Lawrence Kohlbergs Stages of Moral

Development
Prof. Michael M. Isidoro,
MA.Ed.

 Lawrence Kohlberg, a professor of psychology in

Harvard University is a prominent moral
development theorist, but his thinking grew out
of Jean Piagets writing on childrens intellectual
development.
His theory is descriptive, rather than, proven
facts.
Kohlberg presumes that there are six stages of
moral development that people go through in
much the same way as infants learned first to
role over, to sit, to crawl, to stand and finally to
walk.

 Kohlberg clearly emphasized the following

system of his theory:
1. Everyone goes through each stage in
the same order, but not everyone goes
through all the stages and
2. A person at one stage can understand
the reasoning of any stage below him but
cannot understand more than one stage
above.

A.Pre-conventional level
(pre-conventional because individuals do not yet speak as members of
society, instead they see morality as something external to themselves)
Stage

Description

Content

Social Perspective

Stage 1

The first stage is

characterized by a
view
that
right
action is to behave
according to social
acceptable
norms
imposed by some
authority
figure
(e.g.,
parent,
teacher) in order to
avoid punishment.

Right
is
a
literal
obedience to rules and
authority,
avoiding
punishment,
and
not
doing
physical
harm.
What is right is to avoid
breaking rules, to obey
for
obediences
sake
and to avoid physical
damage to people and
authority. Thus follow
and obey because of
the
consequence
of
punishment and due to
superior
power
of
authorities.

This
stage
takes
an
egocentric point of view,
a person at this stage
does not consider the
interests of others and
does
not
relate
two
points of view. Actions
were justified in terms of
physical
consequence
rather
in
terms
psychological interests of
others.
Authoritys
perspective is confused
with ones own.

Is characterized by
a view that right
behavior means
acting in ones own
best interests.

What is right is
following rules when it
is to someones
immediate interest.
Right is acting to meet
ones interests and
needs and letting others
do the same. Right is
also what is fair, that is,
what is an equal
exchange, a deal, am
agreement. The reason
for doing what is right is
to serve ones own
needs/interests in a
world where one must
recognize that other
people have their
interests as well.

This stage takes a

concrete individualistic
perspective. A person at
this stage separates his
own interests and points
of view from those of
authorities and others.
The person integrates or
relates conflicting
individual interests to
one another through
instrumental exchange of
service, need for others
and others goodwill.
Perhaps through fairness
giving each person the
same amount.

Punishment
and
Obedience

Stage 2
Individual
And instrumental
exchange

B.Conventional Level
(it speaks on isolated individuals rather than as members of the society. It sees
individual exchanging favors, but there is still no identification with the values of
the family/community)

Stage 3
Mutual

Characterized by an
attitude which one
seeks to do that will
gain the approval of
others.

It sees what is right is

living up according to
the expectations by
people that are close
to them, like the
family, community.
Being good and
having good behavior
means having good
motives and
interpersonal feelings
such as empathy,
love, trust, concern.

This stage takes the

perspective of the
individual in relationship
to other individuals.
Thus, a person in this
stage is aware of the
shared feelings,
agreement and
expectations that take
primacy over the
individual interests.

Is characterized by
abiding the law and
respecting authority
and performing
ones duty so that
social order is
maintained.

What is right is fulfilling

ones own duty to
which one had agreed.
The reasons for doing
what is right are to
keep the institutions
going as a whole.

This stage differentiates

societal point of view
from interpersonal
agreement or motives. A
person at this stage
takes the viewpoint of
the system, which
defines roles and rules,
individual relations in
terms of ones own place
in the system.

and
interpersonal
conformity

Stage 4
Law
And
Order

C.Post-conventional level
(moral decisions are generated from the rights, values or principles that are or that could
be agreeable to all individuals composing or creating a society designed to have fair and
beneficial practices)

Stage 5
Social contract
And
Individual rights

Stage 6
Universal ethical
principles

Is characterized by
thinking about a
society in a very
theoretical way,
stepping back from
their own
established society
and considering
the rights and
values of the
society ought to
uphold.

What
is
right
is
the
awareness of the fact that
people hold a variety of
values and opinion that
most values and rules are
relative to ones group.
The
reason
for
doing
what is right, is in general,
feeling obligated to obey
the law, because one has
made a social contract to
make and abide by laws
for the good of all and to
protect their own rights
and the rights of others.
Like, family, friend. One is
concerned that laws and
duties be based from a
rational calculation of the
overall
utility.
The
greatest
good
for
the
greatest number

This stage takes a priorto-society perspective. It

means that individuals
are aware of the values
and rights prior to social
attachment and contract.
The person integrates
perspective by formal
mechanism of
agreement, contract,
objective impartiality and
due process.

Is characterized by
an attitude of
respect for
universal principle
and the demands
of individual
conscience.

The right action on this

stage is guided by
universal ethical
principles, particularly
law, social agreement are
usually valid because it is
anchored to principles.
When law perhaps
violates the universal
principle one is often acts
in accordance with the
principle. The principle of
equality, justice, respect
and others. These are not
only values but regarded
as principle that is of used
in order to generate
decisions.

This stage takes the

perspective that a person
takes a stand in view of
moral principle from
which social agreement
are derived on which
they are grounded.

 Practical application
The following is a case and an example of the
rationale for health care professionals decision
and reply based from the different stages:
A nurse and the physician are caring for a terminally ill
man and that the man is in great pain who is asking
the doctor and the nurse for enough barbiturates to
commit suicide. What are the appropriate responses
that the health care provided will take based from the
moral development of Kohlberg?

 Stage 1: the health professional in stage

one might reply, I will not do it because I
could lose my license if anybody found out
I have done that.
Stage 2: the stage two, professionals
(physician/nurse) might expressed, I will
not do it because if I became known as a
doctor or perhaps a nurse who did that
kind of thing then other doctor or nurse
might not refer patients to me.

 Stage 3: in this stage, perhaps the

physician/nurse might reply, I will not
because it is against the law and the
professional should obey the law or
maybe, I will not because my colleagues
would no longer respect me if they knew I
have done that.
Stage 4: at this stage the reply could be, I
will not do it because if everyone will do it,
then, the physician/nurse would no longer
be trusted to save lives of people.

 Stage 5: the stage five, a health professional might say,

yes because no one benefits from keeping individual
alive longer than they want to live, or perhaps to say, no
even though the patient might suffer less, we need to be
faithful to our respect for life otherwise we might lose our
standards and abuse it.
Stage 6: at this stage the reply could be, no because I
personally believe that no one has a right to take his or
her own life and so I cannot be a part to such action or
maybe be to say it, the decision to exit life is such a
serious one that it needs to be honored if it is made
reasonably

Case Study: Analyze the given case according to Kohlbergs stages of

moral development and reply based from the different stages

In America a woman was near death from a special kind of

cancer. There was one drug that the doctor thought might save
her. It was in 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 womans husband went to everyone he knew and
borrow some money, but he could only provide half of the price.
So, he told the druggist that his wife is dying and asked him to
sell the drug in a lower price or let him pay later.
But the druggist said, no I discovered the drug and Im going to
make money out of it. So, the husband becomes desperate
and broke into mans store to steal the drug for his wife. Should
the husband have done that?