and 2 did have larger attitude shifts than group 3. This was predictable. Group 1 and 2 experi- enced a commonality of values/moral reasoning maturity with the curricular experience which was not enjoyed by group 3. While the statistics used in these data analyses are not appropriate to allow us to discuss the degree of difference among groups, the 195 Table 32. Average size of attitude shift for those students grouped according to the relationship of their level of values/moral reasoning to the level of the film's messages. W Average attitude shift Group All Stages Working stages 1, 2, 3 stages 1 .37 .40 .40 2 .47 .36 .36 3 .12 .24 .18 averages shown indicate that groups 1 and 2 are generally similar in attitude shift and group 3 reflects less shift. It is difficult on the basis of the averages used in Table 27 to make many statements about the differences in attitude shift as suggested by the three different ways of computation. It would be logical to predict the following: Group I: The attitude shift in columns 2 and 3 would be greater than that in column I. This is based on the assumption that attitude adjustment would be most likely in the values/moral reasoning stages of the film and that the "working stages" of the student would reflect greater differentiation in content related to a moral issue. Since the values/moral reasoning stages used in the film and those comprising the "working stages" of the student are the same, it would seem logical that attitude shift would be 196 the greatest with this group of students. They are comfortable with the majority of the statements used in the film, stage 1 and 2, and yet there is enough stage three communication to stimulate the kind of interest inferred in Kohlberg's statements relative to a person preferring considerations one stage above his own. Column I, being the average of all six stages could conceivably be modified by the shifts recorded in stages realistically unde- veloped by the student. As statements appealing in their true meaning to stages of cognitive reasoning not yet developed by the student, they would tend to enlist a moderate or negligible response. Group 2: The attitude shift would be predicted to be the largest for column 3. This column gives averages for the working stages of the student. Group 2 is comprised of those students whose working stages are one stage above the most mature of the film's stages. The film's messages are basically limited to stages 1, 2 and 3. Group 2 includes those students whose working stages peak out at stage 4. Since the film contains negligible numbers of stage 4 statements, and is, in fact, basically stage 1, 2 and 3, the student in group 2 could conceivably be "above" sizable impact from much of the film, therefore registering limited atti- tude shift. Column 2, reflecting stage 1, 2 and 3 attitude shifts should contain indications of smaller shifts since they replace the computations for stage 4 with stage 1. Stage 1 is an immature stage for a stage 4 person and he is not likely to be significantly 197 impressed by messages in this stage. Column I should again con— tain a modified score since the predominant stages will be offset by those not in consistent operation. Group 3: It is difficult to predict where the greatest attitude shift should appear in this group. Because the working stages of the student are at least 2 stages higher than those of the film, the most reasonable prediction would be that students in group three would have a generally passive reaction to the 1 film. Since there is little in the film to be processed in their working stages, probably the greatest potential for attitude shift would come in stages 1, 2 and 3, the stages of the film's messages. Reference to Table 32 indicates that expectations for groups 1 and 3 in relationship to the manner of computing attitude shift have somewhat been realized., The attitude shift for group 1 was greatest in the specialized stages of column 2 and 3. Group three has an overall weaker attitude shift with the stages of the film enjoying the largest shift probably because the working stages of the student are unchallenged by the low-level statements of the film. Group 2 did not fit the expected pattern. Summary The Values Impact Assessment instrument was developed through a series of exercises designed to reflect responsibility to both the moral development theory and basic measurement concepts. VThe purpose in developing a specific instrument was to uncover 198 assessment procedures and concepts that will allow for direct application of the theory to curricular design and evaluation. Two approaches to statistical analysis were used with the instrument that was developed to a point of readiness for measureable use. While these analyses were designed somewhat to evaluate the effectiveness of the instrument, their basic purpose was to look at several of the multitude of variable relationships in the theory and the instrument to discover whether or not expected results were realized. The first approach to data analysis evaluated the effect of the curricular experience on groups of students. This analysis was a computer programmed multivariate analysis of vari- ance. While this approach proved useful, evaluation of the approach identified three basic weaknesses: 1. Being computer programmed, it is probably inacces- sible to the classroom teacher. 2. It did not adequately relate Part II of the VIA to Part I. 3. Analysis of individual response to the curricular experience was unavailable. These weaknesses prompted a second approach to data analysis. Randomly choosing two sample sets of data from each of the eight research groups, the data for each individual was 199 analyzed reflecting a series of expectations relating Part I of the VIA to Part II. Nine data analyses were generated and expec- tations within these data sets were evaluated. Many of the expectations were not realized in the data. The next chapter discusses these findings. CHAPTER VI CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The study is based on the premise that the moral develop- ment theory of Lawrence Kohlberg and associates can be used effec- tively in curriculum design and evaluation. One of the major hinderances to the theory's use is Kohlberg's lengthy, time- consuming and complex assessment procedure. The assessment procedure is not appropriate or feasible for use by the average classroom teacher. The purpose of the study has been to investigate inter- related theory and measurement concepts which affect the possibility of the deve10pment of a paper and pencil assessment instrument for the moral development theory. To do this, an initial instrument has been designed and field-tested. The analysis of the data from the instrument leads to some suggestions and conclusions regarding future devel0pment. The Theory and the Instrument There are several important comparisons between Kohlberg's 1engthy interview assessment technique and the Values Impact Assess- ment (VIA) instrument. 1. Kohlberg's assessment procedure attempts to measure a comprehensive level of values/moral reasoning maturity. The VIA 200 201 attempts to measure values/moral reasoning maturity only from the perspective of one moral issue, drug abuse. By design the VIA has a much more limited scope than Kohlberg's interview procedure. 2. Kohlberg's lengthy interview procedure uses attitudes (content) expressed in the assessment process only as means to an end. The VIA considers attitudes (content) a reflector of the level of values/moral reasoning maturity (structure). Content reflecting structure is central to the specific goals of the cur- ricular experience. Content is only an introductory tool in Kohlberg's interview procedure. In the VIA, content is assumed to reflect structure. 3. The Kohlberg interview attempts to assess maturity by using nine moral dilemmas to probe into the structural patterns of the intellect. The VIA is limited in the variety of probes available because of the limits of a paper-and-pencil instrument. This is not considered a serious problem since the scope of the VIA instrument is much smaller than the extended interviews. 4. Both the extended interview techniques and the VIA build assessment procedure on basic "life issues." For the extended interview the issues are organizing factors for scoring. In the VIA, the issues (called ”topics") are used as the factors around which the instrument is developed as well as scored. 5. In some of the research which used the extended interview, prototypic statements for each values/moral reasoning stage were developed to assist in some aspect of the assessment. The VIA extensively used the notion of prototypic statements. 202 Two Approaches to Data Analysis Initially, a computer programmed analysis of variance was employed to look at the moral reasoning and attitude responses of various groupings to the curricular experience. In light of what was known about the moral reasoning level of the messages in the curricular experience, these data shed some light on the content and construct validity of the instrument. This segment of the data analysis also gave some elementary reliability mea- sures for parts of the instrument. The initial approach to data analysis was followed with an analysis of 16 individual response sets relating to nine primary expectations. The expectations were generated out of an understanding of the theory and know- ledge of the values/moral reasoning level of the film's messages. Instrument Critique The primary concern in the study is the internal validity of a method of assessment. The development of a specific assess- ment instrument related to a particular curricular experience on the issue of drug abuse was the tool used to look at reasonable assessment concepts and procedures. If basic concepts and approaches to using the moral development theory for curricular evaluation can be identified, and applied to a wide range of curricula, develop- ment of a specific instrument will have reached its goal. Those who have pioneered work with assessment related to the moral development theory have been somewhat pessimistic about 203 attempting to translate Kohlberg's assessment techniques to paper and pencil. They contend that the extended interview is the only assessment procedure that allows valid assessment of cognitive structure related to values/moral development. Such pessimism is respected. It stimulates a deep concern for loyalty to the basic tenets of the theory. This loyalty has prompted an almost com- pulsive effort to initially evaluate the quality of the instrument totally from an internal validity perspective. ‘It is the concern that fosters the emphasis on developmental process and concept identification in instrument design rather than the development of a specific "marketable" instrument. VIA's Introductory Section The introductory section of the VIA asks for demographic data, establishes the need to commit opinion on a moral issue, and gives instruction. An instrument developed for classroom purposes probably could delete the demographic section. It was used in this study to assist in instrument evaluation. The demographic data allowed various groupings of students for which responses to the curricu- lar experience were predicted and analyzed. The introductory paragraph, establishing the need to respond to a values/moral situation, sets the stage for the respondent to express opinions. Some method of presenting the 204 need for the respondent's opinion is necessary in this type of instrument. The type of paragraph used seems to have met the need. The instructions employed in the VIA were apparently satisfactory.. Most of what few instruments were not included in the data analysis were discarded because they were incomplete, not because they were incorrectly completed. Part I of the VIA: Strengths Because the VIA consists of two interrelated parts, the validity of the instrument must be considered from both the per- spective of each section individually and of the sections in interaction with each other. Part I of the VIA is an attempt to find a method to identify the general level of values/moral rea— soning at which the subject functions in reference to the drug abuse issue. Part I does not assess the attitudes of the student toward the curricular moral issue.. The personal interviews conducted with each showing of the film indicated that the general values/moral reasoning level of the students was late level I (stage 2) and early level II (stage 3). The theory suggests that the ages at which stage 2 and stage 3 reasoning should be dominant are the ages of those participating in the study (Stewart, 1974). Part I of the VIA registered the mean values/moral reasoning level on the pre-test at stage 3, a little higher than the interviews. Considering 205 that Part I is only an eight-item assessment and runs the risk of strong suggestibility toward socially desirable answers be- cause it provides multiple-choice statements reflecting all possible reasoning levels, its assessment closely aligned to the data from the interviews and the theoretically expected is encouraging. Kohlberg's concept of "life issues" has evolved as the result of his quest for acceptable ways to code the volumes of material generated by the extended interview. The "issues," postulated as universal, are central to the assessment process. The issues isolated for use in Part I of the VIA were not taken from Kohlberg's list of universal issues. They were generated from early assessment exercises with the film before working knowledge of Kohlberg's issues was available.* The topics isolated as major concerns for inclusion in Part I of the VIA are strikingly close to the "life issues" listed by Kohlberg. In this respect, Part I of the VIA has tapped a common vein with the research work of Kohlberg and his associates. *The consideration of ”life issues" is one of many con- cepts that has been caught in the publication lag of the moral development theory. While Kohlberg and his associates have been working with this assessment scoring procedure for some time, it has only been since the initiation of this project that their procedure has been adequately reported in the available litera- ture. 206 Part I of the VIA: Weaknesses Reliability studies for eight item Part I of the VIA indicate a relatively weak reliability coefficient of .71 on the pre-test and .73 on the post-test. Adjustments will be discussed related to the issue of reliability. While the mean pre-test level of values/moral reasoning as measured by Part I of the VIA is as theoretically predicted and measures closely to that of the personal interviews, the spread of scores in the 132 participants is larger than desirable. It is the number of higher scores, stage 5 and 6 (see Table 10) that is especially troublesome. As predicted by the theory, there should be very few, if any, level III (stage 5 and 6) people in the population of this study. Kohlberg's latest studies indicate that he is pressed to find level III people below the ages of the early twenties (Kohlberg and Turiel, 1973). Throughout the deve10pment of the instrument the wording of each item was carefully reviewed with judges thoroughly familiar with the moral deve10pment theory. Uppermost in the consideration for wording was the commitment that the item should reflect only the global level or stage for which it was designed. For instance. wording used in level I statements should not suggest level II or III concepts. Part I was subject to strong suggestibility because it included statements from all three moral deve10pment levels. Level III statements always "sound better" than lower level state- ments and so are subject to being considered "most important" even 207 though not representing a functional cognitive structure or even fully comprehended by one functioning at lower levels of reasoning. Consistent wording analysis in conjunction with the data presented in Chapter IV indicates need for further refinement in concepts of item development. As Part I of the VIA evolved, eight t0pics were isolated as basic concerns to drug abuse considerations. Three of the topics related naturally to level 1, three to level II, and two to level III. An argument could be made that the existence of only two level III options prejudiced the possibility of its choice. In dealing with this argument in the process of instru- ment development, it was decided not to "force" the data from the early film showings into giving an equal number of topics related to each level. The argument of unequal options for each level is reasonable and should be given careful consideration. Now that more complete information on Kohlberg's scoring "issues" is avail- able, perhaps they should be used as the t0pics for Part I. Part II of the VIA: Strengths Part II of the VIA was designed to measure attitude shift in light of the student's level of values/moral reasoning maturity. The theory suggests that the most desirable attitude shifts would occur for people developmentally one stage below the messages of the film. The Likert method of attitude measurement was used be- cause of its ability to indicate attitude shift from pre-test to post—test. 208 The reliability coefficients for each of the eight sub- scales in Part II and for the combination of all scales is most encouraging (see Table). These are higher than was realistically anticipated with each scale having a very limited number of items. The problem of suggestibility, which so completely over- whelmed early versions of the instrument (when a majority of the participants chose stage 5 and 6 options), has been answered with some adequacy by the notion of "working stages.“ Limiting the options for each level-oriented topic to statements reflecting the stages immediately surrounding the level of the student or the message has effectively diminished the opportunity for the student to respond inappropriately to high-level statements which "sound nice” but have not been structured cognitively. Tables 6, 8 and 9 also indicate a favorable trend within the instrument. The average attitude change for those whose cog- nitive structures experienced disequilibrium through the curricular experience was greater than for those who remained equilibrated. The theory suggests that the cognitive function of equilibration in response to messages which cause disequilibrium is basic to ' cognitive growth. It is evident in Tables 6, 8 and 9 that the attitude change for those who experienced no need to equilibrate is less than for those whose level of cognitive development was challenged by the film. This indicates that the stage orientation of the statements in Part II is responsive to the levels of rea- soning employed by the participants. 209 Part II of the VIA: Weaknesses As is true with the items in Part I of the VIA, the wording of prototypic statements requires careful consideration. Theoretical analysis of each of the items in Part II suggests some minor revisions can be made. Most of these revisions in- volve the simplification of complex or multi-sentenced items. Some items were developed with the belief that in order to be obviously indicative of a specific stage it needed to include several characteristic notions associated with that stage. This assumption is now questioned. Less complex statements are de- sirable for greater clarity. Analysis of the Instrument as a Whole The VIA was developed and evaluated with content and construct validity as the guiding criteria. Because of the im- probability of developing a reliable and valid paper-and-pencil assessment procedure for values/moral reasoning maturity, priority was placed on concept and variable relationship which were thought to most accurately reflect the theory. Kohlberg's four charac- teristics for a test of moral development (see Chapter II) were respected and served as guiding principles in the developmental process. There are several obvious conclusions to be drawn about the instrument and the experience as the result of the variety of data analyses that were undertaken. 210 l. The fact that the instrument seemed to indicate a slight undesirable attitude shift toward drug abuse suggests interesting theoretical questions. Negative responses to drug abuse education programs have not been unusual. Critics of drug abuse education programs have often stated that the effect of the programs has been contrary to the goal of reducing drug abuse. It has, in fact, desensitized young people to the problems of drug abuse and opened them to a position of being willing to experiment with drugs. Two possible explanations are reasonable for the negative attitudinal shift registered in the VIA: a. The content of the film was in some manner dis- agreeable to the students. b. Inappropriateness of the level of the messages of the film led to distortion and to negative response. 2. A curricular experience with higher stage messages might have been more useful in development and evaluation of the instrument. The analysis of the curricular experience (chosen because of its popularity with educators across America) showed it to be a professionally attractive film, consisting of a series of low-level values/moral reasoning messages. 3. The instrument did not differentiate between the three types of subjects as much as was assumed. Three explana- tions are possible for this: a. The instrument does not have fine discriminating ability. 211 b. The film generates a similar response from the vast majority of those who see it. c. The three groups do not significantly differ in their concerns related to drug abuse. 4. Part I of the VIA functioned as expected in assess- ing mean level shift as the result of the curricular experience. No single curricular experience will cause a sizable growth on level of cognitive functioning. The mean level shift, pre-test to post-test, as measured by Part I was zero. Had the mean shift in level of values/moral reasoning been sizable, the validity of Part I of the VIA would be seriously questioned. 5. Of nine predicted relationships generated for the second approach to data analysis, only two were realized. The predictions were made because of what was known about the theory, the film, the respondents in the project, and what was believed to be true about the validity of the VIA's measurements. It was predicted that those who experienced some form of equilibration would have the most desirable attitude shift. Table 23 indicates that to be true. It was also predicted that the amount of attitude shift, regardless of direction, would be greatest for those whose "working stages" of values/moral reasoning were identical to those of the film's messages. This prediction was realized. 6. The two-part design of the VIA contributes greatly to the usefulness of the instrument. It provides the opportunity for observation of relationship between content and structure. 212 The theory suggests that content responses are more credible when they can be limited to the range of structural reasoning used by the student. An individual's comprehension of state- ments more than one stage above his own is very limited. Content measured by statements not in the "working stages" of the indi- vidual represents responses to concepts which are uncomprehended or seriously distorted. Such measurement is limited in its validity. The interrelationship of Part I and Part II adds to the quality and usefulness of the assessment. 7. The process through which the VIA was developed is worthy of review. It was a process stimulated through the efforts of many who assisted in the project. The details of the process were not forced to fit a preconceived plan. They reflect the natural steps taken between the known starting point and a desired conclusion. Again, it must be said that assessment process and related concepts are of more importance than the instrument itself. The steps of instrument evolution and brief comment about them follows: Steps in building the VIA Comment 1. Identification of the cur- l. The criteria for choice in ricular experience to be future projects should in- evaluated. clude a careful analysis of the values/moral reason- ing level of the experi- ence's messages. 213 Steps in buildinggthe VIA 2. Identification of "life issues" (topics) associated with the issue of drug abuse. Establishment of a need to re- late to a moral issue. The introductory paragraph in the instrument sets the stage. Statement of topics in level significant terms. (This step altered the instrument from a single unit to two parts.) Writing of stage appropriate prototypic statements reflect- ing the topics uncovered in step #2. Comment The method used in this study could be altered or replaced by use of Kohl- berg's moral choice ”issues.” The participant should sense some need to take a position on the issue. These items do not reflect a bias toward the moral issue in question. They must be neutral. This is a time-consuming task. Each item requires the evaluation of judges thoroughly familiar with the moral development theory. These steps are not all that were employed in this study. They are only those which were productive in the development of the instrument. Several activities which were unproductive or counter- productive were not included in the listed developmental steps. Further research will undoubtedly alter the developmental process. General Conclusions The study was initiated with the desire to contribute to the application of the moral development theory to the educational enterprise. The theory holds rich promise. Its complexity and immaturity has limited its practical school-oriented use. 214 A Respected Theory One of the primary cautions expressed by those now work- ing with the theory relates to a tendency sellers of educational methods have of finding a new theory and developing it into salable gimmics and fadish trends in the educational marketplace. The result being a distorted use of a theory and retardation or abor- tion of the theory's growth. The moral development theory has great potential for shallow misuse by enterprising publishers and "road show" educators. The theory is highly respected by those working with it. Their initial attempts to relate it to the class- room have been undertaken with a deep commitment of loyalty and honesty to the theory. At the cost of a considerable delay in its useability in the classroom, the goals of this and other related studies are primarily founded on the desire to protect the theory from abuse. All good theories generate questions. The data analysis from the VIA highlights several basic notions in the theory that relate to curricular concerns. The majority of these questions center on the relationship between cognitive structure and content. The theory suggests that the most profitable exercise for a student in a values/moral related issue is to grapple with the issue from a level of moral reasoning maturity one stage more advanced than that which he normally uses. Growth in cognitive maturity results from the process of equilibration which is called for when cogni- tive stimuli cannot be hosted by existing cognitive patterns. Several of the expectations discussed in the previous chapter 215 suggest potentially profitable research interests relating atti- tude change to change in level of moral reasoning. What is the relationship between growth in moral reason- ing and desired attitude change in specific moral issues? Table 9 and 11 seem to suggest some relationship between amount of attitude change and stimulation to reasoning at a level differing from that employed previous to the curricular exercise. Discussion concern- ing Table 30 questions whether or not stimulation toward lower levels of reasoning for those employing high levels leads to nega- tive attitude reactions. Further research with instruments like the VIA may give insight into the importance of appropriate levels of messages when a desired attitudinal response is sought. Per- suasion may be as much related to moral reasoning level of message as to any other communication dimension. A Step of Progress The purpose of the study was to "develop and test a generalizable model of an instrument to assess values/moral im- pact through a curricular experience. In essence it is not the specific instrument developed in the study that has value, but the concepts and processes uncovered during instrument development." An instrument has been developed. Like most new assessment instruments it is satisfactory in some ways and obviously weak in others. In the opinion of the writer, it does make a small gain toward the possibility of a paper-and-pencil instrument to 216 measure the values/moral reasoning level of maturity as it relates to a specific curricular purpose. It offers a step of progress in a rather lengthy journey toward the marriage of the theory to cur- ricular design and evaluation. A Basic Comparison It is important to recognize a major difference between the scope of Kohlberg's extended interview assessment procedure and the VIA. The extended interview is designed to measure an individual's comprehensive level of values/moral reasoning. It assumes an assessment of the full range of cognitive structures as related hypothetically to all situations that call for a choice or decision with values or moral overtones. Kohlberg's assessment of an individual at a specific level is modified with the knowledge that an individual functions at more than one level, but primarily at one level. An individual's cognitive structures are not all at the same level of maturity. Various issues may stimulate an individual's cognitive structures at different levels of maturity. The necessity for the extended interview is dictated by the need to assess as many structural patterns as possible in order to make a generalized statement about the maturity mean and range of the individual's values/moral reasoning. The VIA seeks to tap only a selected pattern of cognitive structures that relate to the single issue of drug abuse. It is conceivable that it is this limited scope of assessment that makes it reasonable to pursue 217 the possibility of a paper-and-pencil instrument as a valid and reliable values/moral reasoning assessment tool. Content and Structure A brief question and discussion regarding the relation- ship between content and structure is in order. Content is the observable behavior of structure. The intellect functions by processing stimuli through cognitive structures. The evidence of that process is content. It is this emphasis which is largely responsible for its distinction from other values and moral develop- ment theories. Assessment within the moral development theory is considered complex and difficult because of the tendency to measure content when it is thought structure that needs to be measured. The literature of the moral development theory presents the content- structure difference in such a way as to lead to the conclusion that they are two separate concerns. Is the distinction between cognitive structure and con- tent as dramatic as some of the theory's literature implies? Are there not some dynamics of relationship within cognitive content and structure that if clarified could ease the task of measuring structure in the moral development theory? Some students of the moral development theory, having discussed the concept of the VIA, have expressed fear that content and structure are confused in the measurement. Their fears are respected, yet the data analysis from the VIA as compared with the personal interviews gives reason to be encouraged that cognitive structure is tapped by some elements of 218 the instrument. The questions of relationship between cognitive structure and content are pregnant with potential for future re- search. It is the opinion of this writer that further research will show that cognitive content and structure are different dimensions of the same intellectual process. Content is the assessment gateway to cognitive patterns of structure. Recommendations Much remains to be done to bring the moral development theory to the point of practical availability to curriculum evaluators. The VIA is a start. The processes and concepts clarified in the development of the VIA need further investigation, modification and expansion. Several recommendations are in order as the result of the study.. They are not offered as modes of final improvement on all the shortcomings of the VIA. They are suggestions for fur- thering the processes initiated with the VIA. They are not dis- cussed in order of priority. Recommendation #1: Item Reworking Appendix F provides the suggested rewording for the VIA items. These revised items do not alter the structure orientation or the directionality of the attitude statements. Only one item in Part I was changed. The change reduced the suggestibility of the item by taking out the word "value." Such loaded words signal 219 the respondent that this would be a good, socially acceptable item to choose. The alterations suggested in Part II are designed both to simplify the items and to reduce suggestibility. There are two basic considerations in item development for an instrument like the VIA. First, it must be worded to reflect only the stage of values/moral reasoning maturity for which it is designed. Item discrimination must reflect both content and structure. Second, it must realistically relate the nature of the curricular experience to concerns of the moral development theory. Excess wordiness is the natural result of the attempt to write items relating the curricular content to structural considerations. Such wordiness has the potential to confuse the stage orientation and/or communicative clarity of the item. Item construction in this type of structurally oriented instrument demands faithfulness to generally accepted item develop- ment standards and to the theory on which the instrument is based. Guidelines for the development of reliable items are needed. Fur- ther research into this specific issue is basic to the refinement of instruments like the VIA. Recommendation #2: Topical Statements Part I of the VIA, while originally considered little more than introductory, developed into an integral segment of the instrument. Its measurement of the level of values/moral reason- ing maturity provides rich insight into the effect of the curricular 220 experience when related to the attitudinal items of Part II. The "topic" or “issue" orientation of Part I reflects basic assessment concepts used by Kohlberg and his associates. The reliability and validity of Part I could be in- creased by expanding it. Increasing the number of items to at least eighteen, with six items for each level, is recommended. For instruments related to other moral issues, the number of items in the topical level section would be affected by the number of "life topics" considered important to that issue. It would be worthwhile to attempt to use all of Kohlberg's issues that seemed genuinely related to the moral question being considered. Whatever number of topics is used for this segment of the instrument, the number of items generated for those topics should be large enough to have the potential for statistically significant reliability and validity figures. Another adjustment that could be used to add to the content and construct validity of the topical section of the in- strument is an adaptation of a technique used by Rest (Rest, 1971). To help determine the reality of the existence of specific level structures, Rest asked the participants to reword each level- oriented statement. If the rewording showed lack of comprehension of the item, the structures necessary for that level were assumed to be undeveloped. Such a rewording exercise is worthy of con- sideration for an instrument like the VIA. 221 Recommendation #3: Instrument Organization Having two parts in the instrument is important for rea- sons discussed previously. It is the opinion of the writer that it would be wise to reverse the order of the instrument. The stage-related attitudinal items should be completed before the topical items. Completing the topical items first unnaturally alerts the student to concerns on which he may focus while express- ing his attitudes in the other segment of the instrument. Being cued to concerns that are not naturally functioning in the cogni- tive patterns could distort the accuracy of the attitudinal reaction. Not only could inappropriate attitudes be registered, but the true stage orientation of the individual could be distorted. For these reasons the arrangement of the VIA should be reversed. Recommendation #4: Instrument Scope The VIA focuses on a single, well-defined moral issue presented in a specific, brief curricular experience. The normal curricular experience for which moral development assessment is desired is more complex than a drug abuse film. Further develop- ment of the processes and concept of instruments like the VIA should carefully choose the curricular experience to be evaluated. Complication of the curricular experience inserts a large number of variables that could distort further findings concerning the process of developing concepts for assessment instruments. While eventually it may be possible to assess complex cognitive patterns 222 with a technique much simpler than the extended interview, it now seems reasonable to recommend less aggressive projects while assessment procedures and concepts are being uncovered. The im- portance of the moral deve10pment theory to curricular design and evaluation warrants cautious research and experimentation. Recommendation #5: Knowledge of the Theory The moral development theory with its educational impli- cations attracts interest. It could become the educational theory in vogue. It does not lend itself to the theoretical "dabbler." Before one conducts research on the basis of Kohlberg's theory, it is imperative that he develop a thorough grasp of it. Partial knowledge is dangerous, leading to misappropriations and unreason- able research. Confusion of content-structure relationship is the most probable source of difficulty arising from the misapplication of the theory. Until one has had a variety of experiences in dif- ferentiating between the two, it is easy to confuse one for the other. More than general familiarity with the theory is needed for teaching in harmony with it and researching in relationship to it. Consistent involvement with the various concepts within the theory is the only sufficient preparation for using it as a resource base. This recommendation is not made by one who considers himself to fully understand all the implications of the theory. After three years of acquaintance and working with the theory, 223 this author recognizes his need for continued growth in under- standing. The individual committed to a thorough exposure to the theory is encouraged to study the doctoral disseration of Stewart (Stewart, 1974). Summary The assessment of the impact of a curricular design on the maturity of a student's moral reasoning may someday be the opportunity of every teacher. The development of the Values Im- pact Assessment (VIA) instrument initiates the application of the moral deve10pment theory to curricular evaluation in the classroom. Assessment concepts and procedures identified through the develop- ment, use, and analysis of the VIA are initial steps toward the goal. These steps are encouraging even though sometimes in obvious need of strengthening. In a world crying for justice, the educational enterprise has no choice but to encourage moral growth and fulfillment. The moral deve10pment theory can assist in understanding the task. It can provide not only a theoretical climate for philosophical posi- tions but a framework for curricular design and evaluation. The VIA has helped uncover procedures and concepts which can serve to relate the theory to the classroom. The path to a full relationship is long, a first step has been taken. BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY Baldwin, J. M. Social and Ethical Interpolations in Mental Development. New York: Macmillan, 1906. Beckner, M. 0. "Organismic Biology." In Paul Edwards (ed.) The Enpyclopedia of Philosophy, Vol. 5. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., and the Free Press, 1967. Blatt, M. M. and Kohlberg, L. The Effects of Classroom Moral Discussion upon Children‘s Level of Moral Judgment. Cambridge: Laboratory of Human Development, Harvard University, 1971. ' Clayton, M. B. "Equivalence Range and Tendency to Endorse Absolute Statements." Unpublished Masters Thesis, Pennsylvania State University, 1959. Dewey, J. and Bently, A. F. Knowing and the Known. Boston: Beacon Press, 1949. Dewey, J. Ethical Principles Underlying_Education. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1909. Gessel, A. "The Ontogenesis of Infant Behavior." In L. Car- michael (ed.), Manual of Child Psychology. New York: Wiley Co., 1954. Handy, Rollo. The Measurement of Values. St. Louis, Missouri: Warren H. Green, Inc., 1970. Hartshorne, H. and May, M. A. Studies in the Nature of Character. Columbia University, Teachers College VOTT 1: Studies in Deceit, Vol. 2: Studies in Service and Self-Control, Vol. 3: Studies in Organization of Character, New York: Macmillan, 1928-1930. Kelly, G. A. "The Psychology of Personal Constructs." In Vol. 1 of A Theory_of Personality. New York: Norton, 1955. 224 Kohlberg, Kohlberg, Kohlberg, Kohlberg, Kohlberg, Kohlberg, Loevinger, Lurie, W. Maller, J. Neil, S. Nunnally, Piaget, J: 225 L. I'A Cognitive-Developmental Approach to Moral Education." The Humanist. November-December, 1972, Vol. 32, pp. l3-l6. L. and staff. Standard Scoring Manual. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Laboratory of Human Development, Harvard University, 1973. L. and Turiel, E. Collected Papers on Moral Develop- ment and Morgl Education, Cambridge: Laboratory of Human Development, 1973. L. "From Is to Ought: How to Commit the Naturalistic Fallacy and Get Away with it in the Study of Moral Development." (Revision of Kohlberg, 1971), Cambridge: Laboratory of Human Development, Harvard University, 1972. L. The Development of Modes of Moral Thinking and Choice in the Years Ten to Sixteen. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Chicago, 1958. L. "Understanding the Hidden Curriculum." Learning. December, 1972, pp. lO-l4. Jane and Wessler, Ruth. Measuring Ego Development. San Francisco: Jossey Boss, Inc., 1970. A. "A Study of Spranger's Value Types by the Method of Factor Analysis." Journal for Social Psychology, V01. 7, 1937, ppo 17'37. V. and Glaser, E. M. Interest—Values Inventory. New York: New York Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1939. Summerhill. New York: Hart, 1960. J. C. Tests and Measurements. New York: McGraw Hill Book Co., Inc., 1959. Judgment and Reasoninggin the Child. New York: _ Harcourt and Brace, 1928. Piaget, J. Piaget, J. [pegfibral Judgment of the Child. New York: Free Press, 1948. The Moral Judgment of the Child. New York: The Free Press, 1965. 226 Piaget, J. The Origins of Intelligence in Children. New York: The Free Press, 1965. Poe, W. Differential Value Patterns of College Students. Un- published doctoral dissertation. University of Nebraska, 1954. Porter, N. and Taylor, N. How to Assess the Moral Reasoning of Students: A Teachers Guide to the Use of Lawrence, Kohlberg's Stage-Development Method, Profiles in Prac- tical Education, N. 8. Toronto: The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 1972. Rest, J. R. The Hierarchical Nature of Moral Judgment: A Study of Patterns of Comprehension and Preference for Moral Stages. Unpublished manuscript, Laboratory of Human Development, Harvard University, 1971. Schroder, H. M. and Svedfeld, P. Personality Theory and Informa- tion Processing. New York: The Ronald Press, 1971. Scott, W. A. "Cognitive Complexity and Cognitive Balance.‘l Un- published manuscript, University of Colorado, 1961. Sellitz, C., Johada, M., Deutch, M., and Cook, 5. W. Research Methods in Social Relations. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1967. Selman, R. "The Relation of Role Taking to the Development of Moral Judgment in Children." Child Development, Vol. 42, No. 2, 1971. Sharp, F. C. Good Will and 111 Will. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1950. Sloane, H. N. "The Generality and Construct Validity of Equiva- lence Range." Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Pennsylvania State University, 1959. Smuts, J. C. Holism and Evolution. New York: The Macmillan Co., 1926. Spranger, E. Types of Men. New York: Steckert, 1928. State Journal. Friday, April 13, 1973. Stendler, C. B. "A Study of Some Socio-Moral Judgments of Junior High Students." Child Development. Vol. 20, 1949, pp. 15-28. 227 Stewart, John. Values Development Education. East Lansing: Michigan State University, Values Development Educa- tion Program, 1973. Stewart, John. Toward a Theory for Values Development Education. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University, 1974. Thomas, W. L. The Initial Development of the Differential Value Profile. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Univer- sity of Tulsa, 1969. Thurstone, L. L. "The Measurement of Values." Psychological Review. Vol. 61, January 1954, pp. 47-58. Wadsworth, Barry J. Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development. New York: David McKay Co., Inc., 1971. APPENDICES APPENDIX A THE STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT-- Jean Piaget APPENDIX A THE STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT-- Jean Piaget? Piaget describes four major stages of cognitive development. They are identified here along with general age ranges and major characteristics. Stage I: Sensorimotor General age range: Birth to approximately 18 months to 2% years. Perceptions and movements or actions constitute the child's intellectual instruments, which is the reason for the name of this stage. Child is born with basic, minimal reflexes (sucking, crying, grasping, gross motor movements, etc.) which become action structures (schemes). Prerepresentationa1--the child does not mentally represent objects or actions. Preverbal--no language until the latter part of this stage. Egocentrism total at first, gradually lessens, but remains dominant throughout. Operates as though self is whole world and causes all events. Intelligence in the infant is displayed in his actions. Direct action upon reality. Initially: no concept of space; no concept of cause and effect relationships; no concept of time (before and after), no object permanence. Only gradually do these concepts develop with experience. *This material adapted from Stewart, John, Toward a Theory for Values Development Education, 1974. 228 229 Six substages in this broad stage: (ages general and approximate) l. Reflex--(Birth to l month)-—Exerciese ready-made schemas. 2. First differentiations—-(l to 4 month)--Primary circular reactions; i.e., coordination of motor habits and perceptions. 3. Reproduction--(4 to 8 months)--Secondary circular reactions; i.e., coordination of the primary circular reactions to form intentional acts. 4. Coordination of schemas--(8 to 12 months)--Applies familiar schemes to new situations. 5. Experimentation--(12 to 18 months)--Tertiary circular reactions; i.e., discovery of new means through experimentation. 6. Representation--(18 months to 24 months)--Invents new means through mental combinations. Begins symbolic representation (language). Stage II: Preoperational General age range: 2 or 3 years to 7 or 8 years. Preconceptual period in which child can symbolize (thought, representation), but cannot perform operations. That is, he can differentiate signifiers (words, images) from what is signified (the objects or events to which the thoughts, images, representations refer). But he cannot integrate his thoughts into networks of thoughts in which he can reverse his thinking (reversibility_is necessary for true operational thought, according to Piaget). Actions are internalized and, therefore, represented, but thought is not liberated from perceptions. Thus the child in this perception-bound state will make deci- sions based on perpetual clues when confronted with a conflict between cognitions and perceptions. Child cannot reason simultaneously about a part of the whole and the whole itself. Begins to acquire language--first symbols, then concepts-- this is the most important development in this stage. 230 Speech goes through two major developmental periods: 1. Egocentric speech--(2 years to 4 or 5 years)-- no communication or intent to communicate in the adult sense. Speaks in the presence of others, but without intention that others should hear his words. Speaks "according to himself" but not "for himself." When he says he speaks for others he actually speaks from his own point of view. Piaget calls nonconver- sations of this type collective monologues. In many cases it is the thinking of actions out loud. 2. Socialized speech--(by ages 5, 6, 7)--begins to actually communicate and exchange ideas, and intends that others should hear him and listen. Since cooperation depends on socialized speech, and for.other reasons, this development has important implications for values development education. Begins to develop imagery, but imperfectly--images are a product of and not a cause of mental activity. Thought is not organized into rules and concepts. Does not mentally represent a series of actions. Gradually becomes less dependent on direct sensorimotor actions. Definitions are functional and not abstract; e.g., a hole is to dig, a fork is to eat with, Mommy is for taking care of me. Ability to take social perspective is limited; e.g., does not understand that he or she is a brother or sister to his or her own siblings. It is helpful to think of the Preoperational Stage as con- sisting of two substages: (l) the preconceptual, and (2) the intuitive. The two substages and their charac— teristics are: Preconceptual Substage of Preoperational Thought: 231 Age range: 18 months or 2 years to about 4% years. Lacks ability to develop true concepts. Language is acquired slowly, and thinking is still con- siderably tied to action. Imitation is largely unconscious. Child reproduces and simulates movements and ideas of others without realiz— ing he does. This form of egocentrism is responsible for the child's indignation when accused of copying from another child; he believes he actually invented or rediscovered what he first saw in or by another. Preconceptual thinking involves the following significant characteristics: Transduction--reasons from particular to particular, not from general to particular (deduction), or particular to general (induction); e.g., thinks sun and moon are alive because they move by themselves. Syncretism--link together things which are unrelated, and see relationships in terms of global per- ceptions. Tendency to connect everything with everything else. Realism--be1ief that one's point of view is the only point of view, and therefore everyone's point of view. Artificialism--be1ief that all things and events are caused by people. Animism--belief that inanimate objects are alive. Intuitive Substage of Preoperational Thought: Age range: 4% years to about 7 or 8 years. Thinking has progressed to point where child can give reasons for beliefs and actions; can form some concepts. Still cannot make mental comparisons, must build them up with actions. 232 Perception is centered--i.e., child can only perceive one area, or one feature of something at a time, and he tends to assume that is the dominant or controlling aspect. Unable to keep in mind more than one relation at a time. Thinking is more advanced than preconceptual, but is still impressionable and unsystematic. The entire preoperational stage, although an enormous step forward from the sensorimotor stage, is still limited in many ways. The limitations, which stand out in comparison to more mature forms of thought, especially adult thought, revolve around several major factors that influence the child's cognitive development at this stage. They are primarily concerned with the following: 1. Egocentrism 2. Irreversibility Transductive reasoning Centering (Tl-#0.) Inability to focus on transformations Stage III: Concrete Operations General age range: 7 or 8 years to 11 or 12 The dominant mental activity of the child now shifts to intellectual operations for the first time. Develops logical operationse-i.e., the child's reasoning becomes logicale—he can use logical thought processes (operations) that can be applied to concrete problems. A concrete operation involves underlying systems of thought; e.g., classification, seriation, numbering, combining, separating, repeating, dividing, and substituting. . . . but, these can be applied only to objects considered real (concrete), and not to hypothetical objects; i.e., the internal manipulations of objects that are, or have been, perceived. 233 No longer perception-bound--can make cognitive and logical decisions rather than perceptual decisions. Gains reversibility. Attends to transformations. No longer dominated by egocentrism--is now aware that others can come to conclusions different than his own; begins to seek validation of his ideas through interaction with others. Can take the View of others. Child can now truly speak "for himself" and not just "accord- ing to himself." Child for the first time becomes tru1y_social with nonegocent- ric speech, and can cooperate in a truly reciprocal way. One of the most important developments of this period is the achievement of conservation, or the ability to conserve. This is the ability to hold constant certain features, dimensions, qualities, and characteristics of an object or situation when another aspect changes. (For example, if you change the shape of a clay ball right in front of the child's eyes, he will believe that you have also changed its weight, mass, etc., if he is still preopera- tional.) Conservation is a very significant and complex aspect of intelligence, and it is not achieved in all ways at the same time. The structures permitting con- servation are usually developed for particular categories at the following ages: number 5-6 substance (mass) 7-8 area 7-8 weight 9-10 volume 11-12 Thus it can be seen that, except for number, the child does not.conserve until the beginning of concrete opera- tions, then gradually acquires the other structures. Notice that the ability to conserve volume does not typically develop until the latter part of the period of concrete operations,.and frequently not until the transi- tion to formal operations, and sometimes not until the early part of formal operations. This ability is extremely important for social development, and is, therefore, of major importance for values develop- ment. Human relationships depend on the ability to hold the relationship constant in the face of numerous changes. 234 Stage IV: .Formal Operations General age range: Generally begins about 11 or 12 and may be well developed by 15 or 16, but this is not well established. Final stage of intellectual development, or adult thought. Prior to this stage, the child has been able to deal with actions, objects, and images but has not been able to deal with ideas not linked to these other things. Abstract and formal.thought now possible with which the per- son can perform operations upon operations. The internal manipulation of concepts, relations, and pro- positions. The name of the stage derives.from its major characteristic; the ability to consider the form of an argument rather than only its content; the abstract rather than the concrete. This makes possible what is known as hypothetico-deductive reasoning; i.e., the person can reason about hypotheses, ' or pOSSibilities, and draw conclusions about the out- come. Therefore, can deal with the possible as well as the existing and the real. "If-then" type of thinking. Scientific reasoning. Can subordinate reality to possibility. Can deal with all classes of a problem: present, past, future, verbal, nonverbal, real, imaginary, etc. Operations are coordinated and not dealt with in isolation. True understanding of causation. \ Can deal with proportion, analogy, inference. Issues and principles become important--can see things as they "ought" to be rather than only what "is". Can operate reflectively. Egocentrism usually increases when development proceeds to a new stage, and the person must cope with new and 235 untried fields, operations, and ideas. It subsides as the person masters the new with experience. This phenomenon is especially noticeable with entry into formal operations, and manifests itself in the rebellion and social criticism of the young adolescent who is severely critical of things as they are because he sees how they could be and should be. But, of course, he sees them largely from his own perspective without the more mature outlook that may come with experience. Therefore, this early stage takes the form of naive idealism characterized by omnipotence of thoughts. Formal operations is critically important for values develop- ment in many ways, but especially because it is a neces- sary condition for mature human relationships that depend‘ on reciprocity, conservation, reversibility, perspectivism, and other aspects of human intelligence that do not become fully present and operational until this period of cogni- tive development. One of the most important prerequisites for moral judgment, for example, is the ability to take social perspective and see things the way others see them, imagine the consequences and implications of several lines of action, and apply principles. This involves a complex process called mutual simultaneous reciprocity, or the ability to know that you are aware of x, that the other person is aware of x, that you are aware of the other person's awareness of x, and his awareness of your awareness of his awareness, and so on ad infinitum to an infinite regress, and the ability to do these things simultaneously.s Another major formal operational logical principle, the inverse of the reciprocal, is required for complex social relationships (Stewart, 1974). APPENDIX B REASONS FOR AVOIDING DRUG ABUSE APPENDIX B REASONS FOR AVOIDING DRUG ABUSE Following are the thirty-six reasons for not taking illegal drugs compiled from the exercise with the first showing of "High On The Campus": 1. 4500“) 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Drugs ruin your body. Drugs can destroy your mind. Everybody should obey the law, and drugs are illegal. The church forbids drug abuse. If you get caught, you get busted. Drugs are unbelievably expensive. Things like love, friends, and sharing are better ways of life than drugs. You loose all respect from your friends. With drugs, your future is shot . . . life becomes a deadend. Your family would be crushed. You'll get kicked out of school or loose your job. God doesn't want us to take drugs. Once hooked on drugs, you are no good to anyone. Drugs keep you from helping others . . . you only live for yourself. The real ”with it" gang discourages taking drugs. 236 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 237, Life has too much to offer to waste it on drugs. Only a person with no respect for himself takes drugs . . taking drugs only shows up your weakness. Your mind has great potential for good in this world, don't wreck that with drugs. You can end up in jail for taking drugs. "Cold turkey" withdrawal from taking drugs is extremely miserable. You'll have to become a thief to pay for your habit. You'll end up dragging your friends down with you. Eventually, drugs could kill you. Taking drugs could affect your future children. Drugs change your personality . . . and you may not like the ”new you." Being on drugs is a lonely life . . . you are suspicious of everybody. Drugs could break up your family. Other people need you . . . you can't help them when you are on drugs. Drugs lead to the moral downfall of our country. Drugs are addictive . . . you loose control of yourself. Once you get on drugs, life looses all its meaning. With a police record for taking drugs, it's tough to get a job. Your reputation goes as low as possible when you are on drugs. Drugs mess you up so much that things become more important than people. 238 35. When drugs get you, you loose all sense of responsibility to the pe0p1e you love. 36. On drugs, you are no good to anyone. APPENDIX C FIRST FORM OF THE VALUES IMPACT ASSESSMENT Assigned Number Part I Please provide the following information: 1. Male Female 2. Age: If teenager, give age If other than teenager, check box: 1:] 20-29 [:1 30-39 [:1 40-49 [3 50-59 [Z] 60+ 3. If in school, grade A friend of yours, about 16 years old, is beginning to experiment with illegal drugs. You want to tell him that playing with drugs is unwise. Listed below are eleven (11) reasons why it is unwise to take drugs. Instructions: Cross off three reasons you think are least important as you consider why one should not take drugs. 1. Drugs are harmful to your body. 2. Drugs are very, very expensive and you can't afford them. 3. Drugs could ruin your future. 4. Drugs lead to the downfall of your morals. 5. Your family would be crushed if you became a drug addict. 6. With drugs, eventually you'll end up dragging your friends down with you. 7. Drugs could affect your future children. 8. Taking drugs is against the law. 9. Drugs are harmful to your mind. 10. Life has too much to offer to waste it on drugs. 11. God and the church forbid the taking of drugs. Now that you have crossed out the three reasons you think are least important, turn to the next page and follow instructions carefully. 7’20 240 Instructions: The eleven (11) reasons for not taking drugs that are listed on the first page are listed here with six (6) statements following each one. The six (6) statements under each rea- son may or may not ingyour opinion make that reason important as an argument for not taking drugs. For each of the ei ht (8) reasons you did not cross out (ignore the three (3) reasons you did cross out), choose one statement that ingyour opinion make that reason important. Put a check (tz') beside the statement you choose as the one that makes the reason important. There are no right or wrong answers. It is your opinion that is important. Work quickly. It is not necessary to take time to think through each statement. Check the one that seems best after reading all six (6) rather quickly. Do not take time to "study" them. REASON #1 . . . "You should not take drugs because they are harm- ful to your body." This is a good argument for not taking drugs because: (check one) Even your friends will not think much of you if you ruin your health. lluagovernment sets up guidelines for good health. These should be obeyed because in these matters the government knows best. Ruining your body is bad and you'll be punished. We all agree good health is needed for you to fulfill your responsibility to others. Your body should remain as healthy as possible for your own pleasure and use. Because human life is more important than anything else, we should all take care of our bodies. 241 REASON #2 . . . “You should not take drugs because they are very, very, expensive and you can't afford them.‘I This is a good argument for not taking drugs because: (check one Once you are hooked, you will have to pay others for the drugs. If you don't have money, you will suffer. The cost of drugs will force you to break the law to pay for them. You will become a criminal. Criminals make poor citi- zens and are a problem for society. All the money you will waste on drugs could be better used to improve the life of the poor and needy. In a democratic society we all need to be concerned about others. Everybody's life is worth too much to waste on drugs. The money you have should be used to make life more worthwhile for you and others. Once you get a drug habit, pushers will use you and take your money while they tell you they are helping you. Your closest friends will start avoiding you, knowing that all you now want is someway for them to help you get drugs. You won't be a good friend anymore. REASON #2 . . . "You should not take drugs because they could ruin your future." This is a good argument for not taking drugs because: (check one This country needs you as we build for the future. Everyone should help build a strong society. As a drug addict, you can't do your duty. If you let yourself get hooked on drugs, you will condemn your- self in the future because you will have destroyed the values of life. The future is your personal treasure, treat it kindly or you will be the loser and won't get what you want. Other people deserve your best and in our society we generally agree that if you take drugs now you won't be able to give yeur best later. Not only will your friends think of you as a drug addict, but in the future you can't be a decent husband or wife, father or mother. 242 Take drugs now and you may spend your future in a jail or hospital. REASON #4 . . . "You should not take drugs because they lead to the downfall of your morals." This is a good argument for not taking drugs because: (check one Living a clean life is a necessity if you are going to get anywhere in life and be happy. Others will treat you right if you are moral. Chances are good that your immorality will hurt others. Con- sidering the rights of others is what makes our society work. Very few immoral people are really happy because they always have to be afraid of what will happen as the result of what they do. Do you want everyone to think of you as an immoral person? Your immorality brings shame to the community. Respect is earned by doing right. The standards of our forefathers should be maintained. If you take drugs you will lose control and not be able to follow your own moral principles, thereby losing respect for yourself and others. REASON #5 . . . "You should not take drugs because your family would be crushed if you became a drug addict." This is a good argument for not taking drugs because: (check one Your family needs you . . . and you need them. In a good family, each person cares about the others. You can't help them if you are on drugs. They may lose you. The unwritten agreement of the family will be broken. You could be rejected by your family. They will think of you as a bad family member. One place where the values of human life can really be clear is in the family when each member respects the individuality and rights of the others. By becoming a drug addict you admit your lack of respect for life and therefore your lack of respect for others. 243 Your family is important to your future. If you turn them against you, they may not help you when you need them. The family is the heart of our society. When you take drugs you break up the family and help destroy our society. Mom and Dad can make it tough for you. If you take drugs, they might join others in punishing you. REASON #6 . . . I'You should not take drugs because eventually you'll end up dragging your friends down with you.‘ This is a good argument for not taking drugs because: (check one Your friends are important to you. Don't hurt them now, they might not be willing to help you when you need them. Your friend's life is as important as your own. You respect him or her so much that you would not want to drag them down. If anything bad happened to your friends, you would blame and condemn yourself. Friendship is a sacred thing and a good friend won't violate that. You would not be doing your duty as a friend if you cause your friend to break the law or be a bad citizen. A good friend is a loyal friend who cares. You wouldn't want others to think you were a bad friend who doesn't care if you drag others down with you. If you drag your friends down, they may turn on you and hurt you. You don't want to have to worry about that. Good friends have an agreement to take care of each other. By dragging your friends down with you, you would fail to uphold the agreement and show you didn't really consider the other person's welfare. REASON #7 . . . "You should not take drugs because they could affect your future children." This is a good argument for not taking drugs because: (check one The value of life prohibits you from even risking the birth of a handicapped child in the future. A responsible person knows that his actions today could affect the life and wel- fare of others in the future. 244 ____.If YOU take drugs now you may be punished by having handi- capped children. Responsible members of society agree that we need to do all we can to prevent the birth of handicapped children, for their sakes and ours. Having a handicapped child because of your drugs will always limit your adult life. Handicapped children are a burden to their parents. What right do you have to risk bringing another handicapped child into the world. One reason we have laws against drugs is to try to avoid the birth of more handicapped children. They are a burden to society. If friends discover your child is handicapped because of your drugs, they'll probably have a bad feeling toward you and think you are an unfit parent. REASON #8 . . . "You should not take drugs because taking drugs is against the law." This is a ood argument for not taking drugs because: (check one? If you get busted, a police record will always be a problem. You don't want to make it tough for yourself. A person with a police record usually has a reputation that isn't good. Other people usually judge you as undesirable. You must abide by the law or try to change it. If you break it, you must accept the consequences. When you break the law you may get caught and go to jail. If you don't get caught, you'll always be worrying about it. Individual freedom is impossible if everybody takes the law into his own hands. Your respect for each individual and for freedom and justice encourages you to obey the law even though you may not agree with it. It's only right that when you break the law you be punished according to the law. Society must protect itself from drug users and pushers because they help to destroy society. 245 REASON #9 . . . "You should not take drugs because they are harm- ful to your mind." This is a good argument for not taking drugs because: (check one) A person with a drug-ruined mind becomes an unnecessary prob- lem for those who have agreed to try and help make our society a good one. If you lose your mind your friends may reject you and see you as crazy. You may become someone to pity, not someone to like. Your mind is the key to your happiness. If you lose your mind with drugs you won't be able to look out for your own best interests. You might end up in a mental institution. This is something to have to be afraid of. If you lose your mind, you lose the foundation of your life, your individuality and your freedom. You cannot contribute to the welfare of others and cannot take care of yourself. Mental health is a requirement for a good community and country. We can't do our part for society or be good citizens with a sick mind. REASON #10 . . . "You should not take drugs because life has too much to offer to waste it on drugs." This is a ood argument for not taking drugs because: (check one) Your responsibility to your community and your country cannot be met if you get hooked on drugs. Society has the right to expect that you will give your best to being a good citizen. Your friends and family may see your life as worthless if you get hooked on drugs. People will not approve of you and will not think of you as a good person. Each life is a great opportunity. If you truly value your own life and the life of others, you will not do anything to destroy yours or theirs. You owe it to yourself and those around you to build a good life. Democracy can't work for individuals unless individuals work for it. 246 All that you hope to get out of life vanishes when you get on drugs. It becomes difficult to get the things you want. Other people will use you. Drugs make your life miserable . . . you will sometimes feel so bad you'll want to die. You'll be afraid to live and afraid to die. You won't be worth anything. REASON #ll . . . "You should not take drugs because God and the church forbid it.” This is a good argument for not taking drugs because: (check one) You don't want to cross God . . . sin will always be punished. When you get hooked, you'll be known by church leaders as a "drug addict” and "sinner." They'll tend to look down on you. The church as a group of Christians has a covenant with God m to obey His laws, made for our good. The church believes that taking drugs ruins the quality of our relationship to God and to each other. If everyone would live by the standards of the church, all would be well. A strong community requires a strong religion. God shows us the truth through the church and He says it is wrong to take drugs. Because of God each life has unique values. The church en- courages everyone to treat each other with love and respect. If you disobey God and take drugs, you show your lack of respect for life and God. Obeying God and the church is the best policy for all. We are happiest when God is pleased with us. He can keep us from having what we want. 247 Part 2 Assigned Number 1. What is the film saying? (Be specific) 2. What scenes in the film gave you that idea? (List 6 or more if you can.) 1. 2. #00 oxooowmm APPENDIX D VIA FORM USED WITH THE EIGHT RESEARCH GROUPS Assigned Number Please provide the following information: 1. Male Female 2. Age: If teenage, give age If other than teenager, check box: 1:] 20-29 1:] 30-39 1:] 40-49 [:1 50+ 3. If in school, grade A friend of yours is beginning to experiment with illegal drugs. You want to talk with him about it. Listed below are eight im- portant topics you might want to include in your conversation. In the column under "Most Important" put a check (p/l beside the three (3) topics that inyour opinion are most important in talk- ing about drugs. In the column under "least Important" put an "X" beside the three (3) topics that ingyour opinion are least important in talking about drugs. There are no right or wrong answers. It is your opinion that is important. ‘ Most Least Impor- Impor- tant tant 1. What the future holds for you could be altered by drugs. 2. Drugs have definite affects on your body and what it can do for you. 3. Drugs can permanently affect your mind. Using drugs will affect your friendships. 5. The meaning and value of life could be greatly altered as the result of taking drugs. 6. Your use of drugs will make a difference in your family relationships. 7. Your principles of fairness and morality will be affected by your use of drugs. 8. Society has established legal considerations about drugs. Please go on to page 2 and.follow instructions carefully. 248 SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A 249 Instructions: For each of the following statements indicate your agreement or disagreement by circling the appropriate letters before the statement. If you: strongly agree with the statement, circle "SA" agree with the statement, circle IA:_ are undecided about the statement, circle :0:_ disagree with the statement, circle :2:_ strong y disagree with the statement, circle "SD" Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. Your opinion is important! Work quickly. Don't take time to study each statement in detail. SO 50 50 $0 $0 $0 SO SO SD 1. The future can be used for your own benefit if you use drugs. 2. Drug laws should be changed. Everyone will' benefit if your wise use of drugs helps change these out-dated laws. 3. Drugs will help you be a better family member. 4. The family is the heart of society. Drugs could break up your family and thereby contribute to the breakdown of our society. 5. If you take drugs, you violate the law. Law- breakers usually have bad reputations and are unliked by others. 6. Drugs can expand your mind and allow you to experience greater insight, understanding, and all-around mental strength. 7. Drugs give you total freedom to experience the full value of life and help others experience the same. 8. Part of friendship is the bond of concern friends have for each other. If you introduce your friends to drugs, you destroy the bond and show you don't really consider the other person's welfare. 9. You owe it to yourself and those around you to build a good life. Most people agree that drugs make it virtually impossible to build a good life. SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SD SO $0 $0 SD SD SD SD SD $0 $0 $0 SD SD 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 250 , Many of your friends have the same problems you have. If you introduce them to drugs as a means of solving those problems, you'll be a real friend. It is unwise to take drugs because your body should remain as healthy as possible for your pleasure and use. Drugs can be useful in introducing you to people who will accept you and be life-long friends. By taking drugs you can get more usefulness and pleasure out of your body. When you take drugs you break the law . . . and should be dealt with according to the law. Society must protect itself from drug users and pushers. Introducing a friend to drugs might fulfill your personal responsibility to that friend even though the drugs may be illegal. If you take drugs you always have to fear ending up in a mental institution. While on drugs you can be of greater assistance to your family members. Drugs help you to ful- fill your unwritten commitment to your family. Drugs will reward you with a bright future. The physical rewards for taking drugs are experi- enced in the good feelings you get from them. If you take drugs you will help our society to become stronger. The standards and ideals of the drug culture should be encouraged. When you take drugs you advance in building a good life. Individuals enjoying a good life together are the strength of society. Take drugs now and you may spend your future in a jail or hospital. Drugs will not only spoil your friendships now but in future you won't be a decent husband or wife, or parent. SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A $0 SD SD SD SD $0 $0 SD SO SO SD 50 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 251 Those who take drugs are a problem to their community. The standards of our forefathers ought to be maintained. Your mind is the key to your happiness. With drugs you could harm your mind and then not be able to look out for your best interests. Drugs can help you realize that each person has great value. Your use of drugs will help you respect others and help them see the value of life. Taking drugs is against the law, but sometimes breaking the law is necessary to keep the respect of friends. The laws about drugs are wrong, but when you take drugs you must live with those laws. Society has its rights, even though sometimes society is wrong. Friends are important. If you are on drugs and encourage others to join you, you become an un- desirable friend. People will reject you. If you introduce your friends to drugs, you vio- late the trust that friends possess. Your duty as a friend prohibits you from dragging others down with you. If you take drugs you could be rejected by your family as a disgrace to them. Most of your friends will envy what you experience physically while on drugs. Moral standards established by society often ig- nore the rights of the individual. One who joins the drug culture can help establish a new society that considers the rights of individuals. Your family will make a stronger contribution to our country if you become a better person by taking drugs. You shouldn't take drugs because they could ruin your body. Nobody wants to live with that punish- ment. SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SO 50 $0 SO SO SO SD 50 SD SD $0 $0 SD 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 252 Each life is a great opportunity. If you value your own life and the life of others, you won't let drugs destroy you or them. With a drug-affected mind your friends may re- ject you and look upon you with pity. Drugs give you a life that allows you to give your best to society. Society deserves your best and you should be loyal to society. If your future is spoiled by taking drugs, you'll be the loser. If you take drugs you will probably hurt other people. Considering the rights and feelings of the majority is what makes our society work. With a mind helped by drugs, you will be better able to experience the things you want. If you take drugs you will lose control and not be able to follow your own moral principles, thereby losing respect for yourself and others. If you allow drugs to affect your mind, you will not only meet new friends but they will respect you for your mental growth. Even your friends won't think much of you if you ruin your health by taking drugs. A good friend will always try to be loyal. Drugs will help you to be a loyal friend. When you take drugs you must be prepared to take the consequences of the law or work hard to change the law. In a good family each person cares about the others. While on drugs you can't help your family members. They need you and you need them. If you take drugs you cannot fulfill your basic responsibility to your community or your country. Society has the right to expect your best. APPENDIX E BASIC DATA FOR THE SIXTEEN SAMPLE SETS USED IN THE INDIVIDUAL APPROACH TO DATA ANALYSIS Group 1.: #01122 Pre-test Post-test Part I - Level 1.69 1.75 Part II - Attitude Stage 1 -.83 -1.20 Stage 2 -.67 -.30 Stage 3 -.25 -.30 Stage 4 -.90 -.70 Stage 5 -.50 -.70 Stage 6 -l.25 -l.50 Group 1 - #01101 Part I - Level 1.81 1.93 Part II - Attitude Stage 1 .50 1.20 Stage 2 .30 1.30 Stage 3 .90 .70 Stage 4 1.10 .80 Stage 5 .70 1.00 Stage 6 1.00 .75 Group 2 - #02105 Part I - Level 1.75 1.75 Part II - Attitude Stage 1 0.00 -1.00 Stage 2 1.17 .50 Stage 3 .58 -.80 Stage 4 .40 -.10 Stage 5 .80 .40 Stage 6 .25 0.00 Group 2 - #02110 Part I - Level 1.75 1.56 Part II - Attitude Stage 1 -.50 -.17 Stage 2 -.33 0.00 Stage 3 -.42 -.33 Stage 4 -.50 -.20 Stage 5 -.20 -.30 Stage 6 -.50 -.50 253 254 Group 3 - #03206 Pre-test Post-test Part I - Level 2.06 2 13 Part II - Attitude Stage 1 1.33 1.33 Stage 2 1.33 1.50 Stage 3 1.08 1.42 Stage 4 1.40 1.40 Stage 5 1.70 1.80 Stage 6 2.00 2.00 Group 3 - #03202 Part I - Level 1.75 1.88 Part II - Attitude Stage 1 1.00 .50 Stage 2 .83 .67 Stage 3 .58 .25 Stage 4 .10 -.50 Stage 5 .50 -.50 Stage 6 75 .25 Group 4 - #04202 Part I - Level 1.81 1.81 Part II - Attitude Stage 1 1.33 .83 Stage 2 1.33 1.33 Stage 3 1.42 .92 Stage 4 1.70 1.40 Stage 5 1.50 1.30 Stage 6 1.75 1.50 Group 4 - #04204 Part I - Level 1.81 1.81 Part II - Attitude Stage 1 1.66 1.33 Stage 2 1.50 1.50 Stage 3 1.50 1.58 Stage 4 1.60 1.80 Stage 5 1.70 1.90 Stage 6 1.75 2.00 10. 11. 12. Group 5 - #05203 Part I - Level Part II - Attitude Stage Stage Stage Stage Stage Stage (”(11-5de Group 5 - #05205 Part I - Level Part II - Attitude Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6‘ Group 6 - #06302 Part I - Level Part II - Attitude Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6 Group 6 - #06303 Part I - Level Part II - Attitude Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 6 255 2. —' I I I I I Pre-test Post-test 256 Group_7 - #07303 Pre-test Post—test Part I - Level 1.56 1.87 Part II - Attitude Stage 1 .66 0.00 Stage 2 .33 .16 Stage 3 .66 .25 Stage 4 50 .20 Stage 5 40 -.40 Stage 6 75 -l.00 Group 7 - #07304 Part I - Level 1 81 1.87 Part II - Attitude Stage 1 1.66 1.33 Stage 2 2.00 1.84 Stage 3 1.41 1.75 Stage 4 1.60 1.50 Stage 5 1.50 .60 Stage 6 2.00 2.00 Group 8 - #08301 Part I - Level 2.06 1.62 Part II - Attitude Stage 1 1.00 0.00 Stage 2 1.83 1.00 Stage 3 .67 -.08 Stage 4 1.20 .10 Stage 5 .50 0.00 Stage 6 1.50 0.00 Group 8 - #08302 Part I - Level 1.81 2.06 Part II - Attitude Stage 1 -l.00 .83 Stage 2 .33 -l.00 Stage 3 0.00 0.00 Stage 4 -.50 .30 Stage 5 .10 .60 Stage 6 0.00 -.75 APPENDIX F REVISED VIA INSTRUMENT Assigned Number Please provide the following information: 1. Male Female 2. Age: If teenager, give age If other than teenager, check box: , 20-29 30-39 [140-49 [350+ 3. I in schoo , grade A friend of yours is beginning to experiment with illegal drugs. You want to talk with him about it. Listed below are eight impor- tant topics you might want to include in your conversation. In the column under "Most Important" put a check (v/1 beside the three (3) topics that ingyour opinion are most important in talking about drugs. In the column under "Least Important" put an "X" beside the three (3) topics that in_your opinion are least important in talking about drugs. There are no right or wrong answers. It is your opinion that is important. Most Least Impor- Impor- tant tant 1. What the future holds for you could be altered by drugs. 2. Drugs have definite affects on your body and what it can do for you. 3. Drugs can permanently affect your mind. Using drugs will affect your friendships. 5. How you feel about life could be greatly altered as the result of taking drugs. 6. Your use of drugs will make a difference in your family relationships. 7- Your PFIOCIPles of fairness and morality will be affected by your use of drugs. 8. Society has established legal considerations about drugs. Please go on to page 2 and follow instructions carefully. 257 Instructions: SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A 258 For each of the following statements, indicate your agreement or disagreement by circling the appropriate letters before the statement. If you: strongly agree with the statement, circle "SA" agree with the statement, circle flAfl_ are undecided about the statement, circle :u:_ disagree with the statement, circle :0: strongly disagree with the statement, circle "SD" Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. Your opinion is important! Work quickly. Don't take time to study each state— ment in detail. U 0 SD U D SD U 0 SD U 0 SD U 0 SD U 0 SD 10. 1. The future can be used for your own benefit if you use drugs. Everyone will benefit if your use of drugs helps change drug laws. Drugs will help you be a better family member. Drugs could break up your family and thereby con- tribute to the weakening of our society. If you take drugs, you violate the law. Lawbreakers usually have bad reputations and are unliked by others. Drugs can expand your mind and allow you to experi- ence greater insight, understanding, and all-around mental strength. Drugs give you total freedom to experience the full value of life and help others experience the same. Part of friendship is the bond of concern friends have for each other. If you introduce your friends to drugs, you destroy the bond and show you don't really consider the other person's welfare. Most people agree that drugs make it virtually im- possible to build a good life for the community and the pe0ple in it. Some of your friends face problems similar to yours. If you give them drugs and the problems disappear, you'll be a real friend. SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A $0 $0 $0 SD 50 $0 $0 SD 50 SD SD $0 $0 $0 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 259 It is unwise to take drugs because your body should remain as healthy as possible for your own pleasure and use. Drugs can be useful in introducing you to people who will accept you and be life-long friends. By taking drugs you can get more usefulness and pleasure out of your body. When you take drugs you break the law . . . and should be dealt with according to the law. Society must protect itself from drug users and pushers. Introducing a friend to drugs might fulfill your personal responsibility to that friend even though the drugs may be illegal. If you take drugs you always have to fear ending up in a mental institution. In good families, family members have an unwritten commitment to each other and drugs help you fulfill that commitment. Drugs will help you have a brighter future. The physical rewards for taking drugs are the good feelings you get from them. The standards and ideals of the drug culture should be encouraged in order to help our society become stronger. Through drugs individuals enjoy a good life together, thereby strengthening society. Take drugs now and you may spend your future in a jail or hospital. Drugs will not only spoil your friendships now but in the future you won't be a decent husband or wife, or parent. Those who take drugs are a problem to their communi- ty because they don't live by the standards estab- lished by community leaders. SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SD $0 $0 SD $0 $0 SD SD $0 $0 $0 SD SD 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 260 With drugs you could harm your mind and then not be able to look out for your own best interests. Your use of drugs will help you respect others and help them see the value of life. Taking drugs is against the law, but sometimes breaking the law is necessary to keep the respect of friends. As a member of a society which has the right to make laws, when you take drugs you are subject to those laws even if you don't agree with them. Friends are important. If you are on drugs and encourage others to join you, you become an un- desirable friend. People will reject you. If you introduce your friends to drugs, you vio- late the trust that friends possess. Your duty as a friend prohibits you from dragging others down with you. If you take drugs you could be rejected by your family as a disgrace to them. Most of your friends will envy what you experience physically while on drugs. Moral standards established by society sometimes ignore the rights of the individual. One who joins the drug culture can help establish a new society that honors the rights of individuals. Your family will make a stronger contribution to our country if you become a better person by taking drugs. You shouldn't take drugs because they could ruin your body. Nobody wants to live with that punish- ment. Each life is a great opportunity. If you value your own life and the lives of others, you won't let drugs destroy you or them. With a drug-affected mind your friends may reject you and look upon you with pity. SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A SA A $0 SD $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 SD SO SO SO 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 261 Drugs help you find a life that allows you to serve your society best. If your future is spoiled by taking drugs, you'll be the loser. Since considering the rights and feelings of the majority is the principle that makes our society work, and because when a person takes drugs he usually ignores others, it is unwise to take drugs. With a mind helped by drugs, you will be better able to experience the things you want. If you take drugs you will lose self control and not be able to follow your own moral principles, thereby losing respect for yourself and others. If you allow drugs to affect your mind, you will meet new friends and they will respect you for your mental growth. Even your friends won't think much of you if you ruin your health by taking drugs. Drugs will help you be a loyal friend. When you take drugs you must be prepared to take the consequences of the law or work hard to change the law. ' In a good family each person cares about the others. While on drugs you can't help your family members. They need you and you need them. If you take drugs, you cannot fulfill your basic responsibility to your community or your country. Society has the right to expect your best. APPENDIX G TESTS OF SIGNIFICANCE APPENDIX G 1. Test of significance for group differences in mean attitude shift (Tabl e 8). F - Ratio for multivariate test of equality of mean vectors = 1.153 Level of conficence .2146 Subscale Body Mind Future Friends Family Law Life Principles Mean Square Mean Square Between Within .000 7.069 5.121 6.462 4.008 6.576 6.818 10.253 8.250 10.238 90.008 11.064 116.485 8.937 7.758 7.818 F level of confidence .000 1.000 .793 .375 .609 .437 .665 .416 .806 .371 8.135 .005 13.034 .001 .922 .321 2. Test of significance for group differences in attitude shift for those differing in level response (Table 9). F - ratio for multivariate test of equality of mean VECtOY'S = .991 Level of significance .468. Subscale Body Mind Future Friends Family Law Life Principles Mean Square Mean Square F level of Between Within confidence 2.564 7.015 .366 .695 .829 6.490 .128 .880 .036 6.984 .005 .995 4.543 9.923 .458 .634 12.018 10.254 1.172 .313 14.416 10.745 1.342 .265 37.538 8.375 4.482 .013 .754 8.610 .088 .916 262 263 3. Test of significance for group differences in attitude shift for those registering below median, median, and above median on Part I of the pre-test (Table 11). F - ratio for multivariate test of equality of mean vectors = .827. Level of significance .654. Subscale Mean Square Mean Square F level of Between Within v_ significance Body 5.025 6.976 .720 .489 Mind 3.682 6.446 .571 .566 Future 5.690 6.896 .875 .441 Friends 1.546 9.970 .155 .857 Family 1.270 10.420 .122 .885 Law 25.600 10.572 2.421 .093 Life 6.750 8.853 .763 .469 Principles 2.392 8.585 .279 .757 4. Test of significance for differences between sexes in attitude shift (Table 13). F - ratio for multivariate test of equality of mean vectors = .431 Level of significance .890. Subscale Mean Square Mean Square F level of Between Within significance Body 3.719 3.821 .973 .326 Mind .925 4.896 .189 .665 Future 9.354 5.055 1.851 .177 Friends .458 5.967 .077 .782 Family 2.937 5.699 .515 .475 Law 1.962 8.749 .224 .637 Life 2.889 5.157 .560 .456 Principles 3.523 4.598 .766 .384 264 5. Test of significance for differences in attitude shifts between grade groupings in the ublic school and church-related re- search groups (Table 14). F - ratio for multivariate tests of equality of mean vectors = 1.566 Level of significance .083 Subscale Mean Square Mean Square F Level of Betweenr Withinffi confidence Body 6.525 3.763 1.734 .182 Mind 5.166 4.848 1.066 .349 Future 2.032 5.164 .394 .676 Friends 3.348 5.964 .561 .572 Family 17.853 5.414 3.298 .041 Law 20.371 8.433 2.416 .095 Life 1.817 5.204 .349 .706 Principles 1.826 4.645 .393 .676 6. Test of significance for differences in attitude shifts between grade groupings in the groups of delinquent boys. F - ratio for multivariate test of equality of mean vectors — 1.662 Level of significance .158 Subscale Mean Square Mean Square F Level of Between Within significance Body 60.440 14.425 4.190 .049 Mind 21.720 10.491 2.070 .160 Future 43.853 11.251 3.898 .057 Friends 32.709 21.335 1.533 .225 Family 5.899 24.643 .239 .628 Law 5.899 17.018 .347 .560 Life 2.360 19.871 .119 .733 Principles 3.224 20.220 .160 .692 265 7. Test of significance for differences in attitude shifts for age groupings from the public school and church-related groups. F - ratio for multivariate test of equality of mean vectors = 1.275 Level of confidence .181 Subscale Mean Square Mean Square F Level of Between Within confidence Body 10.004 3.622 2.762 .046 Mind 1.474 4.963 .297 .828 Future 4.392 5.122 .857 .466 Friends 2.355 6.024 .391 .760 Family 7.226 5.621 1.286 .284 Law 3.620 8.840 .410 .747 Life 2.229 5.227 .426 .735 Principles 4.906 4.576 1.072 .365 8. Test of significance for differences in attitude shifts between types of groups used in the study (Table 17). F - ratio for multivariate test of equality of mean vectors = 2.495. Level of confidence .015 Subscale Mean Square Mean Square F Level of Between Within confidence Body .000 .000 1.000 Mind 5.121 .805 .371 Future 4.008 .577 .449 Friends 5.818 .683 .410 Family 8.250 .799' .373 Law 90.008 8.381 .005 Life 116.485 13.241 .000 Principles 7.758 .917 .340 Typed and Printed in the U.S.A. Professional Thesis Preparation Cliff and Paula Haushey 144 Maplewood Drive East Lansing. Michigan 48823 Telephone (617) 337-1527 MICHIGAN STATE UNIV. LIBRARIES 1111 11111 111 1111 ”WI 1111 111 111 1111 1111 1111” 11111111111 31293192378548