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Your level of moral reasoning may impact how you assess certain situations. If society deems something as abhorrent, and you grew up in this society, your morality is likely shaped around what they deem is right or wrong, and you, too, shall view the act as abhorrent.
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Sign up for freeWhat year did Kohlberg introduce his theory on the stages of moral development?
Kohlberg's study has issues with being gender-biased, true or false?
Kohlberg expanded on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. True or False.
Brian is 5 years old and wants a slice of cake before dinner, but he knows his mom will scold him and not let him play outside after dinner if he has the cake. Which stage of Kohlberg's moral development does this scenario correspond to?
Brian wants to change a few policies so that more people in his community will benefit, so he is going to vote in the election on Tuesday. Which stage of Kohlberg's moral development does this scenario correspond to?
How many levels are in Kohlber's Stages of Moral Development?
How many stages are in each level of Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development?
Brian steals medicine to help his dying neighbor. Sure, stealing is wrong, but the issue is more abstract than that. It's more wrong to let his neighbor die than it is to break this one rule. Which stage of Kohlberg's moral development does this scenario correspond to?
Which is not one of the stages in the Preconventional Reasoning level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development?
Brian hates eating his veggies but knows that if he does, his parents will let him have ice cream for dessert. Brian really wants ice cream! Which stage of Kohlberg's moral development does this scenario correspond to?
Which is not one of the stages in the Conventional Reasoning level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development?
What year did Kohlberg introduce his theory on the stages of moral development?
Kohlberg's study has issues with being gender-biased, true or false?
Kohlberg expanded on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. True or False.
Brian is 5 years old and wants a slice of cake before dinner, but he knows his mom will scold him and not let him play outside after dinner if he has the cake. Which stage of Kohlberg's moral development does this scenario correspond to?
Brian wants to change a few policies so that more people in his community will benefit, so he is going to vote in the election on Tuesday. Which stage of Kohlberg's moral development does this scenario correspond to?
How many levels are in Kohlber's Stages of Moral Development?
How many stages are in each level of Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development?
Brian steals medicine to help his dying neighbor. Sure, stealing is wrong, but the issue is more abstract than that. It's more wrong to let his neighbor die than it is to break this one rule. Which stage of Kohlberg's moral development does this scenario correspond to?
Which is not one of the stages in the Preconventional Reasoning level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development?
Brian hates eating his veggies but knows that if he does, his parents will let him have ice cream for dessert. Brian really wants ice cream! Which stage of Kohlberg's moral development does this scenario correspond to?
Which is not one of the stages in the Conventional Reasoning level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development?
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Team Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development Teachers
Piaget provided a set of stages a child goes through during cognitive development. Kohlberg expanded on that, suggesting moral reasoning also progresses in stages. Kohlberg's stages apply from childhood until adulthood.
Kohlberg suggested that there are three levels of moral development. Each level has two of its own 'stages' within it, which expand on the areas of moral understanding the person is going through or has reached. So, we can say that Kohlberg has six stages of moral development overall.
Fig. 1. Kohlberg identified three levels of moral development.
These levels are:
The best way to remember this is by looking at the prefixes. Pre means before, and post means after, so conventional is; first, conventional is second, and post-conventional is last.
As we mentioned above, each level has stages within it.
Kohlberg developed this idea from his study (based on Piaget's initial theories), using a sample of 75 American boys between 10 and 16. He also collected data from boys from Britain, Mexico, Turkey, Canada and Taiwan.
Something worth noting here is that the age of criminal responsibility in England is 10. If at the age of 10, we expect children to know the difference between right and wrong, enough so to be punished by the law based on this, then our understanding of moral development must be sound.
It was a cross-cultural, longitudinal study, occurring over 12 years (they were interviewed every three years up until they were 22 and 28), where the boys were given ten moral dilemmas in the form of stories.
These dilemmas varied and were used to engage the boys in philosophical debates, asking them to think about their morals and how they would approach the situation.
A famous example of one of the stories is the Heinz dilemma.
In the Heinz dilemma, Heinz needs money to help pay for the treatment of his dying wife. She was recently diagnosed with a disease and had a month to live, and a special drug had been developed that could help treat her. Without it, she will die.
The pharmacy told them it would cost a lot of money and wasn't willing to reduce it, and no bank was willing to provide a loan. Friends and family members could only chip in a small amount, and it became clear that Heinz could not get the money for the treatment drug. Heinz then decided to break into the pharmacy and steal the drug.
Kohlberg would then ask the boys in an interview if Heinz was right or wrong in stealing the drug (so the data is qualitative), framing the question differently. He asked if Heinz was justified in his decision or if Heinz should be punished for it.
Alternatively, should the pharmacist be punished for willingly letting a woman die and refusing to give medication that could save her life?
The answers were more than just a 'yes' or 'no'. Kohlberg was interested in the moral reasoning behind their decisions.
From this, Kohlberg developed his stages of moral development.
Kohlberg's stages roughly correspond with certain ages. The ages aren't the most important information, though. Pay attention to the type of reasoning present in each stage.
Usually, children aged 4 to 10 revolve around this level, and moral reasoning is based on the following two stages:
Phase 1; Punishment and obedience orientation: an act is wrong because the person who did it was punished. To avoid punishment is the goal here.
Phase 2; Self-interest: an act that gets the best outcome for you is the right choice. If you do it, you may be rewarded.
At this level, moral reasoning is based on the next two stages:
Stage 3; Good boy/girl orientation: An act that causes others to think positively of you is the right choice. You may receive praise for doing it and will be known as someone who is nice/good.
Stage 4; Authority orientation: An act is right or wrong according to the rules or the law.
For example, stealing something from a store is always wrong because it goes against the rules or law; this is based on more than just the fear of punishment. It's because it's against the law that you don't do it, regardless of punishment.
At this level, moral reasoning is based on the final two stages:
Stage 5; Social contract orientation: An act is right because it creates the greatest amount of good for most people. Laws are still important, but ethical values become factors in moral dilemmas, and laws can and should be changed if necessary.
Stage 6; Conscience and ethical principle orientation: An act is now governed by abstract, universal concepts and justice, equality, and human life are the most important things. Judgements are made on an individual basis, and laws should be more of a guideline that can be subverted when necessary.
If we were to apply the sixth stage, 'conscience and ethical principle orientation,' to Heinz's dilemma, would it be the correct choice for Heinz to steal the medication for his wife? Is it morally justified? Interestingly, his study found that children of different cultures all pass through the same stages; however, they do so at different rates.
People go through the stages of moral development in a fixed order. The order of the stages is universal for all cultures. Middle-class children progress through the stages faster compared to working-class children. The stages are not affected by religious beliefs.
Not many people reach stages five and six in this model and most land somewhere in the conventional reasoning stage.
| Level | Stage | Stage Meaning |
| 1 - Preconventional (ages 4 - 10) | 1. Punishment and obedience orientation | An act is wrong because the person who did it was punished. To avoid punishment is the goal here. |
| 2. Self-interest | An act that gets the best outcome for you is the right choice. If you do it, you may be rewarded. | |
| 2 - Conventional (older children, adolescents, some adults) | 3. Good boy/girl orientation | A right choice is an act that causes others to think positively of you. You may receive praise for doing it and be known as someone who is nice/good. |
| 4. Authority orientation - | An act is right because you've been told to do it by the rules or the law. For example, stealing something from a store. This is based on more than just the fear of punishment; it's because it's against the law that you don't do it, regardless of punishment. | |
| 3- Postconventional (few adults, rarely children) | 5. Social contract orientation | An act is right because it creates the greatest amount of good for most people. Laws are still important, but ethical values become factors in moral dilemmas, and laws can and should be changed if necessary. |
| 6. Conscience and ethical principle orientation | Abstract, universal concepts and justice now govern an act; equality and human life are the most important things. Judgements are made on an individual basis, and laws should be more of a guideline that can be subverted when necessary. |
As with all studies, we need to assess their reliability and validity. One major issue with Kohlberg's study is that it was gender-biased. It was performed on boys, and thus the results cannot be generalised to girls, significantly reducing the applicability and generalisability of the results! Thus, it also has issues with being androcentric.
However, when this theory is applied to criminals, it supports the idea that criminals have not gone through all the required stages of moral development, suggesting a cause behind their delinquent behaviours.
Kennedy and Grubin (1992) found that convicted sex offenders tended to blame the victim for the assault and did not have much remorse for their actions.
The model also has issues with ecological validity in that these hypothetical scenarios are just that - hypothetical. How the boys would actually respond when facing real-life scenarios could differ. It brings into question self-reflection, and social desirability bias is a real concern here. The boys may have answered in a way that makes them appear more morally correct to the researcher.
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What are the six stages of Kohlberg's moral development?
The six stages of Kohlberg’s moral development are punishment and obedience orientation, self-interest, good boy/girl orientation, authority orientation, social construct orientation, and finally, conscience and ethical principles orientation.
What is Kohlberg's theory of moral development?
Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is based on the idea that moral reasoning occurs in stages and expands on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development in children. It applies from childhood until adulthood.
How did Kohlberg develop his theory?
Kohlberg performed a cross-cultural, longitudinal study over 12 years on boys aged between 10 and 16. They were told ten stories involving moral dilemmas and asked questions about their moral reasoning in an interview. This allowed Kohlberg to assess the trend of moral development in these boys over the years, and he created his stages of moral development.
What is Kohlberg's conventional stage?
Kohlberg’s conventional stage involves the good boy/girl orientation, where actions are perceived as right as they shine a positive light on you, and authority orientation, where actions are perceived as right or wrong as they are deemed so by the law/rules.
What technique did Kohlberg use?
Kohlberg used a storytelling technique in a cross-cultural, longitudinal study on boys aged between 10 and 16 to assess their moral reasoning levels.
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