There appears to be general agreement among social psychologists that most human behavior is goal-directed (e. g., Heider, 1958 ; Lewin, 1951). Being neither capricious nor frivolous, human social behavior can best be described as following along lines of more or less well-formulated plans. Before attending a concert, for example, a person may extend an invitation to a date, purchase tickets, change into proper attire, call a cab, collect the date, and proceed to the concert hall. Most, if not all, of these activities will have been designed in advance; their execution occurs as the plan unfolds. To be sure, a certain sequence of actions can become so habitual or routine that it is performed almost automatically, as in the case of driving from home to work or playing the piano. Highly developed skills of this kind typically no longer require conscious formulation of a behavioral plan. Nevertheless, at least in general outline, we are normally well aware of the actions required to attain a certain goal. Consider such a relatively routine behavior as typing a letter. When setting this activity as a goal, we anticipate the need to locate a typewriter, insert a sheet of paper, adjust the margins, formulate words and sentences, strike the appropriate keys, and so forth. Some parts of the plan are more routine, and require less conscious thought than others, but without an explicit or implicit plan to guide the required sequence of acts, no letter would get typed.

From Intentions to Actions: A Theory of Planned Behavior

Introduction 1. Woman's Place in Man's Life Cycle 2. Images of Relationship 3. Concepts of Self and Morality 4. Crisis and Transition 5. Women's Rights and Women's Judgment 6. Visions of Maturity References Index of Study Participants General Index

In a Different Voice. Psychological Theory and Women’s Development. Cambridge, MA (Harvard University Press) 1982.

Prediction of goal-directed behavior: Attitudes, intentions, and perceived behavioral control

Two meta-analyses were conducted to Investigate the effectiveness of the Fishbein and Ajzen model in research to date. Strong overall evidence for the predictive utility of the model was found. Although numerous instances were identified in which researchers overstepped the boundary conditions initially proposed for the model, the predictive utility remained strong across conditions. However, three variables were proposed and found to moderate the effectiveness of the model. Suggested extensions to the model are discussed and general directions for future research are given.

/pdf/the-theory-of-reasoned-action-a-meta-analysis-of-past-t6n1gxvrlh.pdf

The Theory of Reasoned Action: A Meta-Analysis of Past Research with Recommendations for Modifications and Future Research

Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling (2nd ed.)

In this chapter we review theoretical and empirical advances in research on adolescent development in interpersonal and societal contexts. First, we identify several trends in current research, including the current emphasis on ecological models and the focus on diversity in and relational models of adolescent development. Next, we discuss recent research on interpersonal relationships, with an eye toward identifying major research themes and findings. Research on adolescents' relationships with parents, siblings, other relatives, peers, and romantic partners, and adolescents' involvement in community and society is reviewed. Future directions in research on adolescent development are discussed.

Adolescent development in interpersonal and societal contexts.

SMETANA, JUDITH G. Preschool Children's Conceptions of Moral and Social Rules. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1981, 52, 13883-1336. This study examined preschool children's conceptions of moral and social-conventional rules. 44 children between the ages of 2-6 and 4-9 were divided into 2 groups of 21 and 23 children according to age (X = 3-3, 4-2). Children made judgments concerning the seriousness, rule contingency, rule relativism, and amount of deserved punishment for 10 (depicted) moral and conventional preschool transgressions. Analyses of variance with age and sex as between-group factors and domain as the within-group factor indicated that, constant across both sexes and the ages studied, children evaluated moral transgressions as more serious offenses and as more deserving of punishment than conventional transgressions. Moreover, moral events were less likely than conventional events to be regarded as contingent on the presence of a rule and relative to the social context. Test-retest reliability of the ratings of the seriousness of transgressions was .66 over a 2-3 week period. The findings were discussed in relation to the developmental differentiation model and the distinct conceptual domain approach.

Preschool children's conceptions of moral and social rules.

Contents: Preface. Part I: Introduction. Part II: Structuralism and Moral Development Stages. E. Turiel, Thought, Emotions, and Social Interactional Processes in Moral Development. D.K. Lapsley, Moral Stage Theory. S.J. Thoma, Research on the Defining Issues Test. L.J. Walker, Gender and Morality. Part III: Social Domain Theory and Social Justice. J.G. Smetana, Social-Cognitive Domain Theory: Consistencies and Variations in Children's Moral and Social Judgments. M. Killen, N.G. Margie, S. Sinno, Morality in the Context of Intergroup Relationships. C. Helwig, Rights, Civil Liberties, and Democracy Across Cultures. C. Wainryb, Moral Development in Culture: Diversity, Tolerance, and Justice. Part IV: Conscience and Internalization. J.E. Grusec, The Development of Moral Behavior and Conscience From a Socialization Perspective. R.A. Thompson, S. Meyer, M. McGinley, Understanding Values in Relationships: The Development of Conscience. L. Kuczynski, G.S. Navara, Sources of Innovation and Change in Socialization, Internalization, and Acculturation. Part V: Social Interactional, Sociocultural, and Comparative Approaches. J. Dunn, Moral Development in Early Childhood and Social Interaction in the Family. M.B. Tappan, Mediated Moralities: Sociocultural Approaches to Moral Development. J.G. Miller, Insights Into Moral Development From Cultural Psychology. D.P. Fry, Reciprocity: The Foundation Stone of Morality. P. Verbeek, Everyone's Monkey: Primate Moral Roots. P.H. Kahn, Jr., Nature and Moral Development. Part VI: Empathy, Emotions, and Aggression. P.D. Hastings, C. Zahn-Waxler, K. McShane, We Are, by Nature, Moral Creatures: Biological Bases of Concern for Others. N. Eisenberg, T. Spinrad, A. Sadovsky, Empathy-Related Responding in Children. G. Carlo, Care-Based and Altruistically Based Morality. W.F. Arsenio, J. Gold, E. Adams, Children's Conceptions and Displays of Moral Emotions. M.S. Tisak, J. Tisak, S.E. Goldstein, Aggression, Delinquency, and Morality: A Social-Cognitive Perspective. Part VII: Moral Education, Character Development, and Community Service. D. Hart, R. Atkins, T.M. Donnelly, Community Service and Moral Development. L. Nucci, Education for Moral Development. M.W. Berkowitz, S. Sherblom, M. Bier, V. Battistich, Educating for Positive Youth Development. D. Narvaez, Integrative Ethical Education.

http://www.gbv.de/dms/mpib-toc/770175139.pdf

Handbook of Moral Development

Reports of parenting styles were assessed in 110 primarily white, middle-class sixth, eighth, and tenth graders (M = 11.98, 13.84, and 16.18 years of age) and their parents (108 mothers and 92 fathers). Parents judged the legitimacy of parental authority and rated family conflict and rules regarding 24 hypothetical moral, conventional, personal, multifaceted (containing conventional and personal components), prudential, and friendship issues. Adolescents viewed their parents as more permissive and more authoritarian than parents viewed themselves, whereas parents viewed themselves as more authoritative than did adolescents. Parents' parenting styles differentiated their conceptions of parental authority, but adolescents' perceptions did not. Differences were primarily over the boundaries of adolescents' personal jurisdiction. Furthermore, conceptions of parental authority and parenting styles both contributed significantly to emotional autonomy and adolescent-parent conflict. The implications of the findings for typological models of parenting and distinct domain views of social-cognitive development are discussed.

Parenting Styles and Conceptions of Parental Authority during Adolescence

This study assessed adolescents' and parents' conceptions of parental authority. Subjects were 102 children ranging from fifth to twelfth grade (age range = 10.2-18.3 years) from 2-parent families and their parents. They were divided into 4 groups according to children's grade level. Subjects were presented with 15 items pertaining to family transgressions (4 moral, 4 conventional, 3 personal, and 4 multifaceted, containing conventional and personal components). For each act, subjects were asked to judge the legitimacy of parental jurisdiction, justify its wrongness or permissibility, and assess its contingency on parental authority. As expected, all family members treated both moral and conventional issues as more legitimately subject to parental jurisdiction than multifaceted and personal issues. With increasing age of the adolescent, both parents and children became less likely to reason about the multifaceted and personal issues as conventional and sort them as contingent on parental authority; they became more likely to reason about and sort them as under the adolescents' personal jurisdiction. Adolescents at all ages, however, were more likely to reason about the multifaceted and personal issues as personal and sort them as under personal jurisdiction than were parents. Parents were more likely to reason conventionally and sort them as contingent on parental authority than were adolescents. These findings are discussed in terms of research on adolescent development, individuation, and social-cognitive development.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/info/1130313

Judith G. Smetana

Papers

Adolescent development in interpersonal and societal contexts.

Preschool children's conceptions of moral and social rules.

Handbook of Moral Development

Parenting Styles and Conceptions of Parental Authority during Adolescence

Adolescents' and parents' conceptions of parental authority.