The 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

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 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 was an American psychologist and educator known for his theory of moral development. He was a professor at Harvard University before he was a developmental psychologist. He later moved into the field of moral education. Jean Piaget (Swiss psychologist), John Dewey (American philosopher), and James Mark Baldwin (American philosopher and psychologist) all influenced Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, though Piaget 's work heavily influenced Kohlberg’s. Kohlberg ran tests to prove his theory.He tested 72 boys from middle and lower class families who were either 10, 13 or 16. Later in his research, he tested both boys and girls from different states and countries other than Chicago. Kohlberg found

You can see these stages in characters such as Bob Ewell, Aunt Alexandra, and Atticus Finch. Aunt Alexandra who according to the chart is on Level two Stage four: Maintaining Social Order. With this stage of mortality, the person only does what they believe is right, but no for what they believe in. This type of person also looks for approval from other people or a society and judges things based on other people’s doings. In To Kill a

They then produced their own stage theory consisting of three distinctive stages. The Asocial stage (0-6 weeks)- emotional behaviour such as smiling and crying does not seem to be directed specifically at any given individual. The next stage was the

Social Development is learning how to effectively relate to one another and how to contribute to society in a positive way. Erik Erikson believed that social development occurs in identifiable stages. Erikson said that each stage was marked by a crisis or conflict that was related to a specific developmental task. These stages are infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, elementary school, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. Trust or mistrust is developed during the first year of life, based on if a child’s needs are being met. During the second stage, the crisis is autonomy vs shame and doubt. If a toddler can control their actions and act independently, a sense of autonomy is formed. If or when they fail at this they will experience shame and doubt. In the preschool stage, initiative and guilt are the crisis. If a preschooler receives what they want while acting responsibly, they develop a sense of initiative. If they do not have a sense of guilt, they become undisciplined.

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,

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.

Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is one the most widely accepted, his four stages of development are age based.

There are six stages but grouped into three major stages. The first major stage is Preconventional Mortality, this stage involves the first two stages which are, Punishment-avoidance and obedience and Individualism and Exchange. This stage is mainly seen in elementary school children. In this stage, they follow rules to do what is best for them. Also, they try to do exchanges, for example, "You do my hair and I will do yours."

The second stage is the impulsive stage which is in early childhood, were the child acts impulsively in

Stage 2 (A Complaining School Boy) Explanation: The second stage is his boy-hood. The school going period of a child. It is the time when a school boy complains all the time even for the silly things. The boy with his face shining like the bright and fresh morning carries his school bag and unwillingly goes to school at the speed of an

Meads three stages are more relatable to children. His first infers that children are going

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)