Module 8: Kohlberg's Stage of Moral Development

In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer.

There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had

recently discovered.

The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make.

He paid $400 for the radium and charged $4,000 for a small dose of the drug.

The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money and tried every legal means,

but he could only get together about $2,000, which is half of what it cost.

He told the druggist that his wife was dying, and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later.

But the druggist said, "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it.“

So, having tried every legal means, Heinz gets anxious and considers breaking into the man's

store to steal the drug for his wife.

Should Heinz steal the drug? Why or why not?

Kohlberg’s Moral DilemmaPresented By: Karen D. Acuario

Kohlberg’s Theory of

Moral Development

Words to remember:

• Moral is a lesson that is learn from something.

• Dilemma is a situation that requires a choice between two equal alternatives.

Words to remember:

• Moral dilemma can therefore be defined as a situation that will often involve an apparent mental conflict in which each in possible course of action will breach some binding moral principle.

• Moral reasoning is a study in psychology that overlaps with moral philosophy. It is also called Moral development.

Who was Lawrence Kohlberg?1927 - 1983

• Born in New York City in 1927.

• Kohlberg began studying psychology as an undergraduate at the University of Chicago. In one year, Kohlberg had earned his B.A. in psychology and continued his education as a graduate student at the University of Chicago. In 1958, Kohlberg earned his Ph.D

• Became fascinated by moral development in children.

Who was Lawrence Kohlberg?1927 - 1983

• Kohlberg studied moral reasoning & development with much of his work based on that of Jean Piaget and John Dewey. He had a brief teaching position at Yale University before moving onto Harvard in 1967.

• While in Central America in 1973, Kohlberg developed a rare and unknown tropical disease which disabled him in many ways and caused him to be severely depressed. In January of 1987, Kohlberg disappeared, his body was later found in a swamp area.

• There is some suspicion that Kohlberg took his own life.

Who was Lawrence Kohlberg?1927 - 1983

• He was adopted and built on Piaget’s work, and set the groundwork for the present debate within psychology and moral development.

• Like Piaget, He believed that the children form ways of thinking through their experiences which include understandings of moral concepts such as justice, rights, equality, and human welfare.

• Kohlberg followed the development of moral judgment and extended the ages covered by Piaget, and found out the process of attaining moral maturity took longer and occurred slower that Piaget had thought.

Who was Lawrence Kohlberg?1927 - 1983

• While in Central America in 1973, Kohlberg developed a rare and unknown tropical disease which disabled him in many ways and caused him to be severely depressed. In January of 1987, Kohlberg disappeared, his body was later found in a swamp area.

• If Piaget designed specific tasks (Piagetian tasks) to learn about the cognitive development of children. Kohlberg utilized moral dilemmas (Kohlberg Dilemmas).The case you read in the activity part of this module was written for this module but based on how Kohlberg wrote his dilemmas. Like Piaget, he presented these dilemmas to the individuals in his research and asked for their responses. He did not aim to judge whether the responses were right and wrong. He was interested in analyzing the moral reasoning behind the responses.

Kohlberg's Stages

Pre-conventional level • Stage 1: The punishment and obedience orientation

• Stage 2: The instrumental purpose orientation

Conventional level • Stage 3: The "good boy-good girl" orientation

• Stage 4: The social-order-maintaining orientation

Post-conventional level • Stage 5: The social-contract orientation

• Stage 6: The universal ethical principle orientation

Levels of Moral Reasoning

• Preconventional—moral reasoning is based on external rewards and punishments

• Conventional—laws and rules are upheld simply because they are laws and rules

• Postconventional—reasoning based on personal moral standards

PRECONVENTIONAL LEVEL

• Moral reasoning is based on the consequence/result of the act, not on the whether the act itself is good or bad.

• Punishments and rewards dominate the sense of right & wrong

FOCUS: SelfAGES:4 – 10 yrs. old

Behavior motivated by anticipation of pleasure or pain.

Stage #1:Obedience and Punishment Orientation

• One is motivated by fear of punishment.

• He will act in order to avoid punishment.

EX: The child won’t grab the candy at the supermarket for fear of being slapped

Possible answers for Kohlberg’s dilemma by children of Stage 1

For stealing: If you let your wife die, you will get into trouble. You’ll be blamed for not spending your money to save her and there will be an investigation of you and the druggist for your wife’s death.

Against stealing: You should not steal the drug because you’ll be caught and sent to jail if you do. If you do get away, your conscience would bother you thinking how the police would catch you at any minute.

Stage #2:Mutual Benefit..

• One is motivated to act by the benefit that one may obtain later.

• You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.

EX: A mother tells her child: “If you are quiet at the mall, I will buy you an ice cream.”

Possible answers for Kohlberg’s dilemma by children of Stage 2

• For stealing: If you do happen to get caught you could give the drug back and you wouldn’t get much of a sentence. It wouldn’t bother you much to serve a little jail term if you have your wife when you get out.

• Against stealing : He may not get much of a jail term if steals the drug, but his wife will probably die before he gets out so it won’t do him much good. If his wife dies, he shouldn’t blame himself. It wasn’t his fault that she has cancer.

CONVENTIONAL LEVEL

• Moral reasoning is based on the conventions or “norms” of society.

• This may include approval of others,

• law and order.

FOCUS: Significant Others, "Tyranny of the They" (They say….AGES:10 – 13 yrs. old

Acceptance of the rules and standards of one's group.

Stage #3:Social Approval

• One is motivated by what others expect in behavior - good boy, good girl. The person acts because he/she values how he/she appear to others.

• He/she gives importance on what people will think or say.

EX: Volunteering at a nursing home is the right thing to do.

Possible answers for Kohlberg’s dilemma by children of Stage 3

• For stealing: Nobody will think you’re bad if you steal the drug but your family will think you’re an inhuman husband if you don’t. If you let your wife die, you’ll never be able to look anybody in the face again.

• Against stealing: It isn’t just the druggist who will think you are a criminal, everyone else will, too. After you steal it, you’ll feel bad thinking about how you’ve brought dishonor on your family and yourself. You won’t be able to face anyone again.

Stage #4: Law and Order

One is motivated to act in order to uphold law and order.

The person will follow the law because it is the law.

EX: If you drink and drive your endangering the lives of others on the road, not just yourself.

Possible answers for Kohlberg’s dilemma by children of Stage 4

• For stealing: If you have any sense of honor, you won’t let your wife die because you’re afraid to do the only thing that will save her. You’ll always feel guilty that you caused her death if you don’t do your duty to her.

• Against stealing: You’re desperate and you may not know you’re doing wrong when you steal the drug. But you’ll know you did wrong after you’re punished and sent to jail. You’ll always feel guilty for your dishonesty and lawbreaking

THE POSTCONVENTIONAL LEVEL

• Moral reasoning is based on enduring or consistent principles. It is not just recognizing the law, but the principles behind the law.

Stage #5: Social ContractLaws that are wrong can be

changed. One will act based on social

justice and the common good.

At stage 5, people begin to ask, "What makes for a good society?" They begin to think about society considering the rights and values that a society ought to uphold.

Possible answers for Kohlberg’s dilemma by children of Stage 5

• For stealing: The law wasn’t set up for these circumstances. Taking the drug in this situation isn’t really right, but it’s justified to do it.

• Against stealing: You can’t completely blame someone for stealing but extreme circumstances don’t really justify taking the law in your own hands. You can’t have everyone stealing whenever they get desperate. The end may be good, but the ends don’t justify the means

Stage #6: Universal Ethical Principal Orientation

This is associated with the development od one’s conscience.

Having a set of standards that drives one to posses moral responsibility to make societal changes regardless of consequences to oneself.

EX: Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus because it was an unjust law discriminating against African Americans.

Possible answers for Kohlberg’s dilemma by children of Stage 6

• For stealing: This is a situation which forces him to choose between stealing and letting his wife die. In a situation where the choice must be made, it is morally right to steal. He has to act in terms if the principle of preserving and respecting life.

• Against stealing: Heinz is faced with the decision of whether to consider the other people who need the drug just as badly as his wife. Heinz ought to act not according to his particular feelings toward his wife, but considering the value of all the loves involved.

Criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory

• Research has not supported Kohlberg’s belief that the development of abstract thinking in adolescence invariably leads people to the formation of idealistic moral principles

• Some cross-cultural psychologists argue that Kohlberg’s stories and scoring system reflect a Western emphasis on individual rights, harm, and justice that is not shared in many cultures.

• Kohlberg’s early research was conducted entirely with male subjects, yet it became the basis for a theory applied to both males and females.

Other Dilemmas to Consider