Presenting the model of moral development in teenagers according to metacognitive components with the emphasis on social cognition theory

The purpose of this study was to develop a model of moral development based on metacognitive components with the mediation of social cognition. The statistical population included all the first high school students in Khorramabad city, among whom 311 (146 males and 165 females) were selected based on multistage cluster sampling method and completed Rest and colleagues` moral reasoning, Swanson and Hill`s moral meta-cognition, Swanson and Hill`s moral behavior and Baron-Cohen`s social cognition questionnaires. Then, the data were analyzed using regression analysis in the path analysis framework. The results showed that moral reasoning is related to ethical behavior through metacognition and social cognition. Also, the two components of metacognition, namely, strategy and assignment, are not related to moral reasoning, but these two are related to ethical behavior. Therefore, in studying the moral development in adolescents, it is necessary to look for other factors and pay attention to the role of metacognition and social cognition in ethics education and their ethical evolution. Therefore, in Field of study of the moral development in adolescents, it is necessary to look for other factors and pay attention to the role of moral metacognition and social cognition in ethics education and ethical evolution.