Intrapersonal variations in stage of moral reasoning among adolescents as a function of situational context

On a set of classical moral dilemmas and on a set of practical moral dilemmas 60 randomly selected eighth- and twelfth-grade students were asked to (a) judge the actions of others (judgment) and (b) reach a personal decision and give reasons for what they would do (deliberation). The interviews were transcribed and scored for stage of moral reasoning. Stage of moral reasoning associated with deliberation on practical moral dilemmas was found to be significantly lower than their moral judgment on classical moral dilemmas. An explanation was presented which combined social learning and cognitive-developmental moralization theory.