Theories on Moral Development

1. MORAL DEVELOPMENT
THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL REASONING,
ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS: KOLBERG, TURIEL, GILIGAN

2. OBJECTIVES :
At the end of the lesson the student should be able to
:
 define Moral Development
 know the Theories of the Development of Moral
Reasoning, Attitudes and Beliefs

3. WHAT IS MORAL
DEVELPOMENT?
 Moral Development is an aspect
of a person’s overall development
that follows over the course of a
lifetime.
 Moral Development is growth
and, like all growth, it takes place
according to a pre-determined
sequence.

17. Lawrence Kohlberg
(October 25, 1927 – January 19, 1987)
 He was an American psychologist.
 He served as a professor in:
- Psychology Department at the
University of Chicago.
- 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.

18. HOW DID KOHLBERG COME UP WITH THE
THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT?
 All his ideas started from the research he performed
with very young children as his subjects. He found
out that children are faced with different moral
issues, and their judgments on whether they are to
act positively or negatively over each dilemma are
heavily influenced by several factors. In each
scenario that Kohlberg related to the children, he
was not really asking whether or not the person in
the situation is morally right or wrong, but he wanted
to find out the reasons why these children think that
the character is morally right or not.

19. For purposes of illustration, Kohlberg uses the Heinz
Dilemma.
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 pharmacist
in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was
expensive to make, but the pharmacist 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 pharmacist that his wife was dying and
asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the
pharmacist said: "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going
to make money from it." So Heinz got desperate and

20. 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.

21. Kohlberg's Theory of
Moral Development

23. Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

24. Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
Level 1. Pre-conventional Morality
Stage 1 - Obedience and Punishment
-The earliest stage of moral development is
especially common in young children, but adults are also
capable of expressing this type of reasoning. At this
stage, children see rules as fixed and absolute. Obeying
the rules is important because it is a means to avoid
punishment.
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. In the Heinz
dilemma, children argued that the best course of action
was the choice that best-served Heinz’s needs.
Reciprocity is possible, but only if it serves one's own
interests.

26. Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
Level 2. Conventional Morality
Stage 3 - Interpersonal Relationships
- Often referred to as the "good boy-good girl"
orientation, this stage of moral development is
focused on living up to social expectations and roles.
There is an emphasis on conformity, being "nice,"
and consideration of how choices influence
relationships.
Stage 4 – Authority and Maintaining Social Order
- At this stage of moral development, people
begin to consider society as a whole when making
judgments. The focus is on maintaining law and
order by following the rules, doing one’s duty and
respecting authority.

28. Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
Level 3. Post-conventional Morality :
Self-accepted Moral Principles
Stage 5 - Social Contract and Individual Rights
- 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. •
Stage 6 – Morality of Individual Principles and
Conscience
- Universal Principles Kolhberg’s final level of moral
reasoning is based upon universal ethical principles and
abstract reasoning. At this stage, people follow these
internalized principles of justice, even if they conflict with
laws and rules.

30. Elliot Turiel
 Elliot Turiel was born in
1938 , PhD in
Psychology from Yale.
 American psychologist
and Chancellor’s
Professor at the
Graduate School of
Education at the
University of California,
Berkeley Publications.

31.  He has formulated a theory of domains of
social development involving the
development of moral judgments (based
on concepts of welfare, justice, and rights)
and their distinction, throughout
development, from understandings of the
conventions and customs of societies – as
well as from arenas of personal
jurisdiction.

32. The Start of Turiel’s Idea
 Turiel based his theory of moral development off of
psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg’s framework of
moral reasoning.
 Kholberg stated that, “moral judgments may be
defined as judgments of value, as social judgments,
and as judgments that oblige an individual to take
action.”
Kohlberg’s theory:
There are three types of reasoners:
preconventional, conventional, and
postconventional.

34. An example of the distinction between morality and
convention is given in the following excerpt from an
interview with a four-year-old girl regarding her
perceptions of spontaneously occurring
transgressions at her preschool.
 MORAL ISSUE: Did you see what happened? Yes. They were
playing and John hit him too hard. Is that something you are
supposed to do or not supposed to do? Not so hard to hurt. Is there a
rule about that? Yes. What is the rule? You're not to hit hard. What if
there were no rule about hitting hard, would it be all right to do then?
No. Why not? Because he could get hurt and start to cry.
 CONVENTIONAL ISSUE: Did you see what just happened? Yes.
They were noisy. Is that something you are supposed to or not
supposed to do? Not do. Is there a rule about that? Yes. We have to
be quiet. What if there were no rule, would it be all right to do then?
Yes. Why? Because there is no rule.

35. CAROL GILIGAN
 1989 - New York
 Professor of Gender
Studies,
Harvard University
 Ph.D., Harvard University

36. Carol Gilingan’s Theory of Moral
Development

37.  Morality is to be treated in terms of their
responsibility to others, rather than as the
rights of individuals. Morality are more
compassionate by nature and are careful
and fair in their actions.

39. THREE LEVELS
FIRST LEVEL – Pre Conventional
 The primary concern is with oneself. When one sees
caring for oneself as selfish and not congruent to
responsibility to others, transition to the next level
happens.
SECOND LEVEL - Conventional
 Females equate morality with goodness, self- sacrifice
and caring for others. The transition to the next level
occurs whey they meet problems in their relationship
resulting from their exclusion from their own care.
 THIRD LEVEL – Post Conventional
 Morality is equated with care for both themselves and
others.

46. CAROL GILIGAN’S ADDS
 Females tend to see themselves in terms of their
relationship with others. On the contrary, males
have the tendency to view themselves as distinct
and separate from others, the concepts of
separation and connectedness translate into
their approach to morality.