Question

Dawn wanted a doll but didn't have money to buy one. At the mall, when she thought no one was looking, Dawn slipped one into her bag and left without paying for it. Later, when she was playing with it, Dawn found she wasn't enjoying herself and felt bad that she had stolen the toy. Taking the doll from the store represents the _____ component of morality, while the fact that Dawn felt badly represents the _____ component of morality.

Answer 1

Dawn's act of taking the doll signifies the behavioral component of morality, and her subsequent feelings of remorse show the emotional component. These aspects relate to moral development theories such as those proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg.

Step-by-step explanation:

Taking the doll from the store represents the behavioral component of morality, while the fact that Dawn felt badly represents the emotional component of morality. In the realm of moral psychology, actions such as taking something that doesn’t belong to you involve understanding right from wrong, which reflects the behavioral component. Feeling remorse afterwards is tied to the emotional aspect because it involves guilt and the internal emotional response to one's actions.

Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development further elaborate on how people progress from understanding simple concrete rules to grasping more abstract ethical principles.

Judging from Dawn's behavior and emotional response, we can infer that she is experiencing a moral development process as described by Kohlberg, internalizing societal norms and recognizing the impact of her actions on herself and others.