Theory of Moral

Development

Lawrence Kohlberg
Who is Lawrence Kohlberg?
● American Psychologist born October 25, 1927
● Completed B.A in Psychology at University of Chicago
● While pursuing his Doctoral degree, Kohlberg became
interested in Piaget’s work on the development of children,
decided to do his own further research.
The Set Up
Kohlberg’s sample for his research study was comprised of 72
Chicago boys aged 10-16, 58 of which were followed up at three
yearly interviews for 20 years.

Each boy was given a 2-hour interview in which they were given
stories involving moral dilemmas where choices had to be made.

One of the most famous stories presented during the interview

being the Heinz Dilemma.
Results
Kohlberg is less interested in the answers of the
interviewees and more interested in the reasoning
behind the answer. He found that these reasons
tended to change as the children became older.
Recognized 3 different levels of moral
reasoning/development.
Level 1 - Preconventional Morality (Ages 9 or below)
● Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment Orientation - The child/
individual wants to avoid punishment at all costs. If a person
is punished they must have done wrong. “ Stealing is bad”
● Stage 2: Individualism and Exchange - Individuals recognize
that the rules created by authorities are not the only right
point of view. Self interest. “Heinz needed the drug for his
wife” “The pharmacist needs to make money”
Level 2 - Conventional Morality (Early teens)
● Stage 3: Good Interpersonal Relationships - Answers relate to
the approval of others in order to be seen as good. Value of
family and community.
● Stage 4: Maintaining the Social Order - Become aware of
wider rules of society, are concerned with upholding the law
to avoid guilt. “If everyone stole what they wanted the world
would be chaos”. (sounds like stage 1 but is NOT)
Level 3 - Postconventional Morality ( Teens and beyond)
● Stage 5: Social Contract and Individual Rights - Aware of rules and
laws existing for the greater good but understand that there are
certain circumstances where laws will work against the interest of
particular individuals. “Life is more important than property”
● Stage 6: Universal Principles - Goes above and beyond the rest of
the stages. People at this stage have developed their own set of
moral guidelines which may or may not fit the law. After a few
years Kohlberg discarded this stage realizing it was not of very
much use to him.
What went wrong?
● Emphasis on moral thinking rather than moral action.
● The sample is biased.
● The dilemmas are hypothetical.
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riugWInqiaE