Leanna Catherine M.

Palis

10-Guijo

“A Reflection on the Theory of Moral Development”

Lawrence Kohlberg proposed a three-level theory on how our moral reasoning develops

called the Theory of Moral Development. It has three levels which is divided into two stages. I

experienced all of these levels except the last level, Postconventional Level, which talks of moral

reasoning as a personal moral standard.

The Preconventional level is characterized by moral reasoning based on punishments and

rewards. I was in the first stage in this level called the “Punishment and Obedience” during my

early childhood. I remember that I used to hate studying as a kid. But I did study, because my

mom gave me rewards every time I perfected an exam or a quiz. Because of this, I developed

my study habits. This was also where I was trained by my parents by the use of punishments

such as being hit with a belt. I learned basic morals (i.e. no lying & no horseplay) during this

stage because I was afraid of my parents’ reactions to my actions.

I was in the second stage in the Preconventional stage called “Mutual Benefit” during my

late childhood days. This was the time where I was starting to become conscious of the feelings

of other people around me. So this was where I developed the concept of a “fair exchange”

wherein I have to get something in exchange for something else. For example, I’ll let my

classmates copy my assignments if they give me some materials that I forgot to bring for the

project. I didn’t really think that what we did was wrong because we had a fair exchange, which

according to my moral reasoning during that time, is right.

The second level of the moral development is called the Conventional Level. It is

characterized by moral reasoning as guided by our conformity to the rules and standards that the

society has set. The third stage under this level is called the “Interpersonal Expectations.” This
stage describes how an individual conforms to social expectations. I experienced this stage

during my early high school days specifically my seventh grade because I was still trying to fit

in. I wanted to be labelled as the “good kid”. I conformed to rules back then in an effort to blend

in and get the approval of my classmates, teachers, and parents.

The current stage that I am in now is the fourth stage under the Conventional Stage which

is called “Law and Order”. This stage describes how people maintain social order and obey laws

simply because they are laws. Respecting authorities just because they are authorities is also one

aspect of this stage. I think this is the stage that I am in because of my current state as a Cadet

Officer. I was trained to respect my authorities and to obey the rules without asking any

questions. I learned in my training the importance of doing my duty to maintain social order

amongst my batchmates. Additionally, I am more aware of how my actions will affect other

people. This means that I have more consideration and I understand why the rules are set and

what will happen if I don’t obey them.

I believe that I might also be starting to be on the Postconventional Level, specifically on

the fifth stage,”Legal Principles”. I am starting to have the principles of fairness, justice,

equality, and democracy engraved into my brain because of all the literary texts that I have read

that describe the importance of these concepts. I understand these concepts and that these should

be part of a person’s rights. But because I am still young, I can’t really do anything to help

protect these rights. The only thing that I can do right now is to do my best in studying so that

one day, I might effectively help protect these rights. I still have a long way, though, before I

reach the sixth stage called the “Universal Moral Principles.” I admit that I’m still too self-

absorbed to consider getting into trouble with the authorities for other people. Anyway, I still

have a relatively large amount of time to reach that stage. I do believe that one day I will

accomplish all the stages through constant encounters with various dilemmas. Those dilemmas
or problems might bring me a few sleepless nights and stress in the short-run. However, I know

that what I learn from dealing with those kinds of situations will help me, in the long-run.

I did say that I am in the fourth stage but that doesn’t mean that all my moral decisions

are based on only the fourth stage. I think that all those moral reasonings that I learned are still

with me and I use them in combination when I’m making a decision. For instance, I might not

cheat because it is not fair to other people, it is against the rules, and I might get punished if I get

caught. These reasonings are a combination of the first, second, and fourth stage of the Moral

Development Theory. I use all the moral reasonings that I have learned together in order to come

up with a decision that will ultimately be right for me and might also benefit me.