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According to Piaget's theory, there are three broad stages of moral development. As with his theory of cognitive development, these stages are envisioned as occurring sequentially and in a linear fashion. Although movement from one stage to another takes may place on a continuum, Piaget envisions the stages as exclusively distinct from one another. Once a stage is attained, regression to a previous stage does not occur. It is not possible, according to Piaget, for a developing child to skip past stages, and although there is a correlation between biological age and attainment of a given stage the maturing morality cannot be reduced to a purely biological phenomenon.

Rather, Piaget views the maturing morality as the result of cognitive development and interactions with the environment. It is important to note that Piaget does not make an explicit cross-mapping between his stages of moral development and his stages of cognitive development, nor are these stages widely known by unique names as are the stages in his theory of cognitive development. These stages are best understood in contrast with one another, just as in other stage theories.

User Nobism
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Final answer:

Piaget's theory of moral development describes three sequential stages: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional.

Step-by-step explanation:

Piaget's theory of moral development proposes three broad stages of moral development: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional. These stages are sequential and distinct from one another, with movement from one stage to another occurring on a continuum. Piaget believed that morality is developed through cognitive development and interactions with the environment, and it is not solely a biological phenomenon. It's important to note that Piaget's stages of moral development are not explicitly mapped to his stages of cognitive development and do not have widely known unique names.

User Roland Rabien
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