Moral Development

Ethics
• The system of rules that governs the ordering
of values. Addresses such questions as:
–What are the meanings of the ethical
concepts of good and right?
–How can a person reach a conclusion about
an ethical dilemma?
–Do ethical dilemmas have answers that
would be universally accepted as right,
proper, and appropriate?

Justice Theories
• State moral standards are based upon the primacy of a
single value, which is justice. Everyone should act to
ensure a more equitable distribution of benefits, for this
promotes self-respect, essential for social cooperation.
• The Four Way Test
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is if FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and better friendships?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Moral Reasoning
• The thinking
processes involved in
judgments about
questions of right and
wrong.
• The bases for ethical
behavior.

Moral Development
• The gradual development of an individual’s concept
of:
- right or wrong,
- conscience,
- religious values,
- social attitudes,
- and certain behavior.
• Process by which children learn their moral beliefs and
develop moral reasoning for making decisions
regarding what is right or wrong

Kohlberg’s Theory
of Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg
(October 25, 1927 – January 19, 1987)
8
•He was an American psychologist.
•He served as a professor in:
- the Psychology Department at the University of Chicago
- and at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard
University.
•He started as a developmental psychologist and then
moved to the field of moral education.
•He was particularly well-known for his theory of moral
development which he popularized through research
studies conducted at Harvard's Center for Moral Education.

From Piaget to Kohlberg
• Kohlberg agreed with Piaget theory in principle but
wanted to develop his ideas further.
• Kohlberg studied the moral reasoning as an aspect
of cognitive development that has to do with the
way an individual reasons about moral decisions.
• Kohlberg used Piaget’s storytelling technique to tell
people stories involving moral dilemmas.
• Both theories are stage theory.

Kohlberg’s Moral Dilemmas
• In each case, he
presented a choice to be
considered, for example,
between the rights of
some authority and the
needs of some deserving
individual who is being
unfairly treated.
• Hypothetical situations in which no choice is clearly
and indisputably right.

• 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.
The Heinz Dilemma

Kohlberg asked a series of questions
such as:
1. Should Heinz have stolen the drug? Why or why
not?
2. Would it change anything if Heinz did not love his
wife?
3. What if the person dying was a stranger, would it
make any difference?
4. Should the police arrest the chemist for murder if
the woman died?

• By studying the answers from children of different ages to these
questions Kohlberg hoped to discover the ways in which moral
reasoning changed as people grew older.
• The sample comprised 72 Chicago boys aged 10–16 years, 58 of
whom were followed up at three-yearly intervals for 20 years.
• Each boy was given a 2-hour interview based on the ten dilemmas.
• What Kohlberg was mainly interested in was not whether the boys
judged the action right or wrong, but the reasons given for the
decision.
• He found that these reasons tended to change as
the children got older.
• He demonstrated that people progressed in their
moral reasoning through a series of three levels.
• Each level is based on the degree to which a
person conforms to conventional standards of
society.

Pre-
conventional
• Self-Centered
• External
Authority
• isolated
individuals
perspective
Conventional
• Group Centered
• shared viewpoint
• member-of-group
perspective
Post-
conventional
• Internalized-
Truth-Centered
• Internalized
Values
• "prior-to-society"
perspective
Levels of Moral Reasoning

The capacity to reason grows
From To
Self-centeredness Other-centeredness
And
From To
Reliance on external authority Fidelity to internalized values

1. Pre-conventional Moral Reasoning
• Judgment based solely on a person’s own
needs and perceptions
• Moral reasoning is based on external
rewards and punishments.
• Characterized by the desire to avoid
punishment or gain reward.
• Typically children under the age of 10

2. Conventional Moral Reasoning
• Expectations of society and law are taken
into account.
• Laws and rules are upheld simply because
they are laws and rules
• Primary concern is to fit in and play the
role of a good citizen
• People have a strong desire to follow the
rules and laws.
• Typical of most adults.

3. Post-conventional Moral Reasoning
• Judgment based on abstract, personal
principles not necessarily defined by
society’s laws.
• Reasoning based on personal moral
standards
• Characterized by references to universal
ethical principles that represent protecting
the rights of all people
• Most adults do not reach this level.

• Each level has two sub
stages that represent
different degrees of
sophistication in moral
reasoning.

Principled
conscience
Social
contract
Law and
order
Good
boy/girl
Self-interest
Obedience
and
Punishment
Pre-conventional Conventional Post-conventional
Kohlberg’s Six Stages

How does the progress happen?
• Everyone goes through the stages sequentially in the order listed
without skipping any stage.
• The movement through these stages are not natural, that is people
do not automatically move from one stage to the next as they
mature.
• In stage development, movement occurs when a person notices
inadequacies in his present way of coping with a given moral
dilemma. (So, challenge your students)
• Each new stage replaces the reasoning typical of the earlier stage.
• People cannot understand moral reasoning more than one stage
ahead of their own. For example, a person in Stage 1 can
understand Stage 2 reasoning but nothing beyond that.
• Not everyone achieves all the stages.

Preconventional Moral
Reasoning
Stages 1 & 2

Stage 1: Punishment-Obedience Orientation
At this stage:
• Children see rules as fixed and absolute.
• They obey rules in order to avoid punishment.
• They determine a sense of right and wrong by what is punished and what
is not punished
• They obeys superior authority and allow that authority to make the rules,
especially if that authority has the power to inflict pain.
• They are responsive to rules that will affect their physical well-being.
• Fear of authority and avoidance of punishment are reasons for behaving
morally.
• This stage is similar to Piaget's first stage of moral thought.
• The child assumes that powerful authorities hand down a fixed set of
rules which he or she must unquestioningly obey.

• How can I avoid punishment?
• Not law or justice, but cost to me.
• Conscience = self-protection.
• A focus on direct consequences.
• Negative actions will result in punishments.

In the Heinz dilemma:
• Pro: “Hopefully he won’t get caught.”
• Con: “He’ll go to jail.”

Stage 2: Self-Interest Orientation
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.
• Children account for individual points of view, and judge actions based
on how they serve individual needs.
• Reciprocity is possible, but only if it serves one's own interests.
• They are motivated by vengeance or “an eye for an eye” philosophy.
• They are self-absorbed, while assuming that they are generous.
• They believe in equal sharing in that everyone gets the same, regardless
of need.
• They believe that the end justifies the means.
• They do a favor only to get a favor.
• They expect to be rewarded for every non-selfish deed they do.

- Personal reward orientation. - What's in it for me?
- Instrumental purpose and exchange. - Paying for a benefit.
- Satisfying personal needs determines moral choice.
- Minimize the pain; maximize the pleasure.
- Right behavior means acting in one's own best interests.
- Since everything is relative, each person is free to pursue his
individual interests.
- Conscience = cunning.
- Reasoning is based on an attitude of “you scratch my back and I’ll
scratch yours.”
- Getting what one wants often requires giving something up in return.
- “Right” is a fair exchange, and morals are guided by what is “fair”

• Pro:
- “Heinz will be lonely if his wife dies.”
- “Heinz had children and he might need someone at home to
look after them.”
- “The druggist is very greedy by charging so much.”
• Con:
- “Prison is an awful place.”
- “They might put him in prison for more years than he could
stand.”
- “He can marry someone younger and better-looking.”

Conventional Moral
Reasoning
Stages 3 & 4

Stage 3: "good boy-good girl" Orientation
At this stage:
• People attempt to live up to the social roles and expectations of the
family and community.
• Good behavior means having good motives and interpersonal feelings
such as love, empathy, trust, and concern for others.
• They follow rules or do what other would want so that they win his
approval.
• Maintaining the affection and approval of friends and relatives
motivates good behavior.
• Negative actions will harm those relationships.
• They find that intentions are as important as deeds, and they expect
others to accept intentions or promises in place of deeds.
• They begin to put themselves in another’s shoes and think from
another perspective.

• Interpersonal accord and conformity.
• Peer pressure, group orientation
• Social norms.
• Peer approval is very important.
• There is an emphasis on conformity, being "nice," and
consideration of how choices influence relationships.
• Obligation to one’s family, gang, etc.
• One earns acceptance by being “nice.”
• Behavior is often judged by intention – “Well, they
mean well.”
• Conscience = loyalty

• Pro:
- “He should steal the drug because that’s what a devoted husband
would do. He’ll show what a good husband he is. He was a good
man for wanting to save his wife, and his intentions were good,
that of saving the life of someone he loves. No husband should
sit back and watch his wife die”.
- “I don't think they would put him in jail. The judge would look at
all sides, and see that the druggist was charging too much.”
- “It was really the druggist's fault, he was unfair, trying to
overcharge and letting someone die. He ought to be put in jail.”
• Con:
- “Other people will think he is a bad man.”

Stage 4:
Law and Maintaining the Social Order Orientation
At this stage:
• People begin to consider society as a whole when making judgments.
• The focus is on maintaining social order by:
- resisting personal pressures, - following the rules,
- doing one’s duty, - obeying laws,
- and respecting authority without question.
because without laws, society would be chaos.
• They are duty doers who believe in rigid rules that should not be
changed.
• They support the rights of the majority without concern for those in
the minority.
• A duty to uphold rules and laws for their own sake justifies moral
conformity.

Stage 4:
• Social accord and system maintenance
• Right behavior consists of doing one’s duty and respecting
authority.
• Flaws in the system are due to the failure of individuals who do not
obey the system.
• There is a part of about 80% of the population that does not
progress past stage 4..
• Conscience = good citizenship

Stage 4:
• Pro: “A husband has a duty to care for his wife.”
• Con: “The theft is against the law even though his motives
were good. We would have chaos, and society couldn't
function if everyone felt he had a good reason to break the
laws, or set up his own beliefs as to right and wrong."

Do you think
• Marijuana, abortion, homosexuality, strip clubs
…. are good just because they are legal now?
• Slavery was fair just because it was legal?
• Law is justice?
• The right is what the law-makers think is?

Postconventional Moral
Reasoning
Stages 5 & 6

Stage 5: Social Contract Orientation
At this stage:
• People begin to think about society in a very theoretical way, stepping back from
their own society and considering the rights and values that a society ought to
uphold, to answer this question "What makes for a good society?"
• They then evaluate existing societies in terms of these prior considerations.
• They account for the differing values, opinions, and beliefs of other people, and
respect the rights of the minority especially the rights of the individual, because they
believe in consensus (everyone agrees), rather than in majority rule, and they are
motivated by the belief in the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of
people.
• They obey the law, until they can change it through the system (by democratic
means), if:
- it fails to promote general welfare, or it violates ethical principles,
- there were better alternatives,
- and members of the society agree upon these standards.
• They want to keep society functioning. But a smoothly functioning society is not
necessarily a good one. For example, a totalitarian society might be well-organized,
but it is hardly the moral ideal.

• A good society is best conceived as a social contract into which
people freely enter to work toward the benefit of all.
• Different social groups within a society will have different values,
but they believe that all rational people would agree on two points:
- they would all want certain basic rights, such as liberty and life,
to be protected.
- they would want some democratic procedures for changing
unfair law and for improving society.
• Social contract, utility, individual rights.
• Fairness of the legal order.
• Loyalty to truth
• Conscience = reason

• Pro:
- “The law isn’t intended to cause someone’s death.”
- “Heinz’s obligation to save his wife’s life must take precedence
over his obligation to respect the druggist’s property rights.”
- “The wife’s right to live is a moral right that must be protected.”
- “It is the husband's duty to save his wife.”
- The fact that her life is in danger transcends every other standard
you might use to judge his action.
- Life is more important than property.
• Con: “The druggist’s rights are not being respected.”

Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles Orientation
At this stage:
• People follow these internalized moral principles of justice that are higher than those
represented by social rules and customs, so these moral principles take precedence
over laws that might conflict with them.
• For example, they are conscientious objectors, and refuse to be drafted because they
are morally opposed to war.
• They are willing to accept the consequences for disobedience or violating the social
rule they have rejected.
• They suggest that we need to:
(a) protect certain individual rights,
(b) and settle disputes through democratic processes.
• However, democratic processes alone do not always result in outcomes that we
intuitively sense are just. For example, a majority may vote for a law that hinders a
minority, but representatives of this stage define the principles by which we achieve
justice.
• They work toward a conception of the good society, and the well-being of others,
regardless of who they are.

• These internalized moral principles of justice are:
- The human dignity (of all people as individuals) is sacred,
- The principles of justice are universal; they apply to all,
- Treat the claims of all parties in an impartial manner,
- Profound respect for sanctity of human life,
- All humans have value, - Nonviolence,
- Equality.
• These principles guide us toward decisions based on an equal respect
for all. In actual practice, we can reach just decisions by looking at a
situation through one another's eyes.
• Self-chosen ethical principles
• Principles, no matter what the price
• Conscience = personal integrity

• Pro:
- “Saving a life is more important than property.”
- “Heinz should steal the drug even if the person was a
stranger and not his wife.
- “He must follow his conscience and not let the druggist’s
desire for money outweigh the value of a human life.
• Con: “If he steals the drug, others who need the drug can’t
buy it.”

• All parties (the druggist, Heinz, and his wife) take on the roles of the others.
• To do this in an impartial manner, people can assume a "veil of ignorance",
acting as if they do not know which role they will eventually occupy.
• If the druggist did this, even he would recognize that life must take priority
over property; for he wouldn't want to risk finding himself in the wife's shoes
with property valued over life.
• Thus, they would all agree that the wife must be saved--this would be the fair
solution.
• Such a solution, we must note, requires not only impartiality, but the
principle that everyone is given full and equal respect.
• If the wife were considered of less value than the others, a just solution could
not be reached.

Stephen Hawking
Noam
Chomsky
Mahatma
Gandhi
Mother
Teresa

• Do you think these people can be
criminals?
• Did anyone here read Fyodor
Dostoyevsky’s novel (Crime and
Punishment)?
• Why did Raskolnikov murder and
rob an unpleasant elderly pawn-
broker and money-lender?
• With the pawnbroker's money he can
perform good deeds to
counterbalance the crime.
• Ridding the world of a vermin.
• He believed in a theory that dictates
murder is permissible - in pursuit of
a higher purpose - for some people,
such as Napoleon Bonaparte and
Muhammad. They are naturally
capable of such actions, and even
have the right to perform them.

personal
integrity
Conscience is …
Reason
Good
citizenship
Loyalty
Cunning
Self-
protection
Obedience
and
Punishment
Self-interest
Good boy/girl Law and
order
Social
contract
Principled
conscience

• Everyone goes through
the stages sequentially
in the order listed
without skipping any
stage.
• But Malcolm X moved
from third stage to
fifth stage, and skipped
the fourth stage.
• Why?

LCP
• In which moral development stage are our
students (inmates)?
• What moral development stage is the goal of our
curriculum to help the inmates reach?
• We need to know their stage to help them reach
the next one, then the next one, because we
cannot push them more than one stage ahead of
their own.
• Do you think it is beneficial to teach them these
stages of moral development?

Principled
conscience
Social
contract
Law and
order
Good
boy/girl
Self-interest
Obedience
and
Punishment
Self Family Community Humanity
Kohlberg’s Six Stages

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
53

linking the stages of moral development
with the age
• Although our students (inmates) are adults
their moral development stopped on the second
stage, which develops between ages seven and
ten, right action consists of acting to achieve
one's own goals while recognizing the interests
of others.”

Criticisms of Kohlberg's Theory
• 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.
Other 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.

Moral Development

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