Kohlberg proposed that as children get older their decisions and judgements about right and wrong become more sophisticated . A person's level of moral reasoning (thinking) affects their behaviour.
Kohlberg et al. (1973) used a moral dilemma technique (e.g, Heinz dilemma) and found offenders tend to be at the pre-conventional level, whéreas non-offenders progress higher.
Pre-conventional level is characterised by:
A need to avoid punishment and gain rewards.
Less mature, childlike reasoning.
Offenders may commit crime if they can get away with it or gain rewards (e.g. money, respect).
Research shows that offenders are often self-centred (egocentric) and display poorer social perspective-taking skills (Chandler).
Individuals who reason at a higher level tend to empathise more and exhibit behaviours such as honesty, generosity and non-violence.
