Children obey rules because they fear being punished if they disobey. Morality is based on trust, conformity, and loyalty. Morality is based on a law and order orientation. What is right is based in understanding the social order, law, justice, and duty. They realize that values and laws are relative, that people hold different standards, that laws are important but can be changed.
Moral development is based in universal human rights.
When faced with a conflict between law and conscience, such people follow conscience, even at personal risk. The moral sense stems from children's attachment to their parents, which motivates them to adopt the parent's standards of good and bad behavior. Children shift from obeying rules for external reasons, such as fear of punishment, to obeying rules for internal reasons, because they will feel guilty or ashamed of behaving badly or disappointing the loved parent. The internalization of moral stands begins with empathy, the ability to feel bad about another person's unhappiness and to feel good about another's joy. According to Erikson, biological and social forces combine to produce eight stages marked by crises.