Traits can primarily facilitate one's own goals (agentic) or those of others (communal) with the former linked respect and latter liking. However, communal traits vary in morality, which has been associated respect. Four studies tested impact varying agency (competence assertiveness) communion (warmth) on ratings Studies 1 2 used vignettes targeting integrity (communion-moral), competency (agen...

We introduce a computational framework for understanding the structure and dynamics of moral learning, with a focus on how people learn to trade off the interests and welfare of different individuals in their social groups and the larger society. We posit a minimal set of cognitive capacities that together can solve this learning problem: (1) an abstract and recursive utility calculus to quanti...

Moral evaluations constitute a fundamental aspect of human psychology. How does moral competence develop? For decades, this question has been addressed within cognitive-developmental frameworks (e.g., Killen & Smetana, in press; Kohlberg, 1971; Piaget, 1932), and the general answer has been that moral development is a constructivist process: children develop the ability to make increasingly sop...

Lifelong competence development is a fundamental premise for an information society, as well as major aim and challenge. Facing the variety of learning programs and qualification measures, problems emerge in supporting lifelong learning. Efficient competence development necessitates providing learners with learning opportunities which are appropriate for their current knowledge and for their in...

After a period in which the emphasis in education was on “the basics,” increasing attention has been paid at the turn of the century to the “moral task of education” in the Netherlands. Schools are not only expected to prepare students for further education and/or the labour market but also for participating in society in the broadest sense, for example, in politics, care, and culture. In this ...