How does moral judgment develop?The morality of a certain action is not always obvious. The reasoning behind certain behavior is crucial for determining whether that behavior is moral or immoral.What is the idea behind Piaget's theory?Piaget's theory on moral judgment refers to the fact that interaction with peers has a higher contribution to the moral reasoning of children than the interaction with adults. According to Piaget, there are two phases children go through in the development of moral reasoning, with a transitional period between these two phases:Heteronomous morality: it takes place when a child is younger than seven years old. The child is taught what is right and wrong on the basis of the consequences instead of motives or intentions. In this period, children think that rules are unchanging. Parental control is one-sided and compelling, so children have indisputable respect for the rules of adults. In addition, cognitive immaturity leads to the believe that rules are 'real' things, rather than a product of the human mind.Transitional period: occurs when a child is between seven and ten years old. The child takes a more active role in reasoning about what is right or wrong. Interactions with peers are helpful for this transition.Autonomous morality: this phase begins when the child is between eleven and twelve years old. The child no longer is blind adopting the rules. The child will consider motives and intentions when assessing behavior. This vision has received support from empirical research. However, there has also been criticism. For example, there is little evidence that interactions with peers stimulate moral development. Here, the quality of interactions seems to be important. In addition, Piaget underestimated the ability of children to be aware of intentionality. Very young children can already distinguish between an adult who tries to help (but fails) and an adult who does not want to help. What does Kohlberg's...