Heteronomous morality: what is it, characteristics and functioning in childhood?

Heteronomous morality is part of children's way of thinking; let's see what it is like.

Children do not judge the same way we do, which is obvious, but how do they think about what is right and what is wrong? They don't really think about it, they learn it. Social norms are instilled in them and they accept that they must comply with them.

Before the age of 9 years, children think in terms of heteronomous moralitythat is to say, their morality is based on the acceptance of external norms which they consider that, in case of infringing them for whatever reason, it is undoubtedly an act that should bring consequences.

Trying to summarize in a few introductory sentences how interesting heteronomous morality is is somewhat complicated and therefore we invite you to read on to understand it further.

What is heteronomous morality?

Heteronomous morality is the form adopted by the ethics of children during their first years of life. This morality is based on the acceptance of external norms as if they were absolute, rather than on the establishment of a code of ethics.It is based on the acceptance of external norms as if they were absolute, instead of establishing their own code of conduct, based on their own opinions and experiences, as is characteristic of more mature stages of their development.

Children under 9 years of age consider that the rules imposed on them from outside must be complied with without question. They see the rules as something sacred, unchangeable and to be obeyed regardless of their content.

In this type of morality, the children who display it evaluate acts not by their nature or ethics behind them, but by the need to obey the authority of adults.. Subjects with this type of morality must obey the rules imposed by adults because they consider that what they are commanded to do is good and what they are forbidden to do is bad. In short, heteronomous morality is the morality that occurs in individuals who do not question the rules that come from a certain authority.

Heteronomous morality was first studied by the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, who was interested in discovering why children behaved the way they did. Within this object of study was also his interest in how they understood morality, asking how children understand rules, what they think about individual responsibility and what concept of justice they had..

Philosophers, psychologists and other researchers have been especially interested in the development of morality. It is believed that understanding how our morals develop and where they come from, how they change in children as they grow up, can help us understand our own ethics and how moral norms appear in society once we are adults.

How does this type of morality emerge?

Heteronomous morality is the one that occurs in the minds of children when they begin to reflect on the functioning of the world.It is maintained until about 9 years of age, although it usually disappears between 6 and 8 years of age.

Before reaching that age, children do not question the validity or fairness of the norms and social rules they have inherited from their parents, but accept them blindly.

It is related to moral realism which, in fact, is considered a pattern of thinking derived from this type of morality. Children believe that a person's obligations and values are determined by the normChildren believe that a person's obligations and values are determined by the norm, without taking into account factors such as the context and possible intentions involved in performing a given behavior, even if it involves some kind of infraction or violation of a norm.

This way of understanding what is moral and what is right has to do with the fact that they have not yet developed the ability to put themselves in the place of others (mentalism) and, therefore, children cannot understand what motives they may have done. cannot understand what motives may have caused a person to break certain rules.. In their mind, whoever does not comply with a rule is someone who has done something wrong, and that is not debatable.

Added to this, at this age they do not have a critical sense, so they are not able to question the words of their parents and other references. This means that they consider that everything adults say is correct.The older person must be respected and failure to do so must always have negative consequences. They blindly accept what they are told because they believe that older people are infallible. They do not conceive the idea that an adult person as important as their father, mother, teacher or grandparents can err.

It is all these characteristic traits of children under 9 years of age that serve as keys to understand why heteronomous morality arises, a morality that, as its name suggests, "comes from outside" and is introduced to them.

However, when they reach the age of ten, changes begin to take place in the structures of thought that make the child stop seeing the rules as something inflexible and absolute. Therefore, pre-adolescents and adolescents do question the rules, pre-adolescents and adolescents do question the rules, understanding that rules are not absolute truths but social impositions, which is the birth of morality.This is the birth of autonomous morality.

The characteristics of heteronomous morality

Heteronomous morality differs greatly from autonomous morality, the former being the one before the age of 9-10 and the latter the one that comes later. There are several characteristics of moral realism that we can highlight.

1. Acceptance of external norms

The most distinguishing feature of heteronomous morality is the fact that children automatically accept all norms and beliefs that are imposed on them, especially if they are inculcated in them.especially if they are inculcated by their parents, teachers, legal guardians or any other adult of reference.

This is because in childhood we see our parents as true authorities, people who are never wrong and who have a natural power over their children. Their words are not questioned and that is why everything adults say will be taken as an absolute and unquestionable rule.

2. Punishment as a consequence of the infraction

Unlike autonomous morality, in which the possessor is more concerned about whether an action is ethically justifiable or not, children with heteronomous morality are usually concerned about obeying in order to avoid punishment at all costs. At this age, children interpret that breaking a rule or doing something they have been told is wrong always implies negative consequences.

The harsher the punishment, the worse the action they have been told is wrong will be viewed.. This type of thinking does not take into account the possible reasons why a person has committed an infraction, but the fact that he or she has committed the infraction.

In the stage of heteronomous morality, punishment is seen as something automatic and natural. Children understand justice as a kind of revenge, something that is based on the most basic principle of retribution such as "an eye for an eye".

Thus, if someone commits an offense, a person who thinks in terms of heteronomous morality will believe that he or she must inevitably be punished. will believe that he must inevitably be punished, without considering at any time the possibility of getting rid of any negative consequences..

3. Low relevance in intentionality.

Children with heteronomous morality do not take as relevant the intentionality that may be behind the commission of a given infraction.. The main measure of the seriousness of how wrong the infraction has been is how harmful the infraction itself has been. That is, the greater the offense, the more morally reprehensible it is.

To make it clear: an 8-year-old child will see it as much worse if his little brother accidentally broke his grandmother's china than if his other brother took a plate and broke it on purpose. The 8 year old doesn't care about intentionality, the important thing is how many broken dishes there are.

This mentality of not valuing the fact that it was an accident or not is because he is not yet capable of putting himself in the other person's place. He is not able to value his intentions or even the weight he has on what he does.

Children in the heteronomous moral stage consider that the punishment must be proportional to the damage produced, regardless of whether there has been intentional or not.regardless of whether there has been intentionality or not. However, after a few years and entering the stage of autonomous morality, intentionality takes on more weight when judging the actions of others and, therefore, is taken as an important factor when considering whether a punishment is appropriate or not.