In childhood, moral/value judgment and behavior derives from wanting to avoid trouble and to be perceived by adults in their life

as doing what is right. This represents externally controlled behavior. By contrast, in adolescence learns to internalize What would I want to see happen in this situation? Adolescents begin to understand that they should do the right thing because it is the right thing to do and not to gain positive regard or avoid criticism from others. Therefore, an adolescent moves from the external control of childhood moral behavior to autonomy and internal control in adolescence. Moral/value reasoning is the outcome of the adolescents new ways of thinking. Based on formal operations (Piaget, 1952, 1970), adolescents can think through a problem with multifinality, to imagine a variety of different outcomes for an event. Piaget believed that the strength of moral reasoning depends on the perception of reality. With enhanced perception of reality, the developing individual will improve his or her moral reasoning as he or she improves cognitive understanding. Similarly, with greater cognitive development and more life experience, the adolescent is more competent at organizing and evaluating his or her experiences. Along with this comes the ability to take anothers point of view and to think abstractly. Other theorists like Bandura (1982, 1989, 1995, and 1997) believe that the developing person learns primarily about moral behavior from his or her direct experiences. Through his or her own life experiences the person learns to be moral. But he or she does not necessarily have to experience a situation him- or

herself to develop morally; he or she can also learn moral behavior by observing others. Kohlbergs (1963) theory of moral development is closely connected to Piagets understanding of moral reasoning. Kohlberg believes, like Piaget, that moral reasoning develops in a particular sequence. Kohlberg created three major stages of moral development that also have several sub-stages. Adolescence may have achieved the third major stage of moral development that he calls postconventional. Kohlberg believes that some adolescents and adults never get to the post-conventional stage of moral development and others only make brief forays into it. Within the post-conventional stage, the first sub-stage is called the social contract, meaning that one chooses to act morally by considering the greatest good for the greatest number. The second sub-stage of post-conventional moral development and the highest level for Kohlberg is called universal ethical principles. However, many have criticized Kohlbergs overreliance on concepts of justice. Other concepts such as responsibility, friendliness, and courage are of equal importance for moral development. In fact, there may be many moral actions that are more highly valued by females such as community building, consensus making, friendliness, courage, responsibility, and accommodation (Gilligan, Lyons, & Hamer, 1990). Others consider the role of gender in the individuals ability to regulate his or her emotions. In that, girls and boys are socialized differently to value different aspects of interpersonal interactions. Boys are frequently socialized to value competition, achievement orientation, and not to

avoid conflicts. Girls are often socialized to nurture, have empathy, and comply with adult requests. Therefore, through different experiences different moral behaviors will be seen. Another theorist, Lickona (1991), views good character as the composite of moral knowing, moral feeling, and moral action. Moral knowing includes moral awareness, knowing moral values, perspective taking, moral reasoning, and decision making. Moral knowing is the component that is closest to the theories of Piaget, Kohlberg, and Gilligan, namely, the cognitive process that is involved in moral development. Moral feeling is the emotional component of good character. Moral feeling includes conscience, self-esteem, empathy, loving the good, selfcontrol, and humility. Lickona includes the prosocial moral emotions of Eisenberg (2000): empathy and sympathy. He also uses the term self-control, which is similar to Eisenbergs term emotional regulation. Lickona believes that empathy can be gained as a vicarious experience similar to Banduras understands of moral development. Lickona sees the outcome of moral knowing and moral feeling to be moral action. Moral action includes competence, which is the ability to solve a conflict fairly. However, despite its popularity in different fields of study, Kohlbergs theory has been criticized; Rest, Narvaez, Bebeau, and Thoma (1999) assert that some of the points raised by his critiques had prompted Kohlbergs revision of his definition of the moral reasoning stages, and the scoring method that he had used to assess an individuals stage of moral development. Kohlberg was also said to be inconsistent with his stages of moral development as he kept on revising his own

ideas until his death in 1987, hence notable differences are found between the approaches that he used in his earlier and more recent works in the fields of psychology. Another theorist, Lickona (1991), views good character as the composite of moral knowing, moral feeling, and moral action. Moral knowing includes moral awareness, knowing moral values, perspective taking, moral reasoning, and decision making. Moral knowing is the component that is closest to the theories of Piaget, Kohlberg, and Gilligan, namely, the cognitive process that is involved in moral development. Moral feeling is the emotional component of good character. Moral feeling includes conscience, self-esteem, empathy, loving the good, selfcontrol, and humility. Lickona includes the prosocial moral emotions of Eisenberg (2000): empathy and sympathy. He also uses the term self-control, which is similar to Eisenbergs term emotional regulation. Lickona believes that empathy can be gained as a vicarious experience similar to Banduras understands of moral development. Lickona sees the outcome of moral knowing and moral feeling to be moral action. Moral action includes competence, which is the ability to solve a conflict fairly. In addition, Kohlbergs cognitive moral development framework has also been critiqued regarding its applicability across different cultures. In essence, it has been argued that the notion of autonomous morality, such as reflected in Kohlbergs Post conventional/ Principled level of moral development, is inappropriate for certain cultural groups that emphasize collective well-being like that Indonesia.

Yet, a review of the literatures carried out by Snarey (1985, cited in Rest et al, 1999) has extended some support for the cross-cultural applicability of Kohlbergs cognitive moral development framework. An adolescent with a history of good relationships with his or her parents continues to feel close to them and to rely on them, even though he or she is more independent and more involved with peers (Collins & Steinberg, 2006).