Development Part 4:

Kohlberg

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987) was a psychologist who created a theory of moral development: it describes how one’s sense of right and wrong

changes with age.

How do we develop a sense of justice? How do we learn to make moral judgements?

“A very poor man named Heinz has a young child who is starving, and needs food. Every day, he begs people to

give him food and money to help his family, but he never seems to get enough money to keep the child fed. A wealthy man owns the only grocery shop in

town with lots of food, which he intentionally overprices because he wants to earn as much profit as

possible. One day, the man with the hungry child decides to break into the shop, and steal some food.”

Write a letter to the man (5 sentences minimum) explaining why his choice was either RIGHT or

WRONG, and explain WHY.

“Kohlberg Dilemmas”In order to study moral development, Kohlberg created situations like this one which he called

“dilemmas,” and read them to people of all ages. He took their responses and categorized them into three

levels of morality (6 stages total: two in each level) based on certain characteristics that he noticed.

Moral Level In Favor of Stealing Against Stealing

Level 1: Preconventional Morality (Interests of the individual are considered in terms of rewards and punishments)

“It was right to steal, because you might have been blamed for the poor health (or possibly even death) of the child.”

“It was wrong to steal, because you might be caught and sent to jail. If you don’t get caught, you might spend your whole life in fear thinking of how the police could catch you at any minute”.

Level 2: Conventional Morality (Interests of the individual are considered in terms of how others perceive them and how they act as good members of society)

“It was right to steal, because if something bad happens to the child you will never be able to face other people again. You will be thought of as a bad father.”

“It was wrong to steal because you’ll feel bad about how you brought dishonor on yourself and your family by not following the laws. Everyone must follow laws in order to keep society orderly.”

Level 3: Postconventional Morality (Individuals follow moral standards that are greater than those of any particular society)

“It was right to steal, because life is more important than property. What is truly wrong in this situation is that society does not agree: the law favors property over life.”

“It was wrong to steal because you will always condemn yourself for not living up to your own standards of honesty.”

Stage 1: Obedience & Punishment

Sense of morality is based on avoiding external punishments. Thus, an action is perceived as

wrong only if the person is punished. Children in this stage are egocentric, and

have not yet developed an understanding of societal definitions of right and

wrong.

Level 1: Preconventional Morality

Stealing is bad because the law says so. You

will get in trouble if you steal!

Stage 2: Self-Interest

Sense of morality is based on whatever

the individual believes is in their best

interest (but in a narrow way which does not consider one's reputation or

relationships to groups of people).

Level 1: Preconventional Morality

Stealing is ok if it allows you to get what you want.

Level One: “The law is always right”

or“Acting in self-interest”

( Video )

Stage 3: Accord & Conformity

Sense of morality is based on social

standards, and how one will be

perceived by others. Being approved of and respected by

others is considered important because it is self-beneficial.

Level 2: Conventional Morality

Stealing is a bad idea because if people find out,

they will think you’re untrustworthy, or a criminal.

Stage 4: Social Order-Maintaining

Sense of morality is based on the fact that following laws provides us with a

stable, safe, and functioning society. If one person breaks

a law, everyone could potentially break it, creating

danger and chaos. Thus, following laws and the orders of an outside

authority is beneficial for everyone.

Level 2: Conventional Morality

Stealing is bad because if everyone were

allowed to steal, no one’s property would be safe. There would be no

social order.

Level Two: “Act in a way that other people will approve of”

or“The law benefits and

protects society”

Stage 5: Social Contract Understanding

Sense of morality is based on an understanding that each

society creates it own values, laws, rights, and moral

standards. Laws are understood to be social contracts between

the governors and the governed: people are capable of making bad laws, and any laws that do not promote general

welfare should be removed or changed.

Level 3: Postconventional Morality

If the rules cause an injustice to happen, perhaps the rules

need to be changed, or perhaps you should

defy the rules.

Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles

Sense of morality is based on an understanding that

goodness is not defined by any particular society or set of laws, but good and moral

behavior is something universal which transcends human

society. People should not act based on laws, punishments,

self-interest, or societal interest, but should only act

based on what is just and right.

Level 3: Postconventional Morality

Kohlberg actually found very few people

in the world who operate at “stage 6” morality. He decided that stage 6 is not

very realistic.

Level Three: “The law is not always moral”

or“There is a universal

definition of good beyond what an individual society

defines it to be”

Heinz Dilemma Part 2:Kohlberg asked these follow up questions to his

participants after reading them the story:

1. Was it right for Heinz to steal?2. Would your answer change if

the hungry child was a stranger?

3. If poor people are starving, should the police arrest the greedy store owner for overpricing his goods?

Problems with Kohlberg’s Theory:

Does moral behavior actually match moral thoughts? People have pointed out that Kohlberg’s scenario is hypothetical: the way people answer the question may not be how they would act in real life.

Are there distinct stages to moral development, or do different situations result in different types of moral choices? Some adults may make a level three decision in one scenario, but fall back to a level one decision in another.

Is justice the most important moral principle? Some argue that compassion is more important.

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2

3

Review:

Breaking the rules is always bad.

(or)Acting in self-

interest because my individual needs are the greatest good.

Follow the rules because if you

don’t, others will think badly of you.

(or)The rules are in

place for the benefit of all:

breaking the rules leads to chaos.

Rules are created by humans, and humans aren’t

perfect; thus, rules are not always

good ones.(or)

I believe in a higher moral standard

than that which is dictated by society.

Level OneLevel Two

Level Three