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development in his book. In his investigation, Piaget interviewed several children between 6 and
14 years old, and asked them if lying to an adult was worse or better than lying to a child.
Younger children had a tendency to manifest that lying to an adult was worse because if the adult
found out, they could get punished. Inversely, many of the older children said that it is necessary
to lie to adults on certain situations, but it is not correct to lie to other children. Even though
lying is wrong in both situations, the answer from the older children shows a movement towards
more autonomous morality as a consequence of growth and development; a morality that has
more basis on the individual’s criteria of right and wrong than on punishment and reward.
The problem is that traditional education is almost completely based on the use of
rewards and punishments, and usually ignores completely the need to develop moral autonomy
in the individual. As a result, many people never develop a strong moral autonomy and act in a
heteronomous moral manner throughout their entire lives. This lack of moral autonomy opens
the doors to corruption, crime and basic misconduct when the individual perceives that he is not
being watched by an authority figure or that the consequences of his actions can be evaded.
As with intellectual autonomy, moral autonomy is developed when options are given, and
the individual’s reasoning and understanding skills are fostered. When we are educating a child,
we typically promo H܈\