Moral development: Rest’s model

The American psychologist James Rest (1984, 1986) created a four-component model that provides a framework for identifying the cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of moral development in sport. Rest’s model has been popular with many scholars because it allows for the simultaneous study of multiple aspects of moral development. According to Weiss and Bredemeier (1990), Rest’s model is particularly useful because it includes moral cognitions and behaviors as well as the interactions between the two. To clarify the components of Rest’s model, we can use the example of Cara, a high school soccer player who is deciding whether to slide-tackle an opponent during a competition. The first component of Rest’s model is moral sensitivity, referring to an individual’s ability to recognize moral situations. Cara must interpret the situation as a moral one that affects the well-being of others and assess possible outcomes (“Would my opponent get injured? Would my team get penalized?”). The second component of the model is moral judgment, when an individual evaluates the situation and decides what course of action is closest to the moral ideal. At this point, Cara considers what she should do when making her decision (“Should I slide-tackle my opponent? Is it okay to slide-tackle someone?”). The third component, moral intention, refers to an individual’s choice of action relative to competing options. Cara’s intention reflects what behavior she has chosen and plans to execute (“Would I slide-tackle my opponent?”). The fourth component, moral character, refers to an individual’s actual behavior. Cara’s moral character would reflect whether she followed through with her intentions to slide-tackle her opponent. According to Rest (1986), all four components are essential to explain moral actions; and moral sensitivity, moral judgment, moral intention, and moral action mutually influence each other. Source: “Human Motor Development” -A Lifespan approach (Greg Payne, Larry Isaacs) Recent Articles