Expanding the Domain of Morality by Going Beyond Moral Reasoning: Emerging Trends in Moral Research

摘要

The concept of ‘morality’ has since long been predominantly considered within the paradigm of developmental psychology, as quintessentially cognitive in nature. This paper reviews the studies that indicate different emerging trends, beyond the conventional cognitive developmental paradigm. It shows how the attention from ‘moral reasoning’ has shifted to ‘moral emotions’, and in the recent years researchers have moved toward investigating the interaction among the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components of moral discourse. Also the review indicates how this domain is now not just a subject matter of interest for developmental psychologists studying the development of moral reasoning in children, but also for other fields. The article proposes to broaden the domain of morality, and to move beyond the conventional ‘harm’- ‘justice’ criteria, to include other culturally relevant aspects.