Kohlberg's theory of moral development

Psychology

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development is a cornerstone of our understanding of moral development. In the tradition of Piaget, Kohlberg proposed that children form their ways of thinking -- including their moral reasoning -- through their experiences during development. Thus, moral development and reasoning is a function of the usual childhood development and lies well within the realm of psychology. Born in 1927, Kohlberg cemented his theories on childhood moral development in the late 1950s and early 1960s, making a significant contribution to our overall understanding of moral reasoning and its place in the developmental process (Crain, 1985).

Kohlberg's theory of moral development is built on a foundation of Jean Piaget's own work on the question of moral judgment and development. Piaget's work on the subject divided moral judgment into two stages of development, with a stark division in ways of thinking between children aged more or less than ten or eleven. Younger children, Piaget argued, view morality and rules as fixed and absolute, while older children treat moral issues in more relativistic terms based on individual circumstances (Crain, 1985). Piaget found that a number of related changes occur at about the same time, when children are roughly ten or eleven. In addition to above mentioned change, when children pass this milestone they also shift from a focus on consequences to a focus on intentions. For a young child, the end result of a decision is the basis for the child's evaluation of the decision as moral or not. An older child will consider the intention of the act before making any strict judgments (Crain, 1985). Piaget's two stages of moral development are, however, quite limited and do not consider potential changes in moral reasoning that might occur as individuals pass other developmental milestones. Kohlberg recognized this deficiency and extended Piaget's work to develop a greater number of stages in moral reasoning. He argued for a more gradual, longer process of moral development that involved six distinct stages divided into three discrete levels of development (Nucci, 2002). This extension of Piaget's work has been one of Kohlberg's greatest contributions to the study of moral development.

As already mentioned, Kohlberg's theory of moral development divides the developmental process into six stages, which are grouped into three levels. The first level is known as preconventional morality and includes Stage 1 and Stage 2 -- obedience and punishment orientation & individualism and exchange, respectively (Crain, 1985). Kohlberg called this level preconventional because children see morality as something external to themselves over which they have no control. In Stage 1, we still see major similarities to Piaget's first stage of moral thinking. In this category, the individual operates on the assumption that the rules and laws created by authorities are absolute and not open to debate. Actions are deemed immoral simply because they are against the law, and further elaboration usually focuses on the consequences of the actions. All interest from the individual is on whether or not imagined authorities will perceive an action as immoral and mete out punishment as a result.

In Stage 2, there is again some similarity with Piaget's model. In this stage, we begin to see the development of more relativistic thinking on the part of the child. The child is able to see that there is no absolute law of right and wrong, and that while one person might see an action as immoral, another might view it as perfectly acceptable. The potential for punishment is still a concern at Stage 2, but now children simply see it as an end they'd rather avoid. In Stage 1, punishment means that an action was immoral; in Stage 2, this is not necessarily the case. The understanding becomes that everyone has his own agenda to follow, making morality more relative (Crain, 1985; Nucci, 2002). This is firmly similar to Piaget's model of moral reasoning in which focus shifts from absolutes and punishments to relatives and intentions.

From Stage 2, we pass to Level 2, known as conventional moral reasoning. In both Stages 3 and 4, the individual has developed to the point that moral decisions are made based on an accepted understanding of the norms and conventions of society (Nucci, 2002). Stage 3 is called Good Interpersonal Relationships and children, now entering their teenage years, begin to believe that individuals should live up to the expectations made by family and society to behave in appropriate and moral ways. The greater concern at this stage is on good motives and social responsibility, such as stealing to save someone's life. In Stage 4, Maintaining the Social Order, Kohlberg first moves fully beyond Piaget and his relativistic moral development. Whereas Stage 3 focuses on moral relationships between individuals who have the ability to closely understand each other's motives, such as in a family situation. In Stage 4, the individual begins to reasoned moral decisions based on the whole of society. The individual argues that moral decisions must be made based on the effect that they will have on the larger social fabric and the preservation of an ordered society (Crain, 1985).

In Kohlberg's final level, we are given a glimpse of postconventional morality, which consists of Stages 5 and 6 -- Social Contract and Individual Rights & Universal Principles, respectively. In Stage 4 we see, according to Kohlberg, that individuals base morality on actions that will keep society running most smoothly. Unfortunately, though, a smooth running society isn't necessarily a moral one. In Kohlberg's Stage 5, individuals begin to question what makes for a good society, and consider the moral values that a society should have, even if it does not actually possess those values. Individuals make an effort to determine what values a society should have, regardless of the laws they might have upheld more firmly in Stage 4. Nonetheless, Stage 5 does consist of a moral contract between individual and society and the interests of social order are still considered (Crain, 1985). In Stage 6, by contrast, is only a rational endpoint that has been extended from Stage 5. There is substantial empirical support for individuals attaining Stage 5 level of moral reasoning, but nothing substantial for Stage 6. Stage 6 moral reasoning would be based on the ability to understand moral laws that transcend cultural and social barriers and are, in essence, universally applicable (Nucci, 2002).

Kohlberg believes that the development of moral reasoning is neither genetic nor socialized in origin. Rather, it is a function of the natural development of the human mind and individual thought processes. As individuals grow older and more sophisticated, they continually find their beliefs and perceptions of the world challenged by new experiences, forcing the development of more sophisticated moral reasoning (Crain, 1985). Kohlberg extended the work of Piaget to show how advances in moral reasoning occur during the developmental process.