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The Impact of Constructive Controversy on Moral Development
Author(s) -
Tichy Michelle,
Johnson David W.,
Johnson Roger T.,
Roseth Cary J.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2010.00597.x
Subject(s) - psychology , constructive , moral development , moral disengagement , social cognitive theory of morality , social psychology , individualism , moral reasoning , perception , interdependence , lawrence kohlberg's stages of moral development , moral psychology , perspective (graphical) , epistemology , sociology , social science , law , philosophy , process (computing) , neuroscience , computer science , political science , operating system , artificial intelligence
We examined the effects of a constructive controversy compared with individualistic learning on 3 rd , 4 th , and 5 th ‐grade students' ( N = 56) moral development, ethical skills, academic achievement, and attitudes toward social interdependence. The results indicated that participating in constructive controversy (compared with individualistic learning) resulted in greater moral development (i.e., moral reasoning, moral motivation, moral character), greater ethical skills (i.e., perspective taking, perception of self as a moral person, rule orientation), higher academic achievement, and more positive attitudes toward competition. These results extend constructive controversy theory, as well as Piagetian and social interdependent theories. They also provide guidance as to how discussions of moral dilemmas and conflicts among students should be structured and conducted.