The Third Stage Of 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

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.

The first stage is wanting to grow up and looking forward to it. The story “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros shows the perspective of an eleven year old going through a tough situation:” I wish I was anything but eleven, because I want today to be far away already, far away like a runaway balloon, like a tiny o in the sky, so tiny you have to close your eyes to see it” (248). This little girl has no idea what growing up is, she believes that being older will fix everything, this shows how differently someone thinks when they’re younger and more naive. Cisneros says,” Today I wish I was one hundred and two instead of eleven because if I was one hundred and two I’d have known what to say when Mrs. Price put the red sweater on my desk” (247). Furthermore,” Because she’s old and the teacher she’s right and I’m not” (Cisneros 247). The little girl says this and it applies to younger kids like herself because they’ve lived their whole life listening to what adults say that they have a tendency to just think they are right. The poem “On Turning Ten” by Billy Collins says,” It seems only yesterday I used to believe, there was nothing under my skin but light/ If you cut me I could shine” (29-32). This ten year old boy explains how he thought he was invincible and nothing was impossible. The picture “Growing Up” by Hannah Galvin shows 7 figures at different stages in their life, the third figure shows a little boy who is excited and running with his face up. This shows how he did everything with his head held high no matter what. This first stage gives someone the innocence that makes them a little kid, and allows them to have an imagination.

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).

| |Thread string through a bobbin.|A vast vocabulary has developed at |Becomes shy towards strangers. |

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 importance of Lawrence Kohlberg’s work is the link he makes between moral development and reason. Although this concept originated with Kant and other earlier philosophers, Kohlberg provides a psychological analysis that sheds light on how reason influences moral judgments. Describe what is necessary for moral growth according to Kohlberg. Explain.

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.

A. My process of identity using Erikson’s eight stages of development is a little out of order with the way that I was raised. From infancy

My life closely mimics how Kohlberg described in his theory of moral development. From the first stage of his theory of moral development, I recall following orders to the letter. The punishment and threat thereof were terrifying. Detention, suspension, expulsion were strong deterrents. Raised by very strict parents, I listened and obeyed every command. School was the priority, and getting good grades was the most important thing to them. Therefore, it was the most important thing to me. But as I grew, I began to see conflict in what my parents saw was right and what the teachers said was right. This lead me to stage two of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development that different people will have different opinions on what is right. I had to

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development reflects on the idea that people’s decisions are based on how they process the importance of a situation. According to his theory, there are three stages of moral development: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional. Each level is based on how a person’s reflects to making a moral decision. In each level there are two stages on how their level of sophistication affected their way of thinking.

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

Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg is widely known for his proposed stages of moral development; he argued that the development of moral reasoning “is a continual process that occurs throughout the lifespan.” (Cherry). Moreover, Kohlberg’s stages of moral development involve three levels, namely: the preconventional moral reasoning, conventional moral reasoning and postconventional moral reasoning. Each of these levels consists of two stages. Furthermore, we will examine Kohlberg’s stages of moral development by creating a character named Ciara. Ciara is a mischievous, temperamental and aggressive 11-year old who studies at a christian school. Throughout this essay we will see how Ciara’s moral reasoning will evolve.

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)