kohlberg's six stages of moral development
before we dive into the discussion on
the key concepts of lawrence kohlberg's
six stages of moral development let me
provide a very brief background on
kolberg and his theory
needless to say this is important so
that we can put the discussion on
kohlberg's six stages of moral
development in a proper
context in this way we can make more
first of all lawrence kohlberg was a
professor of education and social
psychology at harvard university
he began as a developmental psychologist
and then moved to the field of education
he was influenced by the swiss
psychologist john piers a who was famous
for his theory on the moral development
of children
kolberg was particularly well known for
his theory of moral development which he
developed through his extensive research
on the topic at harvard center for moral education
as is well known kolberg's theory of
moral development was derived from his
interviews with young boys distributed
in these interviews kolberg asked the
participants to respond to hypothetical
ethical dilemmas such as a man
contemplating on stealing a drug to save
his dying wife because he cannot afford
the drug after exhausting all
possibilities to pay for it
the result of the interviews showed a
pattern of responses which suggested a
progression in moral reasoning
thus was born the theory of moral
development which for kohlberg is the
basis for ethical behavior
kolberg thought that moral development
involves a specific process in time and
that people progressed in their moral
reasoning through a series of stages
it is important to note that kohlberg
followed the development of moral
judgment beyond the ages originally
studied by psa who claimed that logic
and morality developed through
kohlberg expanded considerably on this
groundwork determining that the process
of moral development was principally
concerned with justice
and that its development continued
throughout the lifespan even spawning
dialogue of philosophical implications
the result of the study allowed kohlberg
to come up with his famous six stages of
moral development which could be
generally classified into three levels
namely pre-conventional level
conventional level and
post-conventional level
as we can see the six stages of moral
development are divided into three
levels and each level has two stages
each of which has a corresponding social orientation
the pre-conventional level is concerned
primarily with the consequences of one's action
action
according to colberg persons in this
level simply pursue their own interest
here children base their judgments on
external consequences for example
punishment and reward
hence at this level obedience is based
as we can see morality in the
pre-conventional level is externally
controlled and children behave
accordingly that is accept and believe
the rules imposed by authority figures
such as parents teachers and community elders
elders
hence children in the pre-conventional
level have not yet internalized the
society's conventions about what is
right and wrong
instead they focus largely on external
consequences that certain actions
engender such as again reward and punishment
punishment
as already mentioned there are two
stages in this level
the first stage is concerned with
punishment and authority
here the child behaves according to
socially acceptable rules or norms
because she is told to do so by some
authority figure like her parents
teachers pastors or clergy and elders in
the community
according to kohlberg the child obeys
the second stage is concerned with one's
own interest or advantage
kohlberg observes that children behave
in the right way because they thought
that doing so brings practical results
hence as kolberg sees it one obeys the
norms because it is beneficial to oneself
oneself
here moral decisions are made based on
the rewards one can receive
receive
more importantly moral reasoning in the
second stage shows a limited interest in
others and as a result concern for
others is based on instrumental reason
for example the scratch my back and i'll
scratch yours mentality rather than on
if in the pre-conventional level the
child is concerned primarily with the
consequences of his own action in the
conventional level the child is
concerned more with societal
relationship with emphasis on social conformity
conformity
as we can see in the conventional level
there is a shift from self-interest to
relationship with other people and
here according to kolberg the individual
strives to support rules that are set
forth by others such as parents peers
and the government to win their approval
or to maintain social order
thus in the conventional level children
continue to accept the rules of
authority figures not because of
self-interest but because they thought
that behaving according to said rules
will necessarily ensure positive
relationships and societal order
it is interesting to note that according
to kolberg rules and conventions are
somewhat rigid in this level but
individuals seldom question said rules
and conventions
this is because again behaving according
to these rules and conventions ensure
positive relationships and societal order
order
and since people in this level are more
concerned with the opinions of others
moral decisions therefore are made based
according to kohlberg the third and
fourth stages of moral development
belong to this level
the third stage is concerned with peer
and group acceptance
this stage according to kohlberg is
characterized by a behavior that seeks
to do that which gains the approval of peers
peers
hence kohlberg says that the reactions
of others are somehow the basis of
decision making and behavior
for this reason peer and group
acceptance become the rule of the day
and that an individual behaves
accordingly to maintain good
the fourth stage is concerned with
legalistic orientation
this stage according to kohlberg is
characterized by obedience to the law
responding to the obligations of duty
and respect of those in authority
hence this stage emphasizes the
upholding of the law order doing one's
duty and obeying social norms
colbert believes that this stage is
important because there is a higher
value in obeying the law than by simply
as we can see moral reasoning in this
stage goes beyond the need for
individual approval that characterized
stage three
hence in stage four children blindly
obey the law because of their importance
the post-conventional level which is
focused on the common good and universal
moral principles is the most challenging level
level
according to kohlberg persons at this
level make judgment based on impartial
universal moral principles even when
these judgments may conflict with
hence in this level the individual's
sense of morality is defined in terms of
abstract principles and values
for this reason individuals now believe
that some laws are unjust thus they must
according to kolberg the
post-conventional level is also
characterized by a growing realization
that individuals are separate entities
from society and that they may disobey
rules that are inconsistent with their
own beliefs and principles
as we can see for colberg
post-conventional individuals live by
their own ethical principles which
typically include basic human rights
such as right to life liberty and justice
kohlberg also notes that
post-conventional individuals view rules
as useful but are always changeable
rather than absolute dictates that must
be obeyed without question
hence in this level laws and rules will
only be considered as significant
mechanism for maintaining harmony and
according to kohlberg the fifth and
the fifth stage is concerned with the
common good
in fact as kolberg says this stage is
anchored on the understanding of social
mutuality and genuine interest in the
here laws and rules are considered as
social contracts and these are for the
good of the community and for equal
for this reason laws can only be
accepted or approved relative to the
the sixth and last stage is concerned
with respect for universal principle
such as the principles of justice
dignity and equality
that is why for colberg the basis of
one's action is not just the common good
or a social contract but a deeper
universal principles
hence according to kolberg moral
decision is not just based on the laws
and rules of the society but on one's conscience
now as already hinted above individuals
grow and develop in progression that is
from one stage to another
and it is important to note that for
colberg an individual cannot just jump
from stage one to say stage four without
passing through stages two and three
thus for kohlberg one's moral
development is linear and is ordered hierarchically
Chrome Extension