KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Who was Lawrence Kohlberg?
1927 - 1983
Born in New York City in
1927.
Graduated from the
University of Chicago in
one year.
Attended Yale and earned a
PhD in psychology.
Became fascinated by moral
development in children.
Theorized six stages of
human moral development.
WHAT IS MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Moral development involves thoughts feelings and
behaviors' regarding standards of right and wrong
It consists of:
Interpersonal and
Intra personal dimensions
Kohlberg’s Moral Dilemma
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 desperate and considers breaking into the man's store to steal the
drug for his wife.
Should Heinz steal the drug? Why or why not?
Levels of Moral Reasoning
Level 1: Pre- ●
STAGE 1:Punishment and obedience
conventional orientation
Morality
●
STAGE 2: Instrumental orientation
Level 2: ●
STAGE 3: “Good-boy / good-girl” orientation
Conventional ●
STAGE 4: Maintaining the Social Order.
Morality
Level 3: Post- ●
STAGE 5: Social contract morality
conventional ●
STAGE 6: Universal Principles
Morality
According to Kohlberg, each stage represents a
METHOD OF THINKING about a moral dilemma
rather than a particular TYPE of moral decision
Level 1. Pre-conventional Moral Reasoning
At this level a person’s view of right and wrong
is usually influenced by their family, mainly their
parents and older siblings, and the consequences
attached to their behavior.
Characterized by the desire to avoid punishment
or gain reward
Typically children under the age of 10
Stage 1:Obedience and Punishment Orientation
Morality is based upon the physical punishment that
follows an action, rather than right or wrong
Child will defer to authority figure and obey their
commands in order to avoid punishment
EXAMPLE:
The child won’t grab the candy at the
supermarket for fear of being spanked
Heinz shouldn’t steal the drug because
he’d go to jail if he got caught.
Stage 2: Instrumental orientation
Right action consists of what instrumentally satisfies one’s own needs
and occasionally the needs of others
Person conforms to rules in order to gain rewards or to satisfy
personal needs,
Elements of fairness, reciprocity, and equal sharing are present
Example :
A mother tells her child: “If you are quiet at the mall, I will buy you
an ice cream.”
Heinz should steal the drug because the durggist is being greedy by
charging so much
Findings
The individuals who stay at this level often
refuse to believe his/her family member did
something wrong, even when the evidence is
overwhelming
Level 2: Conventional Moral Reasoning
The individual strives to obey the rules set forth by
others, to win praise and recognition or to maintain
social order
Young people have internalized the ethical and moral
beliefs of their family and the group they associate
with.
Primary concern is to fit in and play the role of a
good citizen
People have a strong desire to follow the rules and
laws.
Stage 3: “Good-boy / good-girl” orientation
Moral behavior is that which
pleases, helps, or is approved by
others.
One’s objective is to be thought
of as a “nice” person
EXAMPLE:
Heinz should try to steal the
drug because that’s what a
devoted husband would do
Volunteering at a nursing
home is the right thing to do
Stage 4: Law-and-Order
To maintain social order, people must resist personal
pressures and follow the laws of the larger society
Respect the laws & authority
EXAMPLE:
Heinz should not steal the drug because that would be
against the law and he has duty to uphold the law.
Findings …
Many people remain at this level, continuing to
define right and wrong in terms of what society
believes or what laws requires
Level 3: Post-conventional Moral Reasoning
Characterized by references to universal ethical
principles that represent protecting the rights or
of all people
Most adults do not reach this level.
Stage 5: Social contract morality
@ stage 4, people want to keep society functioning. However, a
smoothly functioning society is not necessarily a good one. Nazi
Germany was a well organized society, but nine million were
murdered in the process.
@ stage 5, people think society as in a very theoretical way.
People are making more of an independent effort to think out
what any society ought to value.
EXAMPLE: Heinz should steal the drug because It is the
husband's duty to save his wife. It his obligation to save his
wife’s life must take precedence over his obligation to respect
the druggist’s property rights. Life is more important than
property
Stage 6: Universal ethical principles
As human beings we are obligated to live by the
principal that “all women are created equal”
regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or
political belief. Justice is universal, so unjust laws
must be broken.
EXAMPLE: Heinz should steal the drug even if the
person was a stranger and not his wife. He must
follow his conscience and not let the druggist’s
desire for money outweigh the value of a human life
Findings…
A person at this level stops defining right and
wrong in terms of group loyalties or norms.
Instead, the adult at this level develops moral
principles that define right and wrong from a
universal point of view.
Criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory
Does moral reasoning necessarily lead to moral
behavior? Kohlberg's theory is concerned with moral
thinking, but there is a big difference between knowing
what we ought to do versus our actual actions.
Kohlberg's theory overemphasize Western philosophy.
Eastern cultures may have different moral outlooks. So
this model cannot be applied to eastern culture.
Kohlberg's theory was initially developed based on
empirical research using only male participants
Presented by:-
Benoy Jose (F09007)
Michael R. M (F09038)
Rajitha G (F09050)
