Kohlberg

• Level of moral reasoning


  Refers to the way a person thinks about what is right and wrong. The higher the level the more sophisticated reasoning becomes
• Moral development

  • Kohlberg applied moral reasoning to offending behaviour
  • Based his theory on people's responses to a series of moral dilemmas
  • Offenders tend to show a lower level of moral reasoning than non offenders
• What are the 3 levels in Kohlberg's Theory of Moral development

  1. Pre-conventional morality
  2. Conventional morality
  3. Post conventional morality
• Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

  1. Stage 1- Rules are obeyed to avoid punishment
  2. Stage 2- Rules are obeyed for personal gain
  3. Stage 3- Rules are obeyed for approval
  4. Stage 4- Rules are obeyed for social order
  5. Stage 5- Rules are seen as social agreements that can be changed when necessary
  6. Stage 6- Everyone has an individual set of ethical principles
• Link with criminality

  • Offenders are more likely to be classified in the pre-conventional stage whereas non-offenders progress higher
  • Pre-conventional is based on punishment and reward so is seen as less mature
  • Offenders are more egocentric and display poorer moral reasoning
• AO3 Moral reasoning: Research support

  • There is a link between level of moral reasoning and crime
  • Compared moral reasoning in 332 male and female non-offenders and 126 convicted offenders with a questionnaire with moral dilemma questions
  • The offenders group showed less mature moral reasoning
• AO3 Moral Reasoning: Gender Bias

  • Kohlberg's research sample only consisted of males
  • Kohlberg assumed his research would apply to women however when women were tested they were found to be less morally developed
  • Men are more likely to be offenders making Kohlberg's research ungeneralisable
• AO3 Moral Reasoning: Does not explain cause of behaviour

  • Kohlberg explains how offenders reason and think
  • It does not explain why they explain this reasoning in the first place
  • It may be due to upbringing or life experiences
  • May need to explore other explanations
• AO3 Moral Reasoning: Hypothetical

  • Kohlberg explores moral reasoning through moral dilemmas
  • Using hypothetical situations does not truly show what someone would do in the real actual situation
  • This lacks ecological validity and people may not answer truthfully to what they would actually do