Kohlberg's Moral Development

                Moral development as defined by Lawerence Kohlberg is the development of one being able to go from viewing things as only being about themselves to understanding the impact on others and consider those results when making choices on moving forward with an action. Kohlberg described 3 levels of moral development all broken down into 2 smaller stages.

1)      Pre-conventional level – begins around 4yrs. Concerned with generating penalties or positive incentives

a.       Egocentric – focuses on possibility of punishment by authority. ‘I’ll do the right thing b/c I won’t receive a punishment’

b.      Concrete Individualistic Stage – possibility of reward or punishment helps child decide if action is correct or not. “I’ll do the right thing b/c I earn a reward”

2)      Conventional Moral Development – begins around age 10. Children begin to attempt to fit in with the rules of society

a.       Mutual Interpersonal Expectations – learn empathy. Reasons for actions is important to them whether the actions are their own or others. “I’ll do the right thing b/c I want to please them”

b.      Societal Point of View – children see the need to follow rules. “I’ll do the right thing b/c I want approval.” (approval even with the highest level of authority”

3)      Post-Conventional Moral Development – begins during adolescence

a.       Social contract and individual rights – person can accept the idea that moral values do not have to be applied to others. Can reason that what is best for the majority is important. ‘I’ll do the right thing b/c it is social acceptable and good for the general public”

b.      Someone is able to make own decisions based on conscience and intellect instead of just at the laws laid down by society. “I’ll do the right thing b/c I know it’s the right thing to do.”

Zastrow, C.H. & Kirst-Ashman, K.K. (2004). Understanding Human Behavior. Thomson Learning, Inc., Belmont, CA. p. 260-262