THE STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT  Individual want the

Moral Development approval of others and

 Process through which a human person gains act in the ways to avoid
his/her beliefs, skills and dispositions that make disapproval
him/her morally mature person  Stage 4: Law and Order
What makes you come to school every day? Orientation
 Teachers tell me to do so (school policy)  Individual becomes
 I am afraid to drop and fail aware of the wider
 To show my parents and teachers that I am a rules of society, so
 good student judgement concern
 I promised my parents never to be absent obeying the rules to
 It is the right thing to do, school rules say so uphold the law and to
 I want to become a professional avoid guilt
William Kay  Level 3: Post Conventional Morality
 Pattern of intellectual growth passing through o This is the level of full internalization.
different stages of animal behavior, pre-logical Morality is completely internalized and
thinking that can be describe through stages- not based on external standard
controlled behavior  Stage 5: Social Contract
o Stages of controlled Behavior Orientation
1. Taboo  Individual becomes
2. Law aware that while
3. Conscience rules/laws might exist
4. Reciprocity for the good of the
5. Social Consensus greatest number
6. Personal Moral Principles  Stage 6: Universal, ethical,
o From six stages it reduced in three: principle orientation
1. The amoral stage  Individual at this stage
 egocentric, hedonist developed their own
2. The pre-amoral stage set of moral guidelines
 authoritarian, ego which may or may not
idealist fit the law
3. The moral stage
 altruistic, rational,
responsible
Lawrence Kohlberg
 The American Psychologist best known for his
Theory of Stages of Moral Development
o Three Levels of Moral Development
1. Pre-Conventional
2. Conventional
3. Post-Conventional
 Level 1: Pre-conventional Morality
o The lowest level of Moral
development
o Children don’t have a personal code of
morality
 Stage 1: Obedience
Punishment Orientation
 The child/individual
does good in order to
avoid punishment
 Stage 2: Instrumental
Orientation
 Right behavior is
defined whatever the
individual believes to
be in his/her best
interest.
 Level 2: Conventional Morality
o The child sense of morality is tied to
personal and societal relationship
 Stage 3: “Good boy, Nice Girl
Orientation