Cognitive Moral Development

The basic tenet of moral development, understood as a cognitive process thus also called cognitive moral development, is grounded in the belief that human nature is naturally good. As humans, we lean toward an awareness of the good and have a preference for it rather than for evil and injustice, although we do not always achieve this inclination in our behavior. Human nature is also self-realizing and self-perfecting in our moral understanding. Our morality, or cognitive moral development, grows along with our physical growth and social capabilities. Both individually and in social interaction the human species evolves mature moral conscience and character despite the many potential psychological and social impediments that could slow or derail the process for a time.

Supporting these beliefs are the discoveries made by developmental psychologists, who have found that an individual's cognitive moral development progresses, often correlated with age or education, to a broader and more morally preferable perspective. In the late 19th century, cognitive moral development was revived as a lively research field in social science. This revival was later fueled by the moral developmental approaches espoused by Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg, Carol Gilligan, James Rest, and Augusto Blasi. For these psychologists, cognitive moral development was not determined wholly by age but was heavily influenced by a natural development involving complex combinations of trial-anderror social interactions. Through these experiences, individuals altered their reasoning processes and typically their behavior to model after the new and morally advanced patterns of cognition. Humans are naturally prone toward moral progress and to strive for the moral ideal.

This entry focuses on the key cognitive moral development frameworks that have been applied to the study of ethical decision making and the field of business ethics. While there have been debates and criticisms regarding these key frameworks and reasoning assessments over the years, these models remain the primary tools for assessing moral reasoning in the business ethics field.