Lawrence Kohlberg


“ THEORY OF MORAL
DEVELOPMENT”
PRESENTING BY:
PUNONGBAYAN, NICHOLAS
QUIZON, MARJORIE
VICENTE, LJ P.
YLAGAN, JOY
 VICENTE,
LJ
BACKGROUND

 Lawrence Kohlberg expanded on the earlier work of
cognitive theorist Jean Piaget to explain the moral
development of children.
 Kohlberg believed that moral development, like
cognitive development, follows a series of stages.
 The best known moral dilemma created by Kohlberg
is the Heinz dilemma, which discusses the idea of
obeying the law versus saving life.
 VICENTE,
LJ
HEINZ DILEMMA

 A woman was on her deathbed. 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 produce.
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 laboratory to steal the drug
for his wife. SHOULD HEINZ HAVE BROKEN INTO THE
LABORATORY TO STEAL THE DRUG FOR HIS WIFE? WHY OR WHY
NOT?
 VICENTE,
STAGES OF MORAL LJ

DEVELOPMENT
 STAGE 6: Universal-Ethical-
Principal Orientation
POST- CONVENTIONAL
STAGE 5: Social-Contract
Orientation
STAGE 4: Law-and-Order Orientation
CONVENTIONAL

STAGE 3: Good Boy, Nice Girl

Orientation
STAGE 2: Instrumental Orientation
PRE- CONVENTIONAL

STAGE 1: Obedience-and-Punishment
Orientation
 VICENTE,
Ψ PRE- LJ
CONVENTIONA Right and wrong
determine by rewards
/Punishments.
L 
 Obedience and Punishment  Individualism and Exchange

 Younger Children-rules  Rules are not

are absolute necessarily rigid and
 the focus is on the always right
direct consequences of  the focus is more
their actions. “what’s in it for me”? A
stage two mentality is
self-interest driven.
 QUIZON,
Ψ CONVENT MARJORIE
Views of matter.
Avoidance of blame and

IONAL seeking approval.

 Good Boy, Nice Girl

Orientation  Law-and-Order Orientation

 People/ young adults Emphasis of the social order

and the social system.
 Children want the Rules are seen as being the same
approval of others and for everyone, and obeying rules
act in ways to avoid by doing what one is
“supposed” to do is seen as
disapproval. Emphasis valuable and important.
is placed on good If one person violates a law,
behavior and people perhaps everyone would—thus
being “nice” to others. there is an obligation and a duty
to uphold laws and rules..
 Ψ POST- YLAGAN,
JOY
Abstract nation of
Justice. Right of others
CONVENTION can override obedience
to laws/rules.
AL 
• During the post-conventional level, a person’s sense of morality is defined
in terms of more abstract principles and values. People now believe
that some laws are unjust and should be changed or eliminated.
 Social-Contract Orientation
 Universal-Ethical-Principal Orientation
 People understand there  People have their own
can be multiple moral guidelines which
perspectives and multiple may not tie in with the
types of Society society
 Act accordingly and
defend principles.
 PUNONGBAYAN,
Critiques of Kohlberg’s NICHOLAS

Theory 
The dilemmas used are hypothetical
Kohlberg’s theory has been criticized for its
cultural and gendered bias toward white, upper-
class men and boys. It also fails to account for
inconsistencies within moral judgments.
 “Moral development involves
respect for other humans and that
relationships are based on the
mutual trust.”
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