This book presents Responsible Adult Culture (RAC), a truly comprehensive program for helping offenders to think and act responsibly. It provides the tools of the program with great clarity. In addition to exploring the needs of all offenders, the book addresses the special needs of both female and dual-diagnosis offenders. Responsible thinking means habitually seeing others and situations accurately, rather than in self-serving and egocentrically distorted ways. Because self-centered thinking is typically reinforced by negative group norms, RAC starts with the cultivation of a constructive climate ("mutual help" groups) to motivate change. Motivated group members then gain tools for responsible thinking through "equipment" (cognitive behavioral) meetings. These tools pertain to social skills, anger management, and the correction of self-centered thinking through social perspective taking (cognitive restructuring). Beyond documented reductions in distorted thinking and recidivism rates, RAC's synergy or round-the-clock interpenetration of positive groups and tools promotes a safer and more humane institutional culture.

The traditional production measure of moral judgment has been the Moral Judgment Interview (MJI), which uses hypothetical moral dilemmas to elicit moral judgment. However, the MJI dilemmas have been criticized as artificial and may not be entirely appropriate for children, certain cultures, and practical moral situations. This unique volume utilizes and evaluates a new production measure of moral judgment, the Sociomoral Reflection Measure -- Short Form (SRM-SF), which substitutes brief stimulus materials and evaluative questions for the moral dilemma technique. The authors report that the SRM-SF exhibits an impressive degree of reliability and validity and is quicker to administer and score than other available measures. To illustrate these findings, this book offers the resources needed for the assessment of the Kohlbergian stage of moral judgment using the SRM-SF. These resources include: an up-to-date review of research and theory, a group-administrable questionnaire, an efficient scoring manual, and self-training exercises in assessment. Psychometrically sound and practical, the SRM-SF has the potential to become the leading moral judgment measure of the 90s.

The traditional production measure of moral judgment has been the Moral Judgment Interview (MJI), which uses hypothetical moral dilemmas to elicit moral judgment. However, the MJI dilemmas have been criticized as artificial and may not be entirely appropriate for children, certain cultures, and practical moral situations. This unique volume utilizes and evaluates a new production measure of moral judgment, the Sociomoral Reflection Measure -- Short Form (SRM-SF), which substitutes brief stimulus materials and evaluative questions for the moral dilemma technique. The authors report that the SRM-SF exhibits an impressive degree of reliability and validity and is quicker to administer and score than other available measures. To illustrate these findings, this book offers the resources needed for the assessment of the Kohlbergian stage of moral judgment using the SRM-SF. These resources include: an up-to-date review of research and theory, a group-administrable questionnaire, an efficient scoring manual, and self-training exercises in assessment. Psychometrically sound and practical, the SRM-SF has the potential to become the leading moral judgment measure of the 90s.

This book presents Responsible Adult Culture (RAC), a truly comprehensive program for helping offenders to think and act responsibly. It provides the tools of the program with great clarity. In addition to exploring the needs of all offenders, the book addresses the special needs of both female and dual-diagnosis offenders. Responsible thinking means habitually seeing others and situations accurately, rather than in self-serving and egocentrically distorted ways. Because self-centered thinking is typically reinforced by negative group norms, RAC starts with the cultivation of a constructive climate ("mutual help" groups) to motivate change. Motivated group members then gain tools for responsible thinking through "equipment" (cognitive behavioral) meetings. These tools pertain to social skills, anger management, and the correction of self-centered thinking through social perspective taking (cognitive restructuring). Beyond documented reductions in distorted thinking and recidivism rates, RAC's synergy or round-the-clock interpenetration of positive groups and tools promotes a safer and more humane institutional culture.

Moral Development and Reality explores the nature of moral development, human behavior, and social interconnections. The exploration elucidates the full range of moral development, from superficial perception to a deeper understanding and feeling through social perspective-taking. By comparing, contrasting, and going beyond the key theories of preeminent thinkers Lawrence Kohlberg, Martin Hoffman, and Jonathan Haidt, John C. Gibbs tackles vital questions: What exactly is morality and its development? Can the key theoretical perspectives be integrated? What accounts for prosocial behavior, and how can we understand and treat antisocial behavior? Does moral development, including moments of moral inspiration, reflect a deeper reality? This fourth edition of Moral Development and Reality is thoroughly updated, refined, and expanded. A major addition considers Paul Bloom's important challenge to Hoffman's theory. This book will have broad appeal across academic and applied disciplines in psychology, education, and the helping professions. Complete with case studies and chapter questions, it serves especially well as a text in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in social/developmental psychology and human development.

"It can be confidently ventured that the present work by John Gibbs will be one of the most widely discussed contributions to moral psychology in quite some time . . . The text is quite alive intellectually, a real page-turner for those who are animated by cutting-edge debates in the moral domain. This is a work of accomplished and assured scholarship. It offers the best analysis of the contribution of Kohlberg and Hoffman to moral development theory currently available."

-- FROM THE FOREWORD by Daniel K. Lapsley, Chair, Educational Psychology Department, Ball State University

Moral Development and Reality: Beyond the Theories of Kohlberg and Hoffman explores the nature of moral development, social behavior, and human interconnectedness. By comparing, contrasting, and going beyond the works of pre-eminent theorists Lawrence Kohlberg and Martin Hoffman, author John C. Gibbs addresses fundamental questions: What is morality? Can we speak validly of moral development? Is the moral motivation of behavior primarily a matter of justice or of empathy? Does moral development, including moments of moral inspiration, reflect a deeper reality?

Useful for promoting classroom debate and academic dialogue, this innovative book examines

• Fundamental themes of Kohlberg?s cognitive developmental approach
• The recent integration of Hoffman?s theory and research on empathy and moral development
• Moral self-relevance and other variables that account for prosocial behavior
• The understanding and treatment of antisocial behavior
• Issues of moral motivation, perception, and reality

Moral Development and Reality elucidates the full range of moral development from superficial perception to a deeper understanding and feeling through social perspective-taking. Providing case studies and chapter questions, Gibbs creates a unique framework for understanding Kohlberg?s and Hoffman?s influential contributions.

Primarily intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the social and behavioral sciences, counseling, and education, Moral Development and Reality will also appeal to scholars in these disciplines.