This document discusses Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development. It outlines Kohlberg's stages of moral reasoning, including the pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional levels. A key aspect of Kohlberg's research was his use of moral dilemmas, such as the Heinz dilemma, to assess people's moral judgments and determine their stage of moral development. The document also notes some criticisms of Kohlberg's theory, such as the artificial nature of the dilemmas he used.

1. BY
ASMA JABEEN
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2.  Moral psychology
 Moral development
 Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987)
 Heinz dilemma
 Moral development theory(1958)
 Criticism
 References
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3.  Moral psychology is the study of the
development of the moral sense
 This is the capacity of forming judgments
about what is morally right or wrong, good or
bad.
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4.  Moral development is the process through
which children develop proper attitudes and
behaviors toward other people in society,
based on social and cultural norms, rules,
and laws.
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5.  Lawrence Kohlberg was an American
Psychologist and is known for theory of moral
development.
 He agreed with Piaget's (1932) theory of
moral development in principle but wanted
to develop his ideas further.
 He was particularly well-known for his theory
of moral development which he popularized
through research studies
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6.  A dilemma that psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg
used in his original research was the druggist's
dilemma: Heinz Steals the Drug 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 produce. He paid $200 for the
radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of
the drug.
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7.  The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to
everyone he knew to borrow the money, but
he could only get together about $1,000
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 Heinz got desperate and broke into the
man's store to steal the drug for his wife.
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8.  Kohlberg asked the question from people
Should Heinz have broken into
the laboratory to steal the drug
for his wife? Why or why not?
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9.  Kohlberg outlined three broad levels and six
more specific stages of moral development in
his theory
Levels
Pre
conventional
Conventional Post
conventional
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10.  Stage 1. Obedience and Punishment
orientation
(How can I avoid punishment?)
 Stage 2. Self-interest orientation
(What's in it for me?) Incentive for
good grades or doing a chore. (Paying for a
benefit)
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11.  Stage 3. Interpersonal accord and
conformity
(Social norms)
(The good boy/girl attitude)
 Stage 4. Authority and social-order
maintaining orientation
(Law and order morality) dictation
of morality )
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12.  5. Social contract orientation
(Awareness of laws and rules)
 6. Universal ethical principles
(Principled conscience)
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13.  At the pre-conventional level (most nine-year-
olds and younger, some over nine), we
don’t have a personal code of morality
 Moral code is shaped by the standards of
adults and the consequences of following or
breaking their rules
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14.  The child/individual is good in order to avoid
being punished. If a person is punished they
must have done wrong.
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15.  At this stage children recognize that there is
not just one right view that is handed down
by the authorities. Different individuals have
different viewpoints.
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16.  At the conventional level (most adolescents
and adults), we begin to internalize the
moral standards of valued adult role models.
 Authority is internalized but not questioned
and reasoning is based on the norms of the
group to which the person belongs.
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17.  The child/individual is good in order to be
seen as being a good person by others.
Therefore, answers are related to the
approval of others.
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18.  The child/individual becomes aware of the
wider rules of society so judgments concern
obeying rules in order to uphold the law and
to avoid guilt.
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19.  Individual judgment is based on self-chosen
principles, and moral reasoning is based on
individual rights and justice (10–15% of
adults, not before mid-30s).
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20.  The child/individual becomes aware that
while rules/laws might exist for the good of
the greatest number, there are times when
they will work against the interest of
particular individuals. The issues are not
always clear cut. For example, in Heinz’s
dilemma the protection of life is more
important than breaking the law against
stealing.
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21.  People at this stage have developed their
own set of moral guidelines which may or
may not fit the law. The principles apply to
everyone. E.g. human rights, justice and
equality. The person will be prepared to act
to defend these principles even if it means
going against the rest of society in the
process and having to pay the consequences
of disapproval and or imprisonment.
Kohlberg doubted few people reached this
stage.
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22.  Stage one (obedience): Heinz should not steal
the medicine, because he will consequently be
put in prison.
 Stage two (self-interest): Heinz should steal the
medicine, because he will be much happier if he
saves his wife, even if he will have to serve a
prison sentence.
 Stage three (conformity): Heinz should steal the
medicine, because his wife expects it; he wants
to be a good husband.
 Stage four (law-and-order): Heinz should not
steal the medicine, because the law prohibits
stealing making it illegal.
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23.  Stage five (human rights): Heinz should steal
the medicine, because everyone has a right
to choose life, regardless of the law. Or:
Heinz should not steal the medicine, because
the scientist has a right to fair
compensation.
 Stage six (universal human ethics): Heinz
should steal the medicine, because saving a
human life is a more fundamental value than
the property rights of another person. Or:
Heinz should not steal the medicine, because
others may need the medicine just as badly,
and their lives are equally significant.
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24.  The dilemmas are artificial (i.e. they lack
ecological validity)
 The sample is biased
 The dilemmas are hypothetical (i.e. they are
not real)
 Poor research design was used
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25.  Barger, R.N. (2000). A summary of
Kohlberg's summary of Lawrence
Kohlberg's stages of moral development.
Retrievedfromhttp://www.csudh.edu/dearh
abermas/kohlberg01bk.htm
 Cherry, K.( 2013). Kohlberg’s theory of moral
development. Retrieved from
http://psychology.about.com/od/developm
entalpsychology/a/kohlberg.htm
 George, C.B. (2003). Moral development.
retrieved from http://webspace.ship.edu/
cgboer/genpsymoraldev.html
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26.  Heinz delimma.(n.d) Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz_dilemma
 Editors of Encyclopedia (2013). Moral
psychology. Retrieved from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/
topic/1383350/moral-psychology
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