STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

by Lawrence Kohlberg
The American psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg grouped together children while they were
still small and did a study on moral development of these people in a span of about 20 years.
He was interested in the justification of REASONING behind the right behavior of the group
and was able to mark out six (6) stages of moral development.

According to Kohlberg, the STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT are classified into the
following stages:

STAGE 1

PRECONVENTIONAL
STAGE 2

STAGE 3

CONVENTIONAL
STAGE 4

STAGE 5

POSTCONVENTIONAL
STAGE 6

PRE-CONVENTIONAL
(Self-Focused)

STAGE 1: Punishment-Obedient Orientation

Obey or Pay
Authority – Fear

STAGE 2: Instrumental-Purposive Orientation

Or Pleasure Orientation
Self-Satisfaction
“What’s in it for me?”
PRE-CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
In this level, the child is concerned with the concrete consequences to individuals,
focusing on pursuing concrete interests, while avoiding sanctions.

STAGE 1: Punishment-Obedient Orientation

What is right is to obey the rules, avoid physical damage to persons and property. The
reason is that one wants to avoid PUNISHMENT. Also, there is the deference (respect) to
power and position (or authority). In relation to social perspective, what is considered is
simply one’s own interest as there is still no sense of another’s point of view.

STAGE 2: Instrumental-Purposive Orientation

In this stage, what is right is one’s own immediate interest, and letting other act also in
their own interest. Thus, each to his own. What is right is what is fair. You do your own
thing, I do my own thing; we have fair equal exchange.
The reason for this is instrumental, to satisfy one’s needs and admit the needs of
others in their own self-interest. While the other is after his/her own self-interest, I, too have
my own interest. Human relations are seen as a market place, a place of exchange, Fairness,
reciprocity, equal sharing are all interpreted in a physical, pragmatic way.

CONVENTIONAL
(Group-Focused)

STAGE 3: Interpersonal Concordance Orientation

Approval – Group Norms
Loyalty – Belonging

STAGE 4: Social Structure Orientation

Law and Order
Duty to society
CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
In this level, the moral agent is now concerned with fulfilling his/her role as expected
from him/her, in maintaining and supporting the social order, and identifying persons or
groups involved in this order.

STAGE 3: Interpersonal Concordance Orientation

It seems for the moral agent that in this particular stage, what is right is what pleases
or helps others, what is approved by others, what reinforces mutual relationships such as
trust, loyalty, respect, gratitude.
The reason for helping others, for pleasing others, for doing what is conventional or
what is mutually good for everyone is the need to be seen by the self and others as a loyal,
caring person (important here is my image to others), the desire to maintain rules and
authority that support your typical good behavior and living up to what significant others
expect.
In relation to the social perspective, one takes the third person perspective where one
knows how the group will react, is aware of shared feelings, agreements, group’s
expectations that take primacy over individual interest.

STAGE 4: Social Structure Orientation

Here in this stage, the moral agent thinks not only of what or how others see him/her,
he is more inclined to fulfill his duties. In this particular stage, what is right for the moral
agent is doing one’s duty; that is, showing respect for laws, authority and society and
contributing to the maintenance of society and institutions. One’s reason for doing one’s duty
and the like is that, action which breaks the social or moral agreements impairs the system
which is hazardous digress from, from social norms.
One reason for this is that conscience is imperative (required) to the moral law, to the
ethical system. Another reason is the maintenance of the system for its own sake. The social
perspective the perspective of a generalized other and not just the personal other. The
generalized other is the institution, the society or the church. One sees a given social issue
from the perspective of a fixed system of laws and beliefs.
 POST-CONVENTIONAL
(Universal-Focused)

STAGE 5: Social Contract Orientation

Standards of Society
Social Contract

STAGE 6: Universal Ethical Principle

Decision of conscience
Logical Moral Principle

POST-CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
In this level, there is the effort to define the moral values and principles that have
validity and application apart from the authority of groups or persons and the ability to see
beyond the laws and norms of society. It is here that one examines, adopts and applies the
different ethical frameworks or principles.

STAGE 5: Social Contract Orientation

This stage includes what is right; individual rights and standards which have been
critically examined, and agreed upon. One says “these rights have been examined, and since
they are right, they are the ones to be followed.”
Here, one is concerned that obligations be based on calculations of overall utility,
what is really good for all. To a certain extent, there is universality in this good but still
within basic human society, basic human agreements.
The social perspective here views the rights of each as best protected when stability
governs relations, when one recognizes that moral and legal perspectives sometimes differ
and thus one may question the legal, because it may not be moral.

 Moral principles defined apart from authority of persons; can challenge laws
based on rationality
  Good of the many – consensus rather than majority rules

 “Awareness of relativism of personal values thus deference to procedural

rules for reaching consensus.”

 Laws can be changed, social utility more important

 Personal freedom and common good distinguished

 Individual rights can be subsumed to common good

STAGE 6: Universal Ethical Principles

Accordingly, Kohlberg was not able to observe this stage in his group, and thus he
projected (anticipated) it. In this stage, what is right is following self-chosen ethical
principles based on judgments that are universalizable, irreversible, and consistent. What is
right are the universal principles of justice, and thus the reasons given are the validity of
universal, moral principles and the sense of personal commitment to these principles.
The social perspective taken is the moral point of view from which even the social
arrangement are derived; from this universalizable moral point of view, moral judgments are
made.

 Self-chosen principles

 Principles measured in terms of logical rationality, consistency and

universality

 Concerned with dignity of others

 Thought of as an ideal, aspirational stage

 Decisions based on conscience

 Conscience a “direct line” to righteousness, or God, not requiring
thought?

 “in the image and likeness of God”

 But it is also a judgment of reason