Carol Gilligan’s Theory of Moral Development

Gilligan's theory of moral development was created in response to the theory of

moral development proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg, which she criticized for
ignoring women's perspectives.

Gilligan proposed that women come to prioritize an "ethics of care" as their

sense of morality evolves along with their sense of self while men prioritize an
"ethics of justice."

Gilligan's Argument Against Kohlberg's Theory

Kohlberg's theory of moral development consists of three levels each made up
of two stages. At the lowest, the Preconventional Level, the needs of the self are
prioritized. This evolves into the Conventional Level to an understanding of
how to be a moral member of society. Finally, at the highest level, the
Postconventional Level, the individual adopts a universal idea of justice. 1
Kohlberg observed that most people won't reach the highest stages of his scale
but would stop developing morally in the middle stages at the Conventional
Level, and that's exactly what research showed.

However, while both girls and boys tended to score at the Conventional Level
on Kohlberg's scale, girls scored predominantly at Stage 3, which is concerned
with being a good person in order to maintain the goodwill and approval of
others, while most boys scored at Stage 4, which is focused on adhering to the
norms and laws of society.

This made it seem like men reached higher levels of morality than women, but
Carol Gilligan noted that Kohlberg's theory was formulated exclusively through
research with young white males. As a result, she suggested that Kohlberg's
theory is biased toward men and boys and doesn't account for women's and
girls' perspectives on morality.

Men, she said, prioritize an "ethics of justice" where morality is centered on

abstract principles and rules that can be applied equally to everyone.
Meanwhile, women prioritize an "ethics of care," where morality is centered on
interpersonal relationships and moral judgment is based on the context of an
issue.3

Gilligan conducted several interview studies with girls and women, including
one with women who were deciding whether to have an abortion, in order to
flesh out her ideas about women's morality.

The goal of her work was to demonstrate that women don't necessarily stop
developing morally before men do, but that their moral development follows a
different trajectory than that outlined in Kohlberg's theory.

Stages in Gilligan's Theory of Moral Development

Gilligan's research in the abortion decision study led her to detail her own stage
theory of moral development, which she detailed in a 1977 article that she
expanded into her book In a Different Voice. Gilligan's theory used the same
basic three-level outline as Kohlberg's along with two transitions between the
levels. The levels and transitions are outlined below.

Preconventional Morality

At the Preconventional Level, moral judgment is entirely focused on the self

and the need to survive. When a conflict arises between the needs of the self and
the needs of others, a woman will choose to address her own needs.
Transition 1

During the first transition from the Preconventional to the Conventional Level,
the woman realizes that she has a responsibility to others. It is the first time that
she realizes her previous moral perspective could be characterized as selfish.

Conventional Morality

At the Conventional Level, moral judgment becomes concentrated on caring for

others. The woman starts to see herself as a participant in society whose claim
to being a good citizen relies on helping and protecting others. This concern for
others overrides her concern for herself, leading to a morality focused on self-
sacrifice.

Transition 2

During the second transition from the Conventional to the Postconventional

Level, the woman starts to experience tension between the needs of others and
the needs of the self. She begins to realize she must strike a better balance
between her needs and the needs of others.

This leads to a shift in moral judgment away from "goodness" to "truth" as she
starts to honestly assess her own desires, not just her responsibility to others.

Postconventional Morality

At the Postconventional Level, moral judgment is dictated by the principle of

nonviolence. The needs of the self are just as important as the needs of others,
which causes the woman to arrive at a universal ethic of care and concern.

Adhering to the obligation of care while avoiding harm or exploitation to herself

and others enables the woman to accept responsibility for her choices.4

Gilligan didn't identify specific ages when the levels of moral development
would be reached. However, as Kohlberg did with his theory, she noted some
women might not reach the highest level. She also observed that it wasn't life
experience that pushed a woman to higher levels, but cognitive ability and
changes in a woman's sense of self.

Critiques of Gilligan's Theory of Moral Development

While Gilligan's ideas were groundbreaking, some feminist psychologists have
also criticized them because they treat women's voices as a single homogenous
entity while ignoring the diversity of women based on age, class, race, and other
factors.

Moreover, some have expressed concern over the suggestion that women
emphasize care and connection more than men, arguing that this reinforces
traditional ideas about femininity while potentially continuing to push women
into caregiver roles.5

Gilligan's observations have also been critiqued as the result of societal

expectations of men and women, not innate gender differences, which means
that men's and women's moral development would follow different paths if
society's expectations were different.

Carol Gilligan's Theory Today

Despite these criticisms, Gilligan's theory of moral development continues to be
studied today. It is now widely acknowledged that there are two moral
orientations, one that emphasizes justice and one that emphasizes care, as
Gilligan proposed.

Both genders develop both orientations, however, studies have shown that men
tend to emphasize an ethics of justice and women an ethics of care. 6

Recent research has continued to back up this assertion. For example, one study
found that men and women handled ethical dilemmas in business differently, a
result that was attributed to Gilligan's theory.7 Similarly, research analyzing the
way men and women thought about morality found that men utilized a
detached, intellectual approach while women used a subjective, personal
approach.

Although both genders understood one another's moral perspective, men and
women were unable to comfortably adopt the other's approach, demonstrating a
gender divide consistent with Gilligan's ideas.8

This research demonstrates that the moral development of men and

women tends to follow different trajectories that emphasize different things.
Because women and girls often prioritize relationships and care over rules and
principles, their approaches to ethical dilemmas in their professional, academic,
and personal lives are likely to contrast with that of men and boys.