Moral orientation from the psychological perspective − an aspect of moral reasoning

The issue of morality does not represent a dominant topic of the current psychological research, although the interest of predominantly social psychologist in understanding the processes that are behind reasoning of people with respect to moral issues and explaining moral or immoral behaviour can not be denied. The submitted study presents a brief introduction of basic psychological concepts dealing with morality emphasizing the specific notion of moral orientation. The orientation to justice or to care when solving moral dilemmas is known in literature under the term the moral orientation. Gilligan can see the cause of differences in moral orientation in gender differences acquired during the process of socialization. A psychological approach provides many useful explanation of how thinking of people with respect to moral issues is pursued. The actual psychology of morality is mainly based on cognitivistic theories coming out of conceptions of Piaget and Kohlberg. They interconnected approaches isolated and focused on intentions by that time and emphasized importance of a constitutional conditioning of moral judgment. The attention was aimed to judgment processes having an adequate level of cognitive development as an indispensable (even if not sufficient) condition. An important contribution of cognitivists is based also on a rich professional discussion that they invoked. Supporters of cognitivistic scheme “neo-kohlbergians” or its criticisers revise and amend the basic Kohlberg`s model in such aspects as relativizing of a primary role of cognitions as a sole aspect of the moral decision making, emphasize the significance of concept, situations, type of solved dilemma, influence of conventions, point out the differences in solving hypothetical dilemmas and dilemmas of everyday life etc.