1.0 Introduction:
Lawrence Kohlberg was the follower of Piaget’s theory of Moral development in principle but wanted to make his own theory by expanding his theory and study on that particular topic. Kohlberg was a very bright student and he served as a professor in the Harvard University. He become popular when he issued his Moral Development Theory by conducting research on that topic at Harvard’s Center for Moral Education.
Kohlberg believed that people moral behaviors are based on their moral reasoning, and their moral reasoning changed in accordance to their behaviors and actions when they move from one stage to another. His theory comprised of three levels and six stages which provides the base for his theory.
1.1.0 Moral Development:
Moral development theory is a widely accepted theory that was presented by Lawrence Kohlberg, who was a psychologist, and made a great contribution in the field of moral reasoning.
Kohlberg’s Moral Development theory focuses on that how understanding of morality and human thinking and behavior changed from childhood to the adulthood. In his Moral Development theory Kohlberg defined morality as “how one should treat another with justice, fairness and respect”. And the understanding of morality of any individual is based upon his values, principles, and cognitive development of his childhood through adulthood. There are a lot of factors that influence an individual’s behavior like his family, peer group, role models, and culture and society from an individual belongs.
Moral Development theory has basically six stages under which human behaviors and his moral reasoning is measured. And these six stages can be divided into three levels with two stages in each level i.e Pre-Convention...
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...edu/andersmd/kohl/kidmoral.html>.
McLeod, Saul. 2013, Kohlberg, viewed 18 January 2014
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Moral Development, pg 1-12, viewed 18 January 2014
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Moral Development and Moral Reasoning, Business Ethics MGT610, pg 8 and 9, viewed 18 January 2014
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Moral Reasoning, Business Ethics MGT610, pg 10 and 11, viewed 18 January 2014
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Sohl, Stephanie. 2004, Kohlberg’s Theory and His Critics, ppt, viewed 19 January 2014
http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/ewaters/552-04/slide%20sets/steph_sohl/steph_sohl_kohlberg.pdf
Kohlberg’s theory was often criticized for being culturally biased towards individualistic cultures because the third and highest level of morality pertained most to middle-class Americans (168). Erikson’s theory of stage development revolved around accomplishing certain psychological goals to develop onto the next stage of life. Whichever goal was completed, would determine if a person could move on happily or have problems along the way (Myers 170).
The background information provided by the author on this issue was determined by an instrument that captures how a person would use moral reasoning. The pre and post test of the Defining Issues Test (DIT) formulated by Rest, Narvaez, Thoma &Bebeau in 1999, was the primary instrument used in collecting data. She also reflected on several social work ethics literature, psychology, marriage, family therapy, counseling that focused on ethical decisions. Kaplan also indicated the Rest’s Neo-Kohlbergian Theory which progressed throughout the year played a significant part in the research study. It focused on how a person can reach their highest stage of development. Lastly, McNeel in 1994 determined that liberal arts programs had the greatest influence on moral reasoning.
For this experiment we asked Norma Tapia to interview her to find out where exactly she lies in Kohlberg and Piagets moral stages. She is a seventeen year old high school senior who
I noticed in Piaget stages of moral development Kevin is in the autonomous morality stage. Kevin has realized the rules at school and standards can be negotiated and or changed because his parents can get the school to change the rules or policies for his benefit. On Kohlberg’s stage Kevin, his behaviors can be related to the conventional level stage 4. Broderick and Blewitt describes Kohlberg’s conventional morality as “what is right depends on other’s approval or on the need to maintain social order” (pg. 261). Kevin’s peers react to his negative behaviors is effecting his moral
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development is three levels consisting of two stages in each. Kohlberg’s Theory explains how a human’s mind morally develops. Level one is typically common in younger children. The two stages in level one are pre-conventional stages. Stage one is obedience and punishment driven; one will judge an action by the consequences given. Stage two is out of self interest. Level two is mostly common in teenagers. The stages in this level
Today I will be interviewing Baumeister, Gilligan, and Piaget who are some of the most influential psychologists in the field of moral development. I will be interviewing these three so and I have three critical questions in the field of moral development that I would like each to answer. I will then conclude with a brief summary of the similarities and differences between the psychologists I have interviewed.
For my self-assessment, I chose to discuss the Middle Childhood, Adolescence, and Young Adulthood life stages. The theories of human behavior that will be discussed are Erikson’s Psychosocial theory, Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning, and Albert Bandura’s social learning theory. I chose these life stages because they are the stages where I have experienced many events that have shaped me into the person I am today. There are a number of factors that have played a role in my development over a period of time and I will discuss them throughout my paper.
This theory was developed by Leon Festinger (1957), is concerned with the relationships among cognitions. Cognition, for the purpose of this theory, may be thought of as a piece of knowledge, thoughts, feelings, or beliefs. Knowledge may be about an attitude, an emotion, a behavior, or a value. For instance, the fact that you like the color red is cognition. People have a massive amount of cognitions at the same time, and these cognitions create irrelevant, relationships with one another. Therefore, that the two cognitions have nothing to do with each other. This occurs most often when we do something that contradicts our moral beliefs.
Kohlberg’s theory of the stages of moral development has gained some popularity despite being controversial. The claim that the levels form a “ladder,” the bottom being the immature child with a pre-conventional level and the top being a post conventional ethical individual. The sequence is unvarying and the subject must begin at the bottom with aspirations to reach the top, possibly doing so. (7) Research confirms that individuals from different cultures actually progress according to Kohlbergs theory, at least to the conventional level. Kohlberg’s stages of moral development continue to provide a foundation for psychology studies of moral reasoning. (6)
The moral development of children can depend on many factors. Parenting and upbringing of the child, their environment, social environment, gender, and race are all aspects that can contribute to how a child develops their moral standards and expectations. Many psychologist have tried for several years to develop a theory to how morality is developed. One in particular is Lawrence Kohlberg (1958), his moral development theory is based on the cognitive development of children and it is thought that moral development proceeds and changes as cognitive development occurs (Arnett, 2012). Kohlberg’s moral development theory consist of 3 different levels each containing 2 stages altogether making 6 stages of moral development, as Kohlberg conducted
What is moral development? In a nutshell, it’s the progression of morality throughout one’s lifetime by means of different stages. There are six of these stages, developed by Lawrence Kohlberg, that help to explain our moral choices and cognitive skills relative to our approximate age. Furthermore, as Kohlberg suggests, everyone reaches stages one through four: Punishment and Obedience, Instrumental Purpose and Exchange, Interpersonal Expectations and Conformity, and Law and order, respectively. Stage1 is characterized by the threat of punishment and the promise of reward. Stage 2 actions are
Kohlberg, L. (1984). The psychology of moral development: the nature and validity of moral stages. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
Kohlberg views the person as able to actively interact with his or her environment. While the individual cannot fully change the environment, the environment can fully mold the individual. A person’s actions are the result of his or her feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and experiences, and thus Kohlberg’s theory stresses the importance of the element of nurture. The two theories are similar in that both believe that the stages of development are hierarchical in that later stages of development build on earlier ones. Furthermore, both theorists believed that the stages of development imply qualitative differences in children’s thinking and ways of solving problems (Bissell).
Shaw, W. H., & Barry, V. (2011). Moral Issues in Business (Eleventh ed., pp. 230-244).
In an attempt to expand normative theories, Kohlberg’s model of moral judgment proposes that individuals cognitively progress through...