Chapter 8 Ethics

A SUMMARY OF LAWRENCE KOHLBERG'S

STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

Lawrence Kohlberg was, for many years, a professor at Harvard University. He became famous for his work
there beginning in the early 1970s. 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.

His theory of moral development was dependent on the thinking of the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget and the
American philosopher John Dewey. He was also inspired by James Mark Baldwin. These men had emphasized
that human beings develop philosophically and psychologically in a progressive fashion.

Kohlberg believed...and was able to demonstrate through studies...that people progressed in their moral
reasoning (i.e., in their bases for ethical behavior) through a series of stages. He believed that there were six
identifiable stages which could be more generally classified into three levels.

Kohlberg's classification can be outlined in the following manner:

LEVEL STAGE SOCIAL ORIENTATION

Pre-conventional 1 Obedience and Punishment

2 Individualism, Instrumentalism,
and Exchange

Conventional 3 "Good boy/girl"

4 Law and Order

Post-conventional 5 Social Contract

6 Principled Conscience

The first level of moral thinking is that generally found at the elementary school level. In the first stage of this
level, people behave according to socially acceptable norms because they are told to do so by some authority
figure (e.g., parent or teacher). This obedience is compelled by the threat or application of punishment. The
second stage of this level is characterized by a view that right behavior means acting in one's own best interests.

The second level of moral thinking is that generally found in society, hence the name "conventional." The first
stage of this level (stage 3) is characterized by an attitude which seeks to do what will gain the approval of
others. The second stage is one oriented to abiding by the law and responding to the obligations of duty.

The third level of moral thinking is one that Kohlberg felt is not reached by the majority of adults. Its first stage
(stage 5) is an understanding of social mutuality and a genuine interest in the welfare of others. The last stage
(stage 6) is based on respect for universal principle and the demands of individual conscience. While Kohlberg
always believed in the existence of Stage 6 and had some nominees for it, he could never get enough subjects
to define it, much less observe their longitudinal movement to it.

Kohlberg believed that individuals could only progress through these stages one stage at a time. That is, they
could not "jump" stages. They could not, for example, move from an orientation of selfishness to the law and
order stage without passing through the good boy/girl stage. They could only come to a comprehension of a
moral rationale one stage above their own. Thus, according to Kohlberg, it was important to present them with
moral dilemmas for discussion which would help them to see the reasonableness of a "higher stage" morality
and encourage their development in that direction. The last comment refers to Kohlberg's moral discussion
approach. He saw this as one of the ways in which moral development can be promoted through formal
education. Note that Kohlberg believed, as did Piaget, that most moral development occurs through social
interaction. The discussion approach is based on the insight that individuals develop as a result of cognitive
conflicts at their current stage.

I am grateful to Professor F. Clark Power of the University of Notre Dame (a former student of Kohlberg's) and
to Professor Steve Chilton of the University of Minnesota for suggestions concerning this summary.

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History of the Theory

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
Levels and Stages of Moral Development
Level 1: Preconventional Morality

The first level of morality, preconventional morality, can be further divided into two stages: obedience and
punishment, and individualism and exchange.

Stage 1: Punishment- Obedience Orientation

Related to Skinner’s Operational Conditioning, this stage includes the use of punishment so that the person
refrains from doing the action and continues to obey the rules. For example, we follow the law because we do
not want to go to jail.

Stage 2: Instrumental Relativist Orientation

In this stage, the person is said to judge the morality of an action based on how it satisfies the individual needs
of the doer. For instance, a person steals money from another person because he needs that money to buy food
for his hungry children. In Kohlberg’s theory, the children tend to say that this action is morally right because of
the serious need of the doer.

Level 2: Conventional Morality

The second level of morality involves the stages 3 and 4 of moral development. Conventional morality includes
the society and societal roles in judging the morality of an action.

Stage 3: Good Boy-Nice Girl Orientation

In this stage, a person judges an action based on the societal roles and social expectations before him. This is
also known as the “interpersonal relationships" phase. For example, a child gives away her lunch to a street
peasant because she thinks doing so means being nice.

Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation

This stage includes respecting the authorities and following the rules, as well as doing a person’s duty. The
society is the main consideration of a person at this stage. For instance, a policeman refuses the money offered
to him under the table and arrests the offender because he believes this is his duty as an officer of peace and
order.
Level 3: Postconventional Morality

The post-conventional morality includes stage 5 and stage 6. This is mainly concerned with the universal
principles that relation to the action done.

Stage 5 : Social Contract Orientation

In this stage, the person is look at various opinions and values of different people before coming up with the
decision on the morality of the action.

Stage 6 : Universal Ethical Principles Orientation

The final stage of moral reasoning, this orientation is when a person considers universally accepted ethical
principles. The judgment may become innate and may even violate the laws and rules as the person becomes
attached to his own principles of justice.