Moral reasoning, classroom behavior, and sociometric status among elementary school children.

Relations among moral reasoning, classroom behavior, and sociometric status were investigated in a sample of 133 2nd and 3rd graders. It was hypothesized that hedonistic and needs-oriented moral reasoning, 2 forms of L. Kohlberg's (1984) Stage 2 moral reasoning, would be differentially related to teachers' ratings of classroom behavior and to sociometric status. Among boys, hedonistic moral reasoning was associated with the lack of social competencies, acting-out behavior, and low social preference. In addition to influencing sociometric status indirectly through social behavior, moral reasoning was found to explain variance in sociometric status not accounted for by either acting-out or social competencies

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