Stages of Ethical Reasoning and Moral Norms of Carib Youths

Abstract

Ethical development was investigated in a cross-cultural context by examining both the cognitive structure of ethical reasoning and the content of perceived moral norms in Carib boys. No evidence was found for the position that the stages might be a function of cultural norms. Other results were also as expected by stage theory: villagers were at a lower stage than Caribs from towns, and younger boys were at a lower stage than the older youths. However, only the first two cognitive stages were found and the cultural invariance of the perceived moral norms was as great as that of the stages.