Sometimes simply being exposed to more advanced moral reasoning is sufficient to promote developmental change (Walker, 1980). For example, adolescents may notice that older friends do not wait to be rewarded to help others. Or a teenager may notice that respected peers take courageous positions regardless of the social consequences. Such experiences apparently cause adolescents to reevaluate their reasoning on moral issues and propel them toward more sophisticated thinking. Discussion can be particularly effective in revealing shortcomings in moral reasoning (Berkowitz et al., 2006). When people reason about moral issues with others whose reasoning is more sophisticated, the usual result is that individuals reasoning at lower levels improve. Adolescents' moral reasoning (and moral behavior) is also influenced by their involvement in religion. Adolescents who are more involved in religion have greater concern for others and place more emphasis on helping them (Youniss, Mclellan, & Yates, 1999). An obvious explanation for this link is that religion provides moral beliefs and guidelines for adolescents. But participation in religion promotes moral reasoning in a second, less direct way. Involvement in a religious community connects teens to an extended network of caring peers and adults. From interacting with individuals in this network, earning their trust, and sharing their values, adolescents gain a sense of responsibility to and concern for others (King & Furrow, 2004). Research findings such as these send an important message to parents: Discussion is probably the best way for parents to help their children think about moral issues in more mature terms (Walker & Taylor, 1991). Research consistently shows that mature moral reasoning comes about when adolescents are free to express their opinions on moral issues to their parents, who in turn express their opinions and thus expose their adolescent children to more mature moral reasoning (Hoffman, 1988, 1994). People sometimes fall prey to the myth that adolescents are negatively affected by interactions with their peers. While this may be true in some instances, clearly it is not true in all cases 

1) How can interactions with peers positively impact an adolescent's moral development?

2) Discuss the relationship between involvement in religion and the development of moral reasoning in adolescents