Maslow 's Theory Of Moral Development

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

Lawrence Kohlberg, the author of three stages, was an American psychologist who is well known for his theory on the stages of moral development. According to Kohlberg, there are three levels of moral development:Preconventional (moral reasoning is based on external rewards and punishments), Conventional (laws and rules are upheld simply because they are laws and rules), and Postconventional (reasoning is based on personal moral standards)” (powerpoint).

Moral Development: how it ties to

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”).

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.

Moral development is how an individual differentiates from right and wrong actions. This can be influenced in many ways and by many people such as an individual’s own personal experience, looking at another’s perspective, through parents, peers, society, cultural values, or moral stories, to name a few. Lawrence Kohlberg developed six stages that reflect the growth through moral development. The levels and stages describe the ideas of right and wrong can change as one grows. However, Kohlberg mentioned that because of the differences in cognitive functioning, not every individual will progress through the changes within his stages and levels (Crain, 2011, pg. 168). Kohlberg’s main curiosity went beyond the answers of ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ He

Rest, J., Turiel, E., & Kohlberg, L. (1969). Level of moral development as a determinant of

The mentioned attitude pays no attention to the eternal moral foundations, to the moral motives and emotion, to faith and cultural morality, to the moral behavior and objective reactions, and the mental structure of the people in the rest of the world. Investigating the moral development theories among Western psychologists brings us to the conclusion that we can divide them into three groups. A group of the Western psychologists (such as Lorenz, 1983; Goodall, 1990; da Waal, 1991 & 1996; Raine, 1997; Hoffman 2000; Haidt, 2001) believe the roots of moralities and social behavior to be in the human biological evolution history. Another group (including the psycho-analysts such as Freud, 1925/1961, and social-learning theory-makers such as Bandura, 1977) believe moralities to be compatibility with social norms. The third group, is the one whose viewpoints have been considered more than any of the other two groups, who state that morality is fundamentally the amount of cognitive development. Jean Piaget and (1932/1965) and Lawrence Kohlberg (1976), more than any other psychologist, represent this group. The though foundations of some other psychologists (such as Gilligan, 1982; & Rest, 1986) who have conducted more recent studies about moral development as well can be considered in this

Rather than being inspired by the work of Freud, Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is a cognitive developmental theory was inspired by Piaget’s stages of cognitive development. Kohlberg’s theory is made up of three different levels; the preconventional level, the conventional level, and the postconventional or principled level. The three levels are each broken up into two separate stages. For the purpose of this observation, we will be mainly focusing on the preconventional level and the conventional level of moral development. Kohlberg intended the preconventional level to be focused toward infants and preschool children, however the students behavior more closely related to this level than that of the conventional level which is aimed toward his age range. The preconventional level is where children learn that their actions have consequences. The first stage of this level is the punishment and obedience orientation stage, children in this stage are focusing on the consequences of their actions rather than the logical thing to do. The following stage is the instrumental purpose orientation stage, within this stage children tend to believe that if they do someone a favor, that person should do a favor in return (Berk & Meyers,

The second level of moral development is the conventional moral reasoning; “Beginning in middle school, up to middle age – most people end up here” (“Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development.”). At this level,

The complexity of this area and the concepts involved necessitates a rather expansive look at the perspectives on Moral Development in order to develop contextual

Moral development and forms of moral reasoning transpire in an individual throughout the life span as one gets older, and the morality changes and evolves over time (Williams and Arrigo, 2012, pp. 122). Kohlberg’s stages of moral development can be applied to the assessment of individuals who are criminals. Passini (2010) states the “Full

Moral Development is defined as “changes in thoughts, feelings and behaviors regarding standards of right and wrong” (Santrock, 2010). Moral development

What are morals and how are they developed? The word moral has many definitions to define its meaning. In this case the proper definition to define moral would be “of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior” (Moral, n.d.). This definition is pertaining to one’s judgment. Kohlberg is the psychologist who developed a theory on moral development. He used ideas from Piaget and developed his own theory. His theory will be discussed throughout this easy, while analyzing a scenario about a little boy named Jimmy. This essay will also provide ideas of how to handle the situation from a parent’s perspective.

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)