Age, education, and sex effects on adult moral reasoning

Abstract

The role of age and education in adult moral reasoning was examined utilizing Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental stage theory of moral development and the most recent Standard Scoring System for assessing moral judgments. Individual interviews utilizing standard Kohlberg moral dilemmas were conducted with 195 adults ranging in age from nineteen to eight-two years and in years of education from three to twenty-five years. Results indicated no overall significant effect for age of reasoner, no significant effect for sex, and a significant effect for education (p less than .01). However, the effect of age was significant in the group with eighteen or more years of education, but not in the group with less than eighteen years of education.