Handbook of Moral Development

The Handbook of Moral Development is the definitive source of theory and research on the origins and development of morality in childhood and adolescence. It explores morality as fundamental to being human and enabling individuals to acquire social norms and develop social relationships that involve cooperation and mutual respect.

Since the publication of the second edition, groundbreaking approaches to studying moral development have invigorated debates about how to conceptualize and measure morality in childhood and adolescence. The contributors of this new edition grapple with these questions from different theoretical perspectives and review cutting-edge research. The handbook, edited by Melanie Killen and Judith G. Smetana, includes chapters on parenting and socialization, values, emergence of prejudice and social exclusion, fairness and access to resources, moral reasoning and children’s rights, empathy, and prosocial behaviors. Morality is discussed in the context of families, peers, schools, and culture. Thoroughly updated and expanded, the third edition features new chapters on the following:

• Morality in infancy and early childhood
• Cognitive neuroscience perspectives on moral development
• Social responsibility in the context of social and racial justice
• Conceptions of economic and societal inequalities
• Stereotypes, bias, and discrimination
• Victimization and bullying in peer contexts

Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the study of moral development, this edition contains contributions from sixty scholars in developmental science, social neuroscience, comparative and evolutionary psychology, and education, representing research conducted around the world. This book will be essential reading for scholars, educators, and students who are in the field of moral development, as well as social scientists, public health experts, and clinicians who are concerned with children and development.

Melanie Killen, PhD, is Professor of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology at the University of Maryland. She studies social and moral development, conceptions of social inequalities, origins of prejudice and social exclusion, publishes widely in these areas, and is author of Children and Social Exclusion: Morality, Prejudice, and Group Identity (2011).

Judith G. Smetana, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at the University of Rochester. She studies moral development, adolescent-parent relationships, and parenting beliefs and behaviors in diverse contexts. She has published extensively on these topics and is the author of Adolescents, Families, and Social Development: How Teens Construct their World (2011).