Kohlberg's theory of moral development proposes 6 stages grouped into 3 levels - pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional. In the pre-conventional level, morality is based on obedience and self-interest. The conventional level focuses on maintaining social norms and relationships. The post-conventional level assesses morality based on social contracts and universal ethical principles. Kohlberg used the Heinz dilemma to understand how individuals at different stages would reason through a moral problem.

1. Kohler’s Stages of Moral
Development
Dr.Harim Mohsin

2. Moral Development
 Moral development
is the gradual development of
an individuals concept of right
or wrong – conscious, religious
values, social attitudes and
certain behaviour.

3. Early influence
 Kohlberg followed the development of moral judgment far beyond the ages
studied earlier by Piaget, who also claimed that logic and morality develop
through constructive stages Looking at the philosophy of Jean Piaget and
Lawrence Kohlberg regarding why and how people justify the decisions they
make.

4. Kohlberg & his stage theory
 Kohlberg became a professor of education and social
psychology at Harvard in 1968.
 His book on moral development is used by teachers
around the world to promote moral reasoning.
 This theory is a stage theory. In other words, everyone
goes through the stages sequentially without skipping any
stage.
 However, movement through these stages are not natural,
movement occurs when a person notices inadequacies in
his or her present way of coping with a given moral
dilemma.
 According to stage theory, people cannot understand
moral reasoning more than one stage ahead of their own.

5. Kohlberg’s Six Stages
Pre-Conventional Moral Development
 Stage 1
 Stage 2
Conventional Moral Development
 Stage 3
 Stage 4
Post-Conventional Moral Development
 Stage 5
 Stage 6

6. The Heinz Dilemma:
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. 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.

7. Stages of Moral Development
LEVEL I
Kohlberg’s
• Stage 1 – Punishment-Obedience Orientation
• Stage 2 – Instrumental Relativist Orientation
LEVEL II
• Stage 3 – Good Boy – Nice Girl Orientation
• Stage 4 – Law and Order Orientation
LEVEL III
• Stage 5 – Social Contract Orientation
• Stage 6 – Universal Ethical Principle Orientation

8. LEVEL I
Pre-conventional
Morality
people at this stage
do not really
understand the
conventions / rules
of a society.
4 – 10 yrs. old

9. Level 1- Stages
Level One:
Pre-
Conventional
Morality
Stage 1: Punishment-
Obedience Orientation
•I should get my own way.
•To get rewards and avoid punishments.
Stage 2: Instrumental
Relativist Orientation
•I should do what I’m told
•To stay out of trouble

10. STAGE 1
Punishment – Obedience
Orientation
Consequences of
acts determine
whether they’re
good or bad.

11. Stage 1
Obedience & Punishment
 Earliest stage of moral development
 Common in young children
 They see rules as fixed and absolute.
 Morality is external
 At this stage, children see rules as fixed and
absolute.
 Obeying the rules is important because it is a
means to avoid punishment.

12. Possible Stage 1
responses
to Heinz Dilemma:
Heinz should
steal the drug
because if he
doesn't then his
wife might die.
Heinz should
not steal the
drug because
he might be
caught and sent
to jail.

13. STAGE 2 Instrumental Relativist
Orientation
The ethics of “What’s in it for
me?”
Obeying rules and exchanging
favors are judged in terms of
the benefit to the individual.

14. Stage 2
Individualism and Exchange
 At this stage of moral development,
children account for individual points
of view and judge actions based on
how they serve individual needs.
 Reciprocity is possible at this point in
moral development, but only if it
serves one's own interests.

15. Possible Stage 2 responses
to Heinz Dilemma:
It is right for Heinz
to steal the drug
because it can
cure his wife and
then she can take
care of his home.
The doctor scientist
had spent lots of
money and many
years of his life to
develop the cure so
it's not fair to him if
Heinz stole the drug.

16. LEVEL II
Conventional
Morality
10 – 13 yrs. old
People at this stage
conform to the
conventions / rules
of a society.

17. Level 2: Stages
Level Two:
Conventional
Morality
Stage 3: Good Boy-Nice
Girl Orientation
•I should look out for myself, but be fair to
those who are fair to me.
•What’s in it for me?
Stage 4: Law and Order
Orientation
•I should be a nice person and live up to the
expectations of people I know and care
about.
•So others will think well of me and I can
think well of myself.

18. STAGE 3
Good Boy – Nice Girl
Orientation
Ethical decisions are
based on concern for
or the opinions of
others.

19. Stage 3
Interpersonal Relationships
 Often referred to as the "good boy-good
girl" orientation.
 At this stage children who are by now
usually entering their teens, see
morality as more than simple deals.
 Stage of moral development is focused
on living up to social expectations and
roles (of the family and community).
There is an emphasis on conformity,
being "nice," and behave in "good"
ways.
 Good behaviour means having good
motives and interpersonal feelings
such as love, empathy, trust, and
concern for others.

20. Possible Stage 3 responses
to Heinz Dilemma:
Yes, Heinz should steal the drug. He
probably will go to jail for a short time for
stealing but his family will think he is a
good husband.
Brown, the police officer should report
that he saw Heinz behaving suspiciously
and running away from the laboratory
because his boss would be pleased.

21. STAGE 4
Law and Order
Orientation
Right behavior consists in
doing one's duty, showing
respect for authority and
maintaining the given
social order for its own
sake.

22. Stage 4
Maintaining Social Order
 People begin to consider society as a whole when
making judgment.
 Law and order
 focus on maintaining law and order and obeying laws
 Consequences of breaking the law
 Stage 1 and stage 4 are giving the same response
 Similarity is they both agree that breaking the law is
wrong
 Differences is for Stage 1 the child can’t explain why
it is wrong, while Stage 4 the adults are able to
deliberate

23. Possible Stage 4 responses
to Heinz Dilemma:
As her husband, Heinz
has a duty to save his
wife's life so he should
steal the drug.
But it's wrong to steal,
so Heinz should be
prepared to accept the
penalty for breaking the
law.
The judge should sentence
Heinz to jail. Stealing is
against the law! He should
not make any exceptions
even though Heinz' wife is
dying. If the judge does not
sentence Heinz to jail then
others may think it's right to
steal and there will be chaos
in the society.

24. LEVEL III
Post-Conventional
Morality
The moral principles
that underline the
conventions of a
society are
understood.

25. Level 3- Stages
Level Three
Post-Conventional
Morality
Stage 5: Social Contract
Orientation
•I should fulfill my responsibilities to
the social or value system I feel part
of.
•To keep the system from falling
apart and to maintain self-respect as
somebody who meets my obligations
Stage 6: Universal Ethical
Principle Orientation
•I should show the greatest possible
respect for the rights and dignity of
every individual person and should
support a system that protects human
rights.
•The obligation of conscience to act
in accordance with the principle of
respect for all human beings.

26. Social Contract
Orientation
STAGE 5
Rules and laws represent
agreements among people
about behavior that
benefits society. Rules can
be changed when they no
longer meet society’s
needs.

27. Stage 5
Social Contract and Individual Rights
 At this stage, people begin to account for
the differing values, opinions and beliefs
of other people.
 Rules of law are important for maintaining
a society, but members of the society
should agree upon these standards.

28. Possible Stage 5 responses
to Heinz Dilemma:
Heinz should steal the drug because everyone has
the right to life regardless of the law against
stealing. Should Heinz be caught and prosecuted for
stealing then the law (against stealing) needs to be
reinterpreted because a person's life is at stake.
The doctor scientist's decision is despicable but his
right to fair compensation (for his discovery) must be
maintained. Therefore, Heinz should not steal the
drug.

29. STAGE 6 Universal Ethical
Principle Orientation
Right is defined by the decision of
conscience in accord with self-chosen
ethical principles appealing to logical
comprehensiveness, universality and
consistency.

30. Stage 6
Universal Principles
 Based upon universal ethical principles and abstract
reasoning.
 Based on respect for universal principle and the demands of
individual conscience
 Takes an idealized look at how people might coordinate their
interests
 At this stage, people follow these internalized principles of
justice, even if they conflict with laws and rules.
 Define the principles by which agreement will be most just.

31. Criticisms
 Does moral reasoning necessarily lead to moral
behavior?
 Kohlberg's theory is concerned with moral thinking, but
there is a big difference between knowing what we ought
to do versus our actual actions.
 Is justice the only aspect of moral reasoning we
should consider?
 Critics have pointed out that Kohlberg's theory of moral
development overemphasizes the concept as justice when
making moral choices. Factors such as compassion, caring
and other interpersonal feelings may play an important
part in moral reasoning.
 Does Kohlberg's theory overemphasize Western
philosophy?
 Individualistic cultures emphasize personal rights while
collectivist cultures stress the importance of society and
community. Eastern cultures may have different moral
outlooks that Kohlberg's theory does not account for.

32. Every person’s moral reasoning develops through the
same stages in the same order.
People pass through the same stages at different rates.
Development is gradual and continuous, rather than
sudden and discrete.
Once a stage is attained, a person continues to reason
at that stage and rarely regress to a lower stage.
Intervention usually results in moving only to the next
higher stage of moral reasoning.

33. ACTIVITY
 For the following moral dilemma, describe a response which
might be given by someone in each of the first four stages of
Kohlberg's theory.
 Jill goes shopping one day with her best friend, Sidh. Sidh tries
on a jumper and walks out of the shop wearing it under her
jacket. Jill is left to face the store's security person who insists
that Jill names Sidh and gives S's address. The manager of the
store tells Jill she will be in serious trouble if she does not
disclose Sidh's name and address. What should Jill do?

34. What would you do?
Consider your own experience – Where are you
according to the stages of Moral development?