Theories of Moral Development: Piaget & Kohlberg

Jedidiah and Andy

Piagets Stages of Moral Development

Piaget hypothesized two stages of moral development

Heteronomous morality Autonomous reality

Heteronomous Morality (Younger Children)

Based on relations of constraints Rules are seen as inflexible requirements (moral realism) Badness is judged in terms of the consequences of actions Punishment is seen as the automatic consequence of the violation of rules

Autonomous Morality (Older Children)

Based on relations of cooperation among equals Rules are viewed as products of mutual agreement (rational moral attitudes) Badness is determined the persons intentions Punishment should be affected by human intention

Kohlbergs Stages of Moral Reasoning

He identified three levels that are made up of six stages; The levels are

Preconventional Conventional Postconventional

Kohlberg was not interested so much in the answer to the question of whether Heinz was wrong or right, but in the reasoning for each participant's decision.

Heinz Steals the Drug

In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug.
The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $ 1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it." So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man's store to steal the drug-for his wife. Should the husband have done that?" (Kohlberg, 1963).

Stage 0
At this stage, the individual: Avoids pain and seeks pleasure Has no sense of obligation to anyone else Is self-absorbed (unaware or anyones needs other than those that are self-serving) Does what he/she wants to do Is amoral Is totally egocentric in assuming that the world revolves around his/her needs and desires Has thus no sense of cause-effect Is typically between the ages of 0-7

Preconventional Level Stage 1

At this stage, the individual: Obeys rules in order to avoid punishment Determines a sense of right and wrong by what is punished and what is not punished Obeys superior authority and allows that authority to make the rules, especially if that authority has the power to inflict pain Is responsive to rules that will affect his/her physical well-being Is usually over the age of 7

Stage 2
At this stage, the individual: Is motivated by vengeance or an eye for an eye philosophy Is self-absorbed while assuming that he/she is generous Believes in equal sharing in that everyone gets the same, regardless of need Believes that the end justifies the means Will do a favor only to get a favor Expects to be rewarded for every non-selfish deed he/she does Is usually over the age of 10

Stage 3
At this stage, the individual: Finds peer approval very important Makes moral decisions on the basis of what will please a limited group and make the person feel included Thus models behavior on that of the majority which is the behavior of the in crowd or peer group Feels that intensions are as important as deeds and expects others to accept intentions or promises in place of deeds Begins to put himself/herself in anothers shoes and think from another perspective May continue to be in this stage until him/her has reached the 20s in age

Stage 4
At this stage, the individual: Continues past actions and behaviors in tradition since the maintenance of law and order is supremely important Is a duty doer who believes in rigid rules that should not be changed Respects authority and obeys it without question Supports the rights of the majority or majority rule without concern for those in the minority Is part of about 80% of the population that does not progress past stage 4

Stage 5
At this stage, the individual: Is motivated by the belief in the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people Believes in contracts in which both parties compromise and yet both receive benefits Believes in consensus (everyone agrees), rather than in majority rule Respects the rights of the minority especially the rights of the individual Believes that change in the law is possible but only through the system Has reached the same stage as the official morality of the nation

Stage 6
At this stage, the individual: Loses the ability to compromise high principles and thus may forfeit his/her life in order to uphold them Believes that there are high moral principles than those represented by social rules and customs Obeys these self-chosen high moral principles Is willing to accept the consequences for disobedience of the social rule he/she has rejected Uses only passive resistance and has no use for violence in any form Believes in granting justice and dignity to all human beings as inalienable human rights Respects justice for its moral nature and its legal nature Believes that the dignity of humanity is sacred and that all humans have value

Stage 7
At this stage, the individual: Is a seeker of justice in an unjust world Has a cosmic perspective of life Neglects any consideration for self Focuses not on the individual but on the whole, a view of self as part of the infinite whole and not as an individual part that is significant Thus is plagued with despair and sees a world of woe that he/she is inadequate to repair Possesses an altruism that is difficult for the world to comprehend and consequently his/her forgiveness and compassion often runs afoul of the worlds sense of justice I.e. moral level

Criticisms

Kohlbergs population for his research was primarily male. Some research on girls moral reasoning finds patterns that are somewhat different from those proposed by Kohlberg. Whereas boys moral reasoning revolves primarily around issues of justice, girls are more concerned about issues of caring and responsibility for others. (Slavin, 2003, pp. 58-59)

Criticisms (continued)

Young children often reason about moral situations in more sophisticated ways than the stage theories of Piaget and Kohlberg would suggest. Children as young as 3 or 4 years old use intentions to judge the behavior of others (Slavin, 2003).

Criticisms (continued)

Moral reasoning does not directly translate into behavior. Behavior may be affected by many other factors other than reasoning, e.g., Go along to get along

RECAP!

Preconventional Level

Stage 1: Punishment and obedience orientation. Physical consequences of action determine its goodness or badness. Must obey rules otherwise they get punished. (over age of 7) Stage 2: Instrumental dependent orientation. Expects to be rewarded for every non-selfish deed he/she does. Believes end justifies the means. Is motivated by eye for eye philosophy. (usually over age of 10)

Conventional Level

Stage 3: Good boy good girl orientation good behavior is what pleases or helps others and is approved by them (peer group). Finds peer approval important. (may continue till in the 20s) Stage 4: Law and order orientation right is doing ones duty, showing respect for authority, and maintaining social order for its own sake (80% of population doesnt go past this stage)

Postconventional Level

Stage 5: Social contract orientation what is right is a function of individual rights and agreed upon standards. Believes that change in the law is possible but only through the system Stage 6: Universal ethical principle orientation what is right is determined decision of conscience according to self-chosen ethical principles (these principles are abstract and ethical not specific moral prescriptions). Is a seeker of justice in an unjust world. Uses only passive resistance and has no use for violence in any form

Reference

Slavin, R. E. (2003). Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, 7e. Boston, MA. Allyn and Bacon. http://psychology.about.com/od/development alpsychology/a/kohlberg.htm