Kohlberg's Stages Moral Development

KOHLBERG`S STAGES
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
KOLHBERG`S THEORY OF
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
STATES THAT WE
PROGRESS THROUGH
THREE LEVELS OF MORAL
THINKING THAT BUILD ON
OUR COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT.
Kohlberg expanded on the
earlier work of cognitive
theorist of Jean Piaget to
explain the moral
development of children,
which he believed follows a
series of stages.
He defined three levels
of moral development:
pre-conventional,
conventional, and post-
conventional. Each
level has two distinct
stages.
Kohlberg’s
stages of
moral
development
Level 1: Preconventional
 Throughout the preconventional level, a
child’s sense of morality is externally
controlled. Children accept and believe the
rules of authority figures, such as parents and
teachers. A child with pre-conventional
morality has not yet adopted or internalized
society’s conventions regarding what is right
or wrong, but instead focuses largely on
external consequences that certain actions
may bring.
Stage 1: Obedience-and-
Punishment Orientation
 focuses on the child’s desire to obey
rules and avoid being punished. For
example, an action is perceived as
morally wrong because the perpetrator
is punished; the worse the punishment
for the act is, the more “bad” the act is
perceived to be.
Stage 2: Instrumental
Orientation
 expresses the “what’s in it for me?”
position, in which right behavior is
defined by whatever the individual
believes to be in their best interest.
Stage two reasoning shows a limited
interest in the needs of others, only to
the point where it might further the
individual’s own interests.
Level 2: Conventional
 Throughout the conventional level, a
child’s sense of morality is tied to
personal and societal relationships.
Children continue to accept the rules of
authority figures, but this is now due to
their belief that this is necessary to
ensure positive relationships and
societal order.
Stage 3: Good Boy, Nice Girl
Orientation
children want the approval of
others and act in ways to
avoid disapproval. Emphasis
is placed on good behavior
and people being “nice” to
others.
Stage 4: Law-and-Order
Orientation
the child blindly accepts rules and
convention because of their
importance in maintaining a
functioning society. Rules are seen
as being the same for everyone,
and obeying rules by doing what
one is “supposed” to do is seen as
valuable and important.
Level 3: Postconventional
a person’s sense of morality is defined in terms of
more abstract principles and values. People now
believe that some laws are unjust and should be
changed or eliminated.
This level is marked by a growing realization that
individuals are separate entities from society and that
individuals may disobey rules inconsistent with their
own principles. Post-conventional moralists live by their
own ethical principles—principles that typically include
such basic human rights as life, liberty, and justice.
Stage 5: Social-Contract
Orientation
the world is viewed as holding
different opinions, rights, and
values. Such perspectives
should be mutually respected
as unique to each person or
community.
Stage 6: Universal-Ethical-
Principal Orientation
moral reasoning is based on abstract
reasoning using universal ethical
principles. Generally, the chosen
principles are abstract rather than
concrete and focus on ideas such as
equality, dignity, or respect.
People choose the ethical principles
they want to follow, and if they
violate those principles, they feel
guilty. In this way, the individual acts
because it is morally right to do so
(and not because he or she wants
to avoid punishment), it is in their
best interest, it is expected, it is
legal, or it is previously agreed
upon.
Critiques of Kohlberg’s Theory
Kohlberg has been criticized for his
assertion that women seem to be
deficient in their moral reasoning
abilities when compared to men. Carol
Gilligan (1982), a research assistant of
Kohlberg, criticized her former
mentor’s theory because it was based
so narrowly on research using white,
upper-class men and boys.
She argued that women are not deficient in
their moral reasoning and instead
proposed that males and females reason
differently: girls and women focus more on
staying connected and
maintaining interpersonal relationships.
Kohlberg’s theory has been criticized for
emphasizing justice to the exclusion of
other values, with the result that it may not
adequately address the arguments of
those who value other moral aspects of
actions.
Similarly, critics argue that Kohlberg’s stages
are culturally biased—that the highest stages
in particular reflect a westernized ideal of
justice based on individualistic thought. This
is biased against those that live in non-
Western societies that place less emphasis
on individualism.
Another criticism of Kohlberg’s theory is that
people frequently demonstrate significant
inconsistency in their moral judgements. This
often occurs in moral dilemmas involving
drinking and driving or business situations
where participants have been shown to
reason at a lower developmental stage,
typically using more self-interest driven
reasoning (i.e., stage two) than authority and
social order obedience driven reasoning
(i.e., stage four). Critics argue that
Kohlberg’s theory cannot account for such
inconsistencies.
SUMMARY
 Lawrence Kohlberg expanded on the
earlier work of cognitive theorist Jean
Piaget to explain the moral
development of children, which he
believed follows a series of stages.
 Kohlberg defined three levels of moral
development: preconventional,
conventional, and postconventional.
Each level has two distinct stages.
 During the preconventional level, a
child’s sense of morality is externally
controlled. Children accept and believe
the rules of authority figures, such as
parents and teachers, and they judge
an action based on its consequences.
 During the conventional level, an
individual’s sense of morality is tied to
personal and societal relationships.
Children continue to accept the rules of
authority figures, but this is now because
they believe that this is necessary to ensure
positive relationships and societal order.
 During the postconventional level, a
person’s sense of morality is defined in
terms of more abstract principles and
values. People now believe that some laws
are unjust and should be changed or
eliminated.
Kohlberg’s theory has been criticized
for its cultural and
gendered bias toward white, upper-
class men and boys. It also fails to
account for inconsistencies within
moral judgments.
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KOHLBERG`S STAGES

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