Taking a Look at Lawrence Kohlberg's Studies

In the book Schooled written by Gordon Korman, we follow the story of a 14 teen year old named Cap who has lived on a farm his entire life with his grandmother hippie, who is forced to leave his farm because his grandmother got injured. Because of this he is forced to go into our society and go to a normal middle school and live with his guidance counselor. And because he is very different, he is a target in middle school and because of a tradition at that middle school, which elects the weirdest person to be school president, he becomes school president. In the book there are many craft moves that the author does, including symbolism, first person perspectives and multiple viewpoints, to achieve goals such as supporting the theme, setting

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

In Stephen Spielberg’s 1993 movie Schindler’s List, businessman and factory owner Oskar Schindler is concerned with both the welfare of his business as well as the workforce he employs of primarily Jewish people after witnessing their persecution by the German’s during the German’s occupation of Poland amid World War II. Themes pertaining to Social Psychology can be found in this film such as prejudice and discrimination, conformity, influence in social groups, aggression, cognitive dissonance, and altruism.

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.

Richard Kuklinski was an incredibly cold-blooded man. He had at least 100 confirmed kills, and claims to have around 200 total. Richard has a very horrible childhood. Richard liked to torture and kill animals as a little boy. His father abused him and his brothers, one of which was killed from the abuse received from Stanley. Stanley’s brother, Joseph, was pretty messed up, too. He probably would’ve turned out to be a serial killer himself. Kuklinski himself wasn’t like Ramirez or Dahmer, or any other serial killer for that matter. Kuklinski was an evil man, with a ton of interesting information about him out there.

Richard Kuklinski was a convicted murderer and contract killer who was born on April 11 in 1935. Kuklinski claims to have killed over 200 people over the course of his “career” during 1949 to 1986. At first, he would simply kill people who annoyed him, got on his nerves, or who he ‘needed’ to kill. When the mob caught wind of a man who killed as frivolously as Kuklinski, they began to hire him out as a contract killer. He lived in New Jersey and New York and committed most of his crimes in that area. In 1988, he was caught and sentenced to life in prison -- he later died in prison in March of 2006

Stage 2 of the Preconventional level is based on mutual benefit. This is where their morals rely on what is and isn’t “fair” or “right.” As previously mentioned, stage 2 is a little more opened minded than stage 1. They see that there is not only one “right” way; they also realize that everything is relative. In other words, if someone were to steal money to feed their hungry children, the child would say that was “right.” Kohlberg tested this theory by presenting children with scenarios such as the one mentioned. In these scenarios, children often mentioned mentioned the consequences associated with the action; they also mentioned why it might be “right” or “fair.”

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”).

STAGE 6: Center on universal ethical principles- the person who has reached this stage bases moral judgment in the higher law of truth, justice, and morality.

Morality is adaptable in extreme situations. The Holocaust is an example of what happens to one’s morality when forced to adapt to animalistic behavior in order to survive. Life in Auschwitz required a purging of one’s human dignity for survival. Prisoners were constantly exposed to perpetual dehumanization, which inevitably led to the dehumanization, and restoration of one’s mental, physical, and social adaptation. Because of this, one’s morality begins to erase. It is in the adaptation of living in a merciless world that the line separating right and wrong begins to blur. Primo Levi’s Survival in Auschwitz and Art Spiegelman’s Maus, both represent how morality and ethics are challenged in the means of survival.

Firstly, the three levels of the celebrated psychologist Kohlberg’s theory are to be looked at, in this regard.

In “Eichmann in Jerusalem,” Hannah Arendt analyzes Adolph Eichmann while he is on trial in Jerusalem for the crimes that he committed while being a Lieutenant Colonel in the SS during the Nazi Regime. In the book Arendt talks about how Eichmann’s actions were “banal” in the sense that he seemed to be an ordinary person who just committed acts that were evil. Italian-Jewish Writer Primo Levi, a Holocaust Survivor, states that SS officers like Eichmann lived in their own self-deception that made them believe that their actions were caused by just following their orders in the SS. In this paper, I will analyze the views that both Arendt and Levi had about the Eichmann trial and then compare and state the differences of their views. I will then explain the reasons why both Hannah Arendt’s and Primo Levi’s analysis of Adolph Eichmann that show that the actions that he committed were all truly evil actions.

In this essay I will explore 'Light red over black' (1957) by Mark Rothko. Although apparently simple, infact shows a wonderfully complex process of thought and throughout this essay I will interpret and get a better understanding of Rothko's intention and meaning.

Kohlberg (1963, 1981, 1984; Colby & Kohlberg, 1987) expanded Piaget’s work, developing a most influential cognitive developmental theory of moral development. Kohlberg proposed the progression through the invariant, universal sequence of three moral levels each composed of two distinct stages. According to Kohlberg, no stage can be skipped, neither will there be a regression to an earlier stage.

Mr. Spiegelman has contributed to the society by educating and enlightening us with his experiences, teaching us about adaptation and renewal, and setting an example for other survivors of traumatic events. Furthermore, through his professional life and also by building a family, so that the Jewish race does not become extinct or endangered. As mentioned before, all Holocaust survivors, including Mr. Spiegelman , are living reminders of the potential of the dark side of human nature. They bring