Analysis Of Lawrence Kohlberg's Theory Of Moral Development

“Socialization is so basic to human development that we sometimes overlook its importance.” (Macionis, Pg. 84) Both Lawrence Kohlberg and James Fowler developed theories on how people develop in stages. Both Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development and Fowler’s Stages of Faith Development contain 6 stages that people are believed to go through as they develop.

During the preconventional morality level, the person is not really aware of the various ethical standards; the child is not fully conscious of his or her own actions (powerpoint). For example, a 5-year-old is running around while the mother of the child is cooking. The mom tells the kid not to run while she is cooking because he or she will get hurt; the little 5 year old runs anyway and gets burned and starts crying. Now that it happened to the kid, they eventually learned their lesson and whenever they are around

Lawrence Kohlberg, a professor at Harvard, creates a theory of human moral development. Since his theory was an expansion of Jean Piaget moral development of children, he elucidates of his theory to have series of stages. Each stage were categorized into three levels: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional. During each level there are 2 stages which are consequent for moral development because they are action that manifest on who we are.

The second level of Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral development is the Conventional Level. The Conventional level consists of stages 3 and 4. Stage 3 is based on interpersonal expectations. Those who are at this stage try to be a “good” boy or a “good” girl and live up to others’--such as close friends and family’s-- expectations. Stage 4 is based on Law-and-Order. They are not only focused on what their family and friends say; they are now focused on society. These stages are usually reached by early teens. They don’t blindly follow rules;

Lawrence Kohlberg is known for his theory of moral development developed in 1958. His theory was dependent on the thinking of Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget and American philosopher John Dewey. It consists of three levels of moral reasoning: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional. These levels are based on the degree to which an individual accommodates to the conventional standards of society. Each level aquires two stages that serve as different standards of sophistication in moral reasoning. Overall, Kohlberg affirms that moral development is a process of maturing that emerges from thinking about about moral issues (“Kohlberg’s Moral Development”).

The importance of Lawrence Kohlberg’s work is the link he makes between moral development and reason. Although this concept originated with Kant and other earlier philosophers, Kohlberg provides a psychological analysis that sheds light on how reason influences moral judgments. Describe what is necessary for moral growth according to Kohlberg. Explain.

Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of Stages of Moral Development serves as a way to justify our behavior, usually following a moral or ethical dilemma. In Ring Lardner's Champion, characters show a wide range of behaviors. By comparing our actions with those of the characters in Champion, we are able to gauge which stage we belong in and if we can remain improve them.

Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral development has served as basis of the investigation of many issues related to morality. Building on Piaget’s belief that the moral judgment of children derived from their cognitive development, Kohlberg attend to identify cognitive stages that underline the development of moral thinking.

Kohlberg’s theory depends on three levels of moral develop, which he says will determine moral behavior. (Cognitive PowerPoint) The first is pre-conventional, which states that individuals respond to already established social norms so as to receive rewards within society. The second theory is conventional level, which, after a point, the person has internalized the norms into his or her own behavior and as a result has developed consciousness of values that lean towards the authority. Lastly, the post-conventional level, which, as a result of internalizing these values, establishes principles that they use to judge their own actions, “emphasizing respect for the rights of all people” (Cognitive PowerPoint). The reason why students tend not to cheat is because they have more than often than not have accepted the social norms of society, e.g., they are in a very prestigious university. Since their accomplishment has been due to the rewards given by society. They have accepted this and internalized these values and their judgments are based on values of integrity and academic

My life closely mimics how Kohlberg described in his theory of moral development. From the first stage of his theory of moral development, I recall following orders to the letter. The punishment and threat thereof were terrifying. Detention, suspension, expulsion were strong deterrents. Raised by very strict parents, I listened and obeyed every command. School was the priority, and getting good grades was the most important thing to them. Therefore, it was the most important thing to me. But as I grew, I began to see conflict in what my parents saw was right and what the teachers said was right. This lead me to stage two of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development that different people will have different opinions on what is right. I had to

Kohlberg’s stages of moral development were based on a moral philosopher by the name of Lawrence Kohlberg. His main interest was to observe children during growth to develop and conclude which stages they best fit into. After observing both adults and children, he concluded that, “Human beings progress consecutively from one stage to the next in an invariant sequence” (“Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development”). All of the 6 stages he created, represent the morality in which a child or adult can be at; he created an age zone for each stage. There are a total of 6 stages but each main concept consists of 3 levels. Level 1 is the preconventional stage. This stage focuses on punishment/obedience and how the person decides to act due to the

Stage 1: Punishment obedience orientation: the consequences determine the goodness or badness of an act. Obedience is to avoid punishment but “if it won’t be punished then it’s not wrong”; the severity of the punishment or the greatness of the harm done determines the level of

Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg is widely known for his proposed stages of moral development; he argued that the development of moral reasoning “is a continual process that occurs throughout the lifespan.” (Cherry). Moreover, Kohlberg’s stages of moral development involve three levels, namely: the preconventional moral reasoning, conventional moral reasoning and postconventional moral reasoning. Each of these levels consists of two stages. Furthermore, we will examine Kohlberg’s stages of moral development by creating a character named Ciara. Ciara is a mischievous, temperamental and aggressive 11-year old who studies at a christian school. Throughout this essay we will see how Ciara’s moral reasoning will evolve.

Goldman Sachs should have been punished for its behavior in the years leading up to the financial crisis. Goldman ended up settling with the federal government for $110 Billion, which I do not believe was sufficient based on the magnitude of problems created. This amount should have been much larger, and at minimum they should have forfeited the $14 Billion paid to them by AIG. (Inside Job, 2011) In addition, AIG should have had the right to sue Goldman Sachs for fraud. It was in the public’s best interest to keep Goldman up and running, however additional penalties could have been put on a repayment schedule to keep them solvent. Instead, you had Goldman giving out large bonuses.

The theory of moral development, advanced by psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg is one of the most well-known persuasive theories in the field of cognitive science and stems from the work of Jean Piaget, which hypothesizes on the direct correlation that exists between moral and cognitive development. Kohlberg speaks of the appearance and understanding of what is right and wrong from childhood to adulthood and explains by this transition through the identification of various levels of morality known as pre-conventional, conventional and post conventional. People will make decisions based on the understanding of the possible outcome and through reasoning of morals. (Target Concept)