Lawrence Kohlberg was an American psychologist best known for his theory of stages of moral development. He believed that moral reasoning developed in six distinct stages. The stages progress from basic concepts of obedience and punishment, through social conformity, to post-conventional principles of justice. Kohlberg studied moral dilemmas to assess people's moral reasoning. His most famous example was the Heinz dilemma, where a man considers stealing a drug to save his wife's life. Kohlberg's stage theory had a significant influence on the field of psychology and education.
2. KOHLBERG’S THEORY
of MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
“Right action tends to be defined in terms of general
individual rights and standards that have been
critically examined and agreed upon by the whole
society. ’’
- Lawrence Kohlberg
3. • An ambiguous
situations that requires
a person to make
MORAL decisions.
6. Lawrence Kohlberg
Born October 25, 1927 in Bronxville,
New York
Attended the elite Andover Academy in
Massachusetts.
Obtained his bachelor’s degree after
one year of study at the University of
Chicago in 1948
Earned his doctoral degree in 1958
from the same university after writing
a dissertation outlining stage theory of
moral development
7. Lawrence Kohlberg
• Influenced by Jean Piaget's theories
of cognitive development in children.
• (1958) His doctoral dissertation on
the six stages of moral development
was published.
• Began teaching at Yale University in
1959.
• In 1962 he worked at University of
Chicago
• Then in 1968 he began his career at
Harvard University
• He was married with 2 sons
• Passed away at the age of 59 in 1987.
8. Kohlberg’s Stage Theory
• Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment
Orientation
• Stage 2: Individualism and Exchange
• Stage 3: Good Interpersonal Relationships
• Stage 4: Maintaining Social Order
• Stage 5: Social Contract and Individual
Rights
• Stage 6: Universal Principles
Preconventional {
Conventional {
Postconventional {
9. Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment
Orientation
• There is a strict set of rules that must
always be followed
• The ideas of punishment and permission
are key
• Pre-conventional thought expressed
10. Stage 2: Individualism and Exchange
• Now there is not one right way of
doing things; everything is
relative
• Fair exchange policy
• The role of punishment weakens
11. Stage 3: Good Interpersonal
Relationships
• “Good Boy/Nice Girl” Orientation
• People should live up to the expectations
of community
• Characters’ traits and motives are
examined
12. Stage 4: Maintaining the Social Order
• There is an emphasis on obeying
laws, respecting authority, and
performing one’s duties so social
order is maintained
• Perspective changes to society as a
whole
• Not only does the child say a certain
action is right or wrong, they
explore the reasons why
13. Stage 5: Social Contract and Individual
Rights
• An individual’s moral
judgment is motivated
by community
respect, respecting
social order, and
respect for
legally/determined
laws
• Thoughts consider
the rights and values
a society must uphold
14. Stage 6: Universal Principles
• Involves universal
principles of justice
that apply to all
people
• We treat the particular
dilemma through
unbiased and
impartial eyes
• We can only reach
this stage by looking
at a situation through
someone else’s eyes
15. Stages of Moral Development
Lawrence Kohlberg
Level Stage Ages Social Orientation
Pre-Conventional 1 2-4 Obedience and Punishment
2 4-7 Individualism,
Instrumentalism
Conventional 3 7-10 Good Boy/Girl
4 10-12 Law and Order
Post-
Conventional 5 Teens Social Contract
6 Adult Principled Conscience
16. “The Heinz Dilemma”
In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind
of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors
thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a
druggist in the same town had recently discovered. the
drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was
charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He
paid $400 for the radium and charged $4,000 for a
small dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband,
Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money
and tried every legal means, but he could only get
together about $2,000, which is half of what it cost. He
told the druggist that his wife was dying, and asked
him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the
druggist said, "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going
to make money from it." So, having tried every legal
means, Heinz gets desperate and considers breaking
into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife.
17. “Heinz Dilemma”
1.Should Heinz steal the drug?
1a. Why or why not?
2. Is it actually right or wrong for him to steal
the drug?
2a. Why is it right or wrong?
3. Does Heinz have a duty or obligation to
steal the drug?
3a. Why or why not?
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Editor's Notes
For Child Growth and Development, my roommate, Sylvia Tellez, and I conducted a research study regarding Moral Development: Does gender make a difference?
We based our study on the theories of Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan.
Stage one in Kohlberg’s six stages of moral development is the obedience and punishment orientation.
During this stage the concern lies strictly in an unchanging set of rules and laws which are always right.
Individuals follow the norms of society, but only to avoid punishment
This stage re-iterates preconventional thought which stipulates that individuals are not fully engaged in the conventions of their society.
Stage two is entitled individualism and exchange.
Individuals in stage two now realize that the set of rules they blindly followed in stage one are subject to change. Morality is relative insofar as rules can be changed in order to attain what’s best for oneself.
In other words, whatever is best for me is the right decision – it is essentially the idea of fair exchange. I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.
Punishment is only a risk not a certainty.
Stage three begins Kohlberg’s idea of conventional thought in which individuals conform their actions with the norms of society.
It is also thought of as the “Good boy/nice girl” orientation
Stage three is highly dependant on public approval. In this stage, Right is only based on how others would judge your specific actions.
Motives and grounds for decision-making are also carefully examined in this stage.
There is an emphasis on obeying laws, respecting authority, and performing one’s duties so social order is maintained
Perspective changes to society as a whole
Not only does the child say a certain action is right or wrong, they explore the reasons why
Stage 5 considers social contract and individual rights. There is a deep focus on agreements or pacts as well as respecting laws in order to keep society functioning properly.
Stage five language also includes basic human rights including life and liberty.
Involves universal principles of justice that apply to all people
We treat the particular dilemma through unbiased and impartial eyes
We can only reach this stage by looking at a situation through someone else’s eyes
The first dilemma given to the children was the Heinz Dilemma, the most famous of Kohlberg’s dilemmas. This dilemma basically states that a man’s wife is dying and he only has half the amount of money necessary to buy the drug that will save her. He tried every legal means to get enough money but could not. The druggist refuses to sell the medicine at a discount price at the risk of losing profit. Consequently, the man considers stealing the drug.
The children were asked the following questions regarding the Heinz dilemma: (read slide)
These questions were formulated by Kohlberg, but Gilligan’s response is that males and females understand the question differently. According to Gilligan: The boy thinks of it as “should Heinz steal the drug?” The girl asks herself “should Heinz steal the drug?” – hoping to find another solution. Males and females understand the question differently.