Core Studies: Kohlberg

• What behaviour does Kohlberg study?


  The stages of moral development
• What’s the background of Kohlberg’s study part 1?


  1 K inspired by Piaget’s theory of moral development, based on idea that children construct their sense of morality from their social and emotional experiences

  2 Piaget believed that from age 10, kids’ morality was focussed on authority and the outcome for themselves rather than the intention, so he believed moral development was complete by adolescence
• What is the background of Kohlberg’s study part 2?


  3 Kohlberg disagreed with Piaget as he believed moral development continues into adulthood

  4 K therefore aimed to create his own theory of moral development inc 3 level 6 stage model
• What are the names of the three levels and six stages of K’s six stage sequence?


  Lvl 1: Pre-conventional

  Stage 1: Punishment and Obedience orientation

  Stage 2: Instrumentalist-Relativist orientation

  Lvl 2: Conventional

  Stage 3: Good boy-Good girl orientation

  Stage 4: Law and order orientation

  Lvl 3: Post-conventional

  Stage 5: Social Contract orientation

  Stage 6: Universal Principles orientation
• Describe the pre-conventional level 


  ages 4-10, focused on self-interest
• Describe the conventional level


  ages 10-18, societal approval and rules
• Describe the post conventional level


  ages 18+, democratically agreed rules and personal conscience
• Describe stage 1


  Whatever leads to punishment is wrong, if behaviour avoids punishment it is good
• Describe stage 2


  The right way to behave is the way that’s rewarded
• Describe stage 3


  The right way to behave is the way that is seen as good by other people
• Describe stage 4


  follow wider rules of follow wider rules of society follow wider rules of follow wider rules of society and avoid guilt
• Describe stage 5


  not always a clear cut way to behave, will break rules when they don’t benefit a certain individual
• Describe stage 6


  have their own set of moral guidelines which may or may not fit with the law, are prepared to defend these principles even if it means going against the rest of society or face consequences like disapproval
• What were Kohlberg’s aims?


  1 investigate developments in moral reasoning throughout childhood and adolescence

  2 assess extent to which these changes hold true in a range of cultural contexts
• What was his research method?

  Longitudinal study and cross cultural study
• What are the features of a longitudinal study?


  tracks development in behaviour over time

  with the same person/group of people

  collects multiple sets of data
• What was his sample?


  75 American boys aged 10-16 and boys from GB, Canada, Taiwan, Mexico, Turkey (various ages at one time, no follow up for them)
• What was Kohlberg’s procedure?

  Starting at age 10-16, 75 American boys asked about hypothetical philosophical moral dilemmas e.g. theft of food, value of human life. They were asked in 3yr intervals what moral application they thought was appropriate in that situation. Young boys of various age from other cultures were told at one point in time about the same dilemmas (no follow up for other cultures). Kohlberg assessed the answers and put each boy into a stage of his sequence based of the nature of their moral judgement.
• What was Kohlberg’s findings?


  M/c urban boys aged 10 in USA/Taiwan/Mexico showed that the order of each stage to be the same as the order of difficulty/maturity, and the m/c were more advanced than the w/c. At age 16, being in stage 5 was more prevalent in the USA than in Mexico or Taiwan (individualism).
• What were Kohlberg’s conclusions?


  There is an invariant cultural universality in the sequence of individual‘s moral development. Each stage of m.d occurs at one time and always in the same order. K’s six stage theory is not significantly affected by a wide range of social, cultural or religious conditions; the only difference affected is the rate of progress.