Autonomous Moral Development

The author mentions that he doesn’t like how Kohlberg focuses too much on “why”. The author says that Kohlberg is narrow to focus on motivation rather the action itself. Another issue is how flexible or rigid each stage are presented. In the text a question is raised stating that can a person in stage 5 have a stage 1 morning. Basically the criticism here is that Kohlberg does not clarify weather his rules are bendable or not. The Author goes to on another criticism where he asks if justice is the most important ethical principle. He states that the sample size for someone to reach stage 6 is very small so why is justice the most important factor? Finally, his last criticism is how gender plays a different role in moral development. In Kohlberg’s research, most of which were young boys, he found the moral difference in young males. According the author Gilligan thought that Kohlberg’s research

Lawrence Kohlberg, a developmental psychologist, identified six developmental stages of human moral reasoning. The first stage that he recognized was the Punishment-Obedience Orientation, where the person’s concern is for avoiding punishment through obedience. The second stage was the Instrumental Relativist Orientation, where the person’s concern is to work in their self interest, and better their position. The third stage of moral development was the Good Boy-Nice Girl Orientation, where the person’s concern lies with their reputation. Next was the Law And Order Orientation, where the person was less concerned with their own immediate well being to the maintenance of a larger society. The fifth stage was the Social Contract

As stages in psychological development have been defined by Freud, stages in moral development have been outlined by early educators Jean Piaget and Kohlberg, who put forth differing views on the moral development of children. Piaget theorized that children process morals in stages, first one then the next, with a transition in between. The first stage (from ages 4 to about 7) is referred to as “heteronymous morality”, where children think of rules as constants, that is to say, rules are part of the world’s makeup with no input or possibility of change by people. As children progress from seven to ten years of age, they move from one stage to the next, maintaining some of the traits of the

Children ask countless questions as they mature. Children often turn to their parents for guidance. If a parent is unable or unwilling to answer these questions, a child, left to their own devices, will look for answers from their friends, the internet, and other authority figures. In his article “I Listen to My Parents and I Wonder What They Believe,” Robert Cole explains that children have an inborn desire to build their own morals by questioning authority figures around them, especially their parents. Therefore, A parent’s guidance influences a child’s morals as he/she develops.

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

At Stage 1, people think that the ‘doing right things’ is what authority says ‘it is right’. Thus, people’s points of view are very similar to each other. This is the stage that all young children start at and a few adults remain in. Rules are fixed and absolute. Obeying the rules is important and valuable because it means avoiding punishment.

| Moral development is limited in the first 2 years and does not really have much bearing. Even if a child had significant moral views/tendencies, they would find it hard to convey these, except maybe for tantrums

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 set standard that society recognize can have big impact on young children. The young childer are still in learning phase where they unconsciously learn these standards which they follow their lifetime. The people who fail to follow

The 3 children that I observed also have different social development. Alexander, who is 7 years old is in the level 2 conventional morality. When I read to him the story and the dilemma that Kenny had his answer to my questions were based on how it was right to return the wallet and it was wrong to keep it. For him it was right to return the wallet because it was the right thing to do. Which, reflects the conventional morality of acting as a good member of society. Enrique’s social development is also in the level 2 conventional morality because he focused on how he is a good person if he returned the wallet. He mentioned that it’s not good to keep things that aren’t yours. Which, reflects on the interest in pleasing others by acting as good members of society. Finally, Alexis is in the level 3 postconventional morality because for him it’s okay to keep the wallet if the owner were rich

Well, as a child, it be the law for them to be taught morals: Unity, kindness, understanding, integrity rationality, and more- with high emphasis on them. These morals would be instituted the most in “preschool-age.” Each would learn to keep these in check- how our society is built with us working together and in order to remain peaceful, these morals have to be established. Throughout life, to keep a peace of mind, meditation, therapy, “talking-it-out,” etcetera, would be common.

This paper will examine that part of human growth and development which may observed in the early childhood period (preschool years), in particular that area of growth and development termed “morality”.

Ages at around 9 years old. The only moral basis is morals of the adults around the environment. This is all about following and breaking the rules of the adults or perhaps the “authority”

At this stage, children mainly focus on how their authority will judge their actions and what will be the physical consequences of their actions. Also, because of their fear of being punished, their behaviors are based on obeying rules of the authority; this is why Stage One is usually called “The punishment and obedience orientation” (Berk 320).