Kohlbergs Theory of Moral Development

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Kohlbergs Theory of Moral Development
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Lawrence Kohlberg

• Author of a three-stage theory on how moral
  reasoning develops
• Moral reasoning is the aspect of cognitive
  development that has to do with the way an
  individual reasons about moral decisions

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Kohlbergs Theory of Moral Development

• Assessed moral reasoning by posing hypothetical
  moral dilemmas and examining the reasoning behind
  peoples answers
• Proposed three distinct levels of moral
  reasoning preconventional, conventional, and
  postconventional
• Each level is based on the degree to which a
  person conforms to conventional standards of
  society
• Each level has two stages that represent
  different degrees of sophistication in moral
  reasoning.

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Kohlbergs 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?

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Levels of Moral Reasoning

• Preconventionalmoral reasoning is based on
  external rewards and punishments
• Conventionallaws and rules are upheld simply
  because they are laws and rules
• Postconventionalreasoning based on personal
  moral standards

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1. Preconventional Moral Reasoning

• Characterized by the desire to avoid punishment
  or gain reward
• Typically children under the age of 10

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2. Conventional Moral Reasoning

• 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.
• Typical of most adults

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3. Postconventional 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.

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Preconventional Moral Reasoning

• Stages 1 2

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Stage 1 Punishment Obedience

• A focus on direct consequences
• Negative actions will result in punishments
• EXAMPLE Heinz shouldnt steal the drug because
  hed go to jail if he got caught.

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Stage 2 Mutual Benefit

• Getting what one wants often requires giving
  something up in return
• Right is a fair exchange.
• Morals guided by what is fair
• EXAMPLE Heinz should steal the drug because the
  durggist is being greedy by charging so much.

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Conventional Moral Reasoning

• Stages 3 4

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Stage 3 Interpersonal Expectations

• An attempt to live up to the expectations of
  important others
• Follow rules or do what others would want so that
  you win their approval
• Negative actions will harm those relationships
• EXAMPLE Heinz should try to steal the drug
  because thats what a devoted husband would do.

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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.

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Postconventional Moral Reasoning

• Stages 5 6

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Stage 5 Legal Principles

• Must protect the basic rights of all people by
  upholding the legal principles of fairness,
  justice, equality democracy.
• Laws that fail to promote general welfare or that
  violate ethical principles can be changed,
  reinterpreted, or abandoned
• EXAMPLE Heinz should steal the drug because his
  obligation to save his wifes life must take
  precedence over his obligation to respect the
  druggists property rights.

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Stage 6 Universal Moral Principles

• Self-chosen ethical principles
• Profound respect for sanctity of human life,
  nonviolence, equality human dignity
• Moral principles take precedence over laws that
  might conflict with them,
• Conscientious objectors refuses to be drafted
  because they are morally opposed to war.
• 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 druggists
  desire for money outweigh the value of a human
  life.

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Criticisms of Kohlbergs theory

• Research has not supported Kohlbergs belief that
  the development of abstract thinking in
  adolescence invariably leads people to the
  formation of idealistic moral principles
• Some cross-cultural psychologists argue that
  Kohlbergs stories and scoring system reflect a
  Western emphasis on individual rights, harm, and
  justice that is not shared in many cultures.
• Kohlbergs early research was conducted entirely
  with male subjects, yet it became the basis for a
  theory applied to both males and females.

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Carol Gilligans Model

• Feels Kohlbergs model is based on an ethic of
  individual rights and justice, which is a more
  common perspective for males
• Gilligans model of womens moral development is
  based on an ethic of care and responsibility.
• However, when subjects are carefully matched,
  there do not seem to be systematic gender
  differences in moral reasoning

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Other Dilemmas to Consider
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