Understanding Values in Relationship: The Development of Conscience

Conscience consists of the cognitive, affective, relational, and other processes that influence how young children construct and act consistently with generalizable, internal standards of conduct. Conscience development in the early years was not, until recently, of central interest to students of moral development. Traditional approaches to moral growth (such as those of learning theory and the cognitive–developmental view pioneered by Piaget and Kohlberg) portrayed young children as egocentric and preconventional thinkers and as self-interested moralists who respond to the incentives and sanctions provided by other people. By contrast with older children who are concerned with maintaining good relations with others, and with adolescents who consider moral issues within a broader ethical framework, the morality of young children was viewed as an authoritarian, instrumental orientation guided by rewards, punishment, and obedience. In this regard, morality in early childhood was sharply distinguished from the morality of values, humanistic regard, and relationships of later years. But as developmental scientists have reexamined traditional conclusions about thinking and reasoning in early childhood, they have also taken a fresh look at moral understanding. Young children are no longer regarded as egocentric but instead as being intensely interested in the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs of other people, and research on developing theory of mind has revealed the sophistication of young children’s inferences about