What impact has Kohlberg's model of cognitive moral development had on ethical decision making?
The three levels of ethical concern found in Kohlberg's Model of Moral Development include Pre-Conventional (Level 1) which includes obedience and punishment orientation including self-interest orientation. Next, interpersonal accord and conformity (Level 2) includes social norms and the definition of authority and social-ordering maintaining orientation. This is often referred to as the law and order morality approach to defining ethics. Social contract orientation (Level 3) includes universal ethical principles and the concept of a principled conscience. This third level contributes to the philosophical approach taken in defining an ethical foundation for decision making. The impacts of the Kohlberg model of moral development are many, as the model itself serves as the basis of a framework for defining how...
In essence the development of a comprehensive ethical framework is based on these specific concepts, beginning with the perception of how ethics are interpreted internally based on external factors. The intermediating of external factors and their interpretation is critical for the development of a sustainable and scalable ethical framework over time. With the first level being based on obedience or punishment, followed by the second level focusing on conformity, the third level specifically illustrates how ethical judgment needs to, at its basis, be more focused on a philosophy that makes the first two levels more predictable. Only by using the Kohlberg Model to define a philopshy can an ethical foundation be scalable and agile enough to respond to changing priorities over time.
