Kohlberg's

PREPARED BY: IGNACIO AND HELERA

 Kolhberg’s theory of moral
development states that we
progress through three levels of
moral thinking that build on our
cognitive development.
 Lawrence Kohlberg expanded on the
earlier work of cognitive theorist Jean
Piaget to explain the moral development
of children, which he believed follows a
series of stages.
3 LEVELS OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

• Pre-conventional
• Judgment based solely on a person’s own needs and perceptions
• Conventional
• Expectations of society and law are taken into account
• Post-Conventional
• Judgment based on abstract, personal principles not necessarily
defined by society’s laws.
LEVEL 1: PRE-CONVENTIONAL
Stage 1: PUNISHMENT/OBEDIENCE ORIENTATION

• Has no sense of right vs. wrong.

• Focuses on the child’s desire to
obey rules and avoid being
punished.
Stage 2: INSTRUMENTAL PURPOSE ORIENTATION

• "Golden Rule" is interpreted as

"Help someone who helps you,
hurt someone who hurts you."
Evaluates situations in terms of
consequences.
• Expresses the “what’s in it for
me?” position.
• Satisfying personal needs
determines moral choice.
LEVEL 2: CONVENTIONAL
Stage 3: GOOD BOY/NICE GIRL ORIENTATION

• Try to seek social approval. Applies

rules others set.
• Maintaining the affection and
approval of friends and relatives
motivates good behavior.
Stage 4: LAW AND ORDER ORIENTATION

• Worry about following the rules

that are established
by respected authority. Moral
thinking is very rigid.
•
LEVEL 3: POST-CONVENTIONAL
OR PRINCIPLED LEVEL
Stage 5: SOCIAL CONTRACT ORIENTATION

• Believe that laws should change as

the world changes.
• Ask themselves "is it good for
society as a whole?"
Stage 6: UNIVERSAL ETHICAL PRINCIPLE ORIENTATION

• See other points of view. Will

consider both sides of a situation.
• Behavior which conforms to
internal principles (justice and
equality) and may sometimes
violate society’s rules.
HEINZ DILEMMA
HEINZ DILEMMA
HEINZ DILEMMA
ARGUMENTS AGAINST
KOHLBERG’S THEORY
GILLIGAN

• Kohlberg has been criticized for his assertion that women seem to be deficient
in their moral reasoning abilities when compared to men.
• Carol Gilligan (1982), a research assistant of Kohlberg, criticized her former
mentor’s theory because it was based so narrowly on research using white,
upper-class men and boys.
• She argued that women are not deficient in their moral reasoning and instead
proposed that males and females reason differently: girls and women focus
more on staying connected and maintaining interpersonal relationships.
OTHER ARGUMENTS

• Critics argue that Kohlberg’s stages are culturally biased—that

the highest stages in particular reflect a westernized ideal of
justice based on individualistic thought. This is biased against
those that live in non-Western societies that place less emphasis
on individualism.
• Another criticism of Kohlberg’s theory is that people frequently
demonstrate significant inconsistency in their moral judgements.
 Kohlberg's

PREPARED BY: IGNACIO AND HELERA