Kohlberg's Moral Development Essay

Lawrence Kohlberg was a well known psychologist best known for his thorough research into the development and better understanding of the processes needed to grow into a well developed human being. Kohlberg grew up in New York City on October 25, 1927. Growing up in such a diverse area is what struck his interest in the development of all beings. In only one short year he received his bachelors degree and then went on to devote his career to study the understanding of development for the youth. Kohlberg 's stages of moral development were very much influenced by his peer Jean Piaget. Jean Piaget also had a similar belief of a stage-based theory of development. While Piaget only had two

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

Kohlberg’s theory is related to how people develop a sense of what is right and wrong. It was influenced by the work of Jean Piaget, on moral reasoning. He classifies the stages into three levels each containing two sublevels. The first level is called the preconventional level of moral development. Children in this level experience the world in the terms of pain or pleasure. Something considered right in this stage would be what feels good to the child. The next level would be the conventional level. This occurs in the teen years where children start to think of right or wrong in terms of what pleases their parents or follows cultural norms. Children at this stage are also learning to assess intention when determining if a situation is right or wrong. “For example, they understand that stealing food to feed one’s hungry children is not the same as stealing an iPod to sell for pocket change.” (Macionis, Pg. 90) The final stage is the postconventional level. People being to consider abstract ethical principle and not just society’s norms.

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

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;

Kohlberg’s second level from his theory is conventional moral reasoning. This is primarily people following social norms and customs (Kohlberg’s Theory). The laws and rule are sustained simply because they are laws and rules that must be followed (“Kohlberg’s Moral Development”). The second level is generally found in society hence the name of this level being “conventional”. Stages three and four are included in the conventional level. Stage three focuses heavily on peer approval (Lawrence Kohlberg). Individuals are merely trying to please others so they will follow rules or do what others want them to do in order to gain their approval (“Kohlberg’s Moral Development”). Many will follow

Lawrence Kohlberg was an American phycologist who also was the author of the three stages of moral development. Kohlberg graduated from the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts in 1945 after serving in the merchant marines. Lawrence was also working on a ship owned by a Zionist military organization which would try to smuggle Jewish refugees into Palestine past the British blockades (Doorey). Once Kohlberg was done serving in the military organization he came back to the U.S and went to the University of Chicago. He then began teaching in different places and settled in Harvard, where he started

This is when company rules, policies, and societal rules formed a considerable amount of my moral and ethical behavior. By being visible at such a young age to the adult world and adult responsibilities gave me a broader range of exposure to conventional moral reasoning and shaped many of the decision I had to make during this time. I learned the importance of respecting others, the conformity of behaviors that is expected by others, and I began to understand the principles of justice as an ethical concern. Kendra Cherry, Psychology Expert, describes Level 2 – Stage 3 & 4 (Conventional Morality) of Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development as being, “Often referred to as the "good boy-good girl" orientation, this stage of moral development is focused on living up to social expectations and roles. There is an emphasis on conformity, being "nice," and consideration of how choices influence relationships”

Pre-conditional morality describes children ages 4 to 10 at this level children have not developed intellectually to enable them to set standards of ethics, so they act on obedience and punishment. They act on what is outside of them- they follow rules so as not to be punished or rewarded in the interest of self. The second level is conventional morality (or morality of conventional role conformity), at this level children have taken in an incorporated the criterion of authority- they concern their moral development as being good-good relationship with others (maintaining the social order), this level is normally not reached until age 10 and may not ever be reached. Level 3 is post-conventional morality (morality of autonomous moral principles)

The moral implications of the scene are great, as this execution style killing in broad daylight was not expected from a man who had just finished a speech about “honesty, integrity, and hard work”. According to Kohlberg, however, this seemingly immoral act falls in line with Frank’s position on the stages of moral development. Kohlberg’s theory dictates six stages of moral development belonging to 3 broader stages, Pre Conventional, Conventional, and Post Conventional. The Pre Conventional is commonly found in children, and is composed of individuals who base their morality on outside threats, such as schoolchildren obeying teachers under threat of punishment. This includes 2 stages, individuals who only see the consequences of their moral actions as well as those who view morality as what is best for them. Next, the conventional stage is where most adolescents and adults remain for their whole lives. It includes two sub stages, morality determined by conforming to social consensus and morality determined by realizing the importance obedience plays in maintaining social order. Finally, the post conventional stage is one that most people do not progress to. It contains stages based on differing moral opinions based on contractual orientation, as well as morality based on abstract, categorical

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

In this stage the child not only gets his/her moral basis from the adults or the older guardians but in this stage they learn that there is not only one point of view and each individual has his or her own point of views

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)