Moral Development

LAWRENCE KOHLBERG

MORAL

DEVELOPMENT

LAWRENCE KOHLBERG- (born on October 25, 1927 —

died on January 17, 1987)

- American psychologist and

educator known for his theory

of moral development.

- A psychologist who portrayed

on education, anthropology, and

philosophy, to inform his work

on the development of moral

judgment and on moral

behavior.

WHAT IS MORAL DEVELOPMENT?

• Moral Development is an aspect of a person’s overall

development that follows over the

course of a lifetime.

• Moral Development is growth and, like

all growth, it takes place according to a

pre-determined sequence.

KOHLBERG'S THEORY OF

MORAL DEVELOPMENT • This theory is a stage theory. In other words,

everyone goes through the stages sequentially

without skipping any stage.

• Assessed moral reasoning by posing hypothetical

moral dilemmas and examining the reasoning

behind people’s answers.

• Proposed three distinct of moral reasoning: Pre-

conventional, Conventional, and Post-

conventional.

HOW DID KOHLBERG COME UP WITH

THE THEORY OF MORAL

DEVELOPMENT?

• All his ideas started from the research he performed with

very young children as his subjects. He found out that

children are faced with different moral issues, and their

judgments on whether they are to act positively or

negatively over each dilemma are heavily influenced by

several factors. In each scenario that Kohlberg related to

the children, he was not really asking whether or not the

person in the situation is morally right or wrong, but he

wanted to find out the reasons why these children think

that the character is morally right or not.

• For purposes of illustration, Kohlberg uses the Heinz Dilemma.

The Heinz Dilemma:

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 pharmacist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make,

but the pharmacist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to produce. He paid $200 for the radium and charged

$2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the

money, but he could only get together about $1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the pharmacist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later.

But the pharmacist said: "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it." So Heinz got desperate and

broke into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife.

SIX STAGES OF MORAL

DEVELOPMENT Level 1: Pre-Conventional Moral Development

Stage 1 Punishment-Obedience Orientation

Stage 2 Instrumental Relativist Orientation

Level 2: Conventional Moral Development

Stage 3 Good boy-Good girl Orientation

Stage 4 Law and Order Orientation

Level 3: Post-Conventional Moral Development

Stage 5 Social-Contract Legalistic Orientation

Stage 6 Universal Ethical Principle Orientation

LEVEL 1: PRE-CONVENTIONAL

MORALITY [BIRTH-ADOLESCENCE]

- Young children do not really understand the conventions or rules of a society.

Stage 1 - Punishment-Obedience Orientation

- Related to Skinner’s Operational

Conditioning, this stage includes the use

of punishment so that the person refrains

from doing the action and continues to

obey the rules.

• Stage 2 - Self Interest Orientation / Instrumental Relativist

Orientation

- In this stage a good action is seen as one that is in the best

interest of the individual. Favours may be done for another

child so that in return favours will be returned by the other.

Lies could be told to cover for another so that in return a

similar favour is owed to the individual. The underlying

concern of stage thinking is “what’s in it for me”. The child

will follow rules if there is a known benefit to him or her.

Children in this stage are very concerned with what is fair.

LEVEL 1: PRE-CONVENTIONAL

MORALITY [BIRTH-ADOLESCENCE]

LEVEL 2: CONVENTIONAL

MORALITY [ADOLESCENCE-YOUNG ADULTHOOD]

• Stage 3 - “Good boy-Good girl" Orientation

- Individuals at this stage of moral reasoning will try to win the approval of others so that their identity is perceived as good. The acceptance of the individual by the peer group has a huge impact in terms of what actions are considered good or bad. At this stage people tend to judge the morality of actions in terms of evaluating their consequences in relation to a person’s relationships. Good and bad intentions are recognised. People want their relationships to be characterised by respect, gratitude and treating others as we wish to be treated. A good action is therefore on that will bring about this positive result.

Stage 4 – Law and Order Orientation

- The desire to have a functioning society is at the heart of

this stage of moral reasoning. Laws, norms and conventions

become very important in so far as they maintain a

functioning society. People at this stage of moral reasoning

have moved beyond the strong need for individual approval

associated with stage three. The concern at stage four is

transcending individual needs in favour of the needs of

society as a whole.

LEVEL 2: CONVENTIONAL

MORALITY [ADOLESCENCE-YOUNG ADULTHOOD]

Stage 5 - Social-Contract Legalistic Orientation

- At this stage it is recognised that individuals can hold different opinions and values and these should be respected impartially. It is believed that contracts will allow the individual and society to both increase their welfare. It is therefore known as a contractual perspective. Freedom of choice becomes important and certain fundamental principles are upheld, such as the right to life and the right to choose. At this stage, no single choice is seen as right or absolute since others do not have the moral authority to judge the actions of the individual.

LEVEL 3: POST-CONVENTIONAL

MORALITY [ADULTHOOD]

Stage 6 – Universal Ethical Principle Orientation

- Moral reasoning is based on abstract reasoning at

this stage. Conscience is seen as an important factor

in making moral decisions. Mutual respect is valued

as a universal principle. Laws are seen as valid only

in so far as they promote the principle of justice.

Therefore, there is an obligation on people to disobey

an unjust law. Decisions are met categorically and in

an absolute way rather that with conditions attached.

LEVEL 3: POST-CONVENTIONAL

MORALITY [ADULTHOOD]

4 QUALITIES OF MORAL

DEVELOPMENT

1. Stage development is steady.

- one must progress through the stages in

order, and one cannot get to a higher stage

without passing through the stage

immediately preceding it.

2. Subjects cannot comprehend moral

reasoning at a stage more than one stage

beyond their own.

- Thus a person at stage two, who

categorizes good and bad on the basis of

his own pleasure, cannot comprehend

reasoning at stage four which appeals to

fixed duties the performance of which

need not offer any promise of reward or

pleasure.

3. Subjects are cognitively attracted to

reasoning one level above their own main

level.

- A stage one person will be attracted by stage

two reasoning, a stage two person by stage

three reasoning, and so on. Kohlberg states that

reasoning at higher stages is cognitively more

acceptable than reasoning at lower stages, since

it resolves problems and dilemmas in a more

satisfactory way.

4. Movement through the stages is effected when

cognitive uncertainty is created.

- That is, when a person’s cognitive outlook is

not suitable to cope with a given moral

dilemma. If in a given situation one’s cognitive

framework cannot resolve a problem, the

cognitive organism adjusts to a framework

which does. Yet if a person’s orientation is not

disturbed there is no reason to expect any

development.

• These qualities of moral development

are, as I said, important to keep in mind.

Because they have not only been verified

time and again by research but they also

make sense if one looks at the

development of one’s cognitive capacity

as a kind of orderly growth.

• Kohlberg believed, as Piaget did, that

most moral development occurs through

social interaction.