Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
Lawrence Kohlberg was a professor at Harvard University in which he specialized in moral education and studied it for many years. He presented study participants with moral dilemmas and after reading the stories he would then ask “what should he/she do?”. He analyzed the participants responses and realized that he could classify moral reasoning into three levels, each having two stages. The levels are the Preconventional level, conventional level and postconventional level. The first level of moral development is the Preconventional level, it is identified as the physical consequences an individual might receive based on behavior, “right” is whatever avoids punishment. The second level being the Conventional level, it is governed by right and wrong being based on the internalized standards of others. In this level “right” is whatever is approved by others. The third and highest level is the postconventional level …show more content…
In this stage, people recognize that rules represent agreements among individuals about appropriate behavior. Meaning that they see rules as something that is there to protect society, in a way. If Joey cheats he is doing what is morally wrong in society and disrupting their rights. Not only is his decision to cheat going to affect him in a negative way but it could, potentially, affect the person he cheated off. This would lead Joey to making the decision not to cheat.
In conclusion, there are many potential responses that can be given to answer the question of “what should he do?”. The different levels and stages used to describe moral development are seen in Kohlberg's stage theory. Cognitive development may, in a way, correlate with moral development and the different levels used to explain it. Kohlberg's theory made us understand that morality can start from the early childhood years and can be affected by several
Lawrence Kohlberg was a professor at Harvard University in which he specialized in moral education and studied it for many years. He presented study participants with moral dilemmas and after reading the stories he would then ask “what should he/she do?”. He analyzed the participants responses and realized that he could classify moral reasoning into three levels, each having two stages. The levels are the Preconventional level, conventional level and postconventional level. The first level of moral development is the Preconventional level, it is identified as the physical consequences an individual might receive based on behavior, “right” is whatever avoids punishment. The second level being the Conventional level, it is governed by right and wrong being based on the internalized standards of others. In this level “right” is whatever is approved by others. The third and highest level is the postconventional level …show more content…
In this stage, people recognize that rules represent agreements among individuals about appropriate behavior. Meaning that they see rules as something that is there to protect society, in a way. If Joey cheats he is doing what is morally wrong in society and disrupting their rights. Not only is his decision to cheat going to affect him in a negative way but it could, potentially, affect the person he cheated off. This would lead Joey to making the decision not to cheat.
In conclusion, there are many potential responses that can be given to answer the question of “what should he do?”. The different levels and stages used to describe moral development are seen in Kohlberg's stage theory. Cognitive development may, in a way, correlate with moral development and the different levels used to explain it. Kohlberg's theory made us understand that morality can start from the early childhood years and can be affected by several