One of the most persistently asked and perpetually unanswered questions in psychology is the question of morality. What is it, how does it develop and where does it come from? A basic definition of morality is “beliefs about what is right behavior and what is wrong behavior” (Merriam-Webster). Based on the definition the question then becomes even more complicated; How do people decide what is right and what is wrong? Research has looked at this from many different angles, and two distinct schools of thought have emerged. One centers on the Lockean idea of ​​children as blank slates who must be taught the difference between right and wrong and what it means to be moral, while the other espouses a more Chomskian perspective of a preset system of ground rules and guidelines that they just need to be activated. So what does this mean for humans and humanity? Are we born a blank slate or are we born with an innate sense of right and wrong? For those researching this topic, the question then becomes how to most effectively theorize, experience, and interpret human morality. Reciprocity and empathy Children as blank slates: Locke, Piaget and Kohlberg For the philosopher John Locke, human beings could only be defined through their sense of self and this sense of self was not automatic, but rather gradual. He believed that humans were, at birth, blank slates and that it was the accumulation of sensory perception and experience that allowed humans to develop a sense of what it means to be human and to learn to function in a social system. He also argued that the way people grouped their experiences became the foundation for the rest of their lives and that it was a fundamental part of parenting and education to ensure that the foundations were solid (Copelston,...... half of the document ......13). Do children detect indirect reciprocity? Cognition, 129(1) 102-113. Morality. 2014. In Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moralityPremack, D. (2007). Foundation of morality in the child. Social Brain Issues: Positions on the neurobiology of social cognition, 190, 161-167.Scarf, D., Imuta, K., Colombo, M., Hayne, H. (2012) Social evaluation or simple association? Simple association can explain moral reasoning in infants. PLoS ONE 7(8) doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0042698Schmidt MFH, Sommerville, JA (2011). Fairness expectations and altruistic sharing in 15-month-old human infants. PLoS UNO 6(10): e23223. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023223Wade, N. (2007, September 18). Is "doing unto others" written in our genes? New York Times Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/science/18mora.html?sq&_r=0