The developmental emergence of morality: A review of current theoretical perspectives

The early development of morality has become a topic of intense research in the past decade. One key question concerns how young children become moral beings, that is, how and when moral concerns emerge in human ontogeny. Here, I review four currently prominent theoretical approaches that propose different psychological bases of the ontogeny of morality: The innate moral core theory, the second-person morality and two-stage theory, the internalization model, and the constructivist approach. I summarize their core ideas and evaluate the strengths and limitations of each approach. Finally, questions for future research and theory development are presented.