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Theoretical Perspectives on Moral Development and Restitution (From Personality Theory, Moral Developments and Criminal Behavior, P 411-439, 1983, William S Laufer and James M Day, ed. - See NCJ-91449)

NCJ Number
91465
Author(s)
P V Voorhis
Date Published
1983
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This study examines some of the implications of moral-development theory for the selection of offenders for various types of restitution programs.
Abstract
Kohlberg's theory of moral development shares assumptions and research strategies common to several ego and cognitive developmental theories. The theories hold that development in cognitive structures and qualitative patterns of reasoning occurs in an invariant sequence of stages for all persons, with the stages of development becoming increasingly more differentiated and complex. Moral-development theory suggests that a given stage of moral development may interact with some of the situational factors of restitution (e.g., victim type -- personal or organizational -- or restitution type -- community service or financial) to improve or discourage the successful completion of the offender's obligation. Four issues that receive repeated attention in the restitution literature are pertinent to moral-development theory: (1) the effects of restitution on offender feelings of distress over the criminal incident, (2) offenders' assessment of the fairness and rationality of restitution, (3) the offender's ability to assume responsibility for reimbursing the victim, and (4) the purpose of restitution relative to traditional sentencing aims. The restitution literature pertaining to each of the aforementioned issues is reviewed, accompanied by a discussion of the relevance of each issue to moral-development theory are considered for each of the four concerns, demonstrating why and how stage theory provides a useful framework for analyzing the claims made in the restitution literature. A total of 102 notes are provided.

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