Kohlberg

• Background: outline two prior theories of moral development (Freud, Skinner, Piaget)

  Kohlberg was interested in the development of morality. Skinner previously suggested that we develop morality through operant conditioning e.g. we learn right from wrong when we're punished for bad behaviour and rewarded for good behaviour. Whereas, Piaget previously suggested that children's thought on morality change overtime but they developed by age 10 or older. He believes that at this age youth begin to understand that morals represent social agreements between people and are intended to promote the common good, but also that the difference between right and wrong is not absolute but instead must consider changing variables e.g. context, intentions, motivation.
• Background: explain what Kohlberg wanted to do to enhance Piaget's work

  However, Kohlberg disagreed and wanted to enhance Piaget's work by suggesting moral development is a more gradual process that continues into early adulthood.
• Background: outline how this leads to the development of the 6-stage theory and the purpose of this study

  this lead to Kohlberg developing a 3 level 6 stage theory of moral development and conducting a longitudinal study to find evidence to support this theory
• Kohlberg's 3 levels of moral development

  pre-conventional

  conventional

  post-conventional
• Kohlberg's six stages of moral development

  P.I.G.L.S.U

  1. punishment + obedience orientation
  2. instrumental-relativist orientation
  3. good boy-good girl orientation
  4. law and order orientation
  5. social contract orientation
  6. universal principles orientation
• Kohlberg's 3 level 6 stage theory of development

  
• Aim (only in regard to longitudinal study)

  To investigate development in moral reasoning throughout adolescence and early adulthood.
• Secondary aim (only in regard to cross-sectional study)

  to assess the extent to which these changes hold true in a range of cultural contexts
• Research method

  • longitudinal study = follows moral development in same group of boys over a 12 year period by presenting them with hypothetical (made up so low EV as task isn't representative of real life) dilemmas that were all deliberately philosophical + aimed to show how, as young adolescents develop into young adulthood, they move through distinct levels + stages of moral development proposed by Kohlberg in his theory
  • Cross-sectional study = studied moral development in other cultures making this a cross-cultural study (high population validity = learn more about moral development + how it differs across cultures)
• What is a longitudinal study

  collects multiple sets of data from the same group

  tracks the development of behaviour overtime
• Strengths + weaknesses of a longitudinal study

  +high IV = lots of insight

  -risk of researcher bias if a rapport is built

  -meeting with Ps every 3 years means rapport is built = risk of SDB as Ps may lie to seem moral

  -high risk of P attrition
• Sample

  75 American boys

  aged 10-16 at start of study

  followed at 3 year intervals through to ages 22-28

  moral development was also studied in boys from Great Britain, Taiwan, Mexico + Turkey
• Exam Qs

  
• Procedures

  
• Example procedure Q

  
• Findings

  
• Exam Q

  
• Conclusions

  • there is an invariant developmental sequence in an individual's moral development
  • each stage of moral development occurs one at a time and always in the same order
  • there is a cultural universality of sequence of stages
  • the six-stage theory of moral development is not significantly affected by widely ranging social, cultural or religious conditions. the only thing that is affected is the rate at which individuals progress through the sequence

  always use these words: "stages" + "universal"
• Evaluation table

  
• Link to key theme Q pt1

  WHAT = Kohlberg wanted to track moral development throughout adolescence and early adulthood

  WHO = he studied 75 American boys over a 12 year period to track their moral development while also studying a sample of boys from a range of other cultures such as Mexico and Taiwan to compare results

  HOW = at 3 yearly intervals the American boys were presented with hypothetical moral dilemmas to determine their stage of moral reasoning, and boys from other cultures were presented with similar culturally appropriate dilemmas to determine their stage of moral reasoning
• Link to key theme pt2

  FINDING = he found that all boys progress through the 3 levels and 6 stages of moral development in a fixed order however the only difference was at the age of 16, stage 5 was more prevalent in the USA than Mexico or Taiwan

  LINK = this links to key theme of moral development as it shows an invariant developmental sequence of morals which is culturally universal, however, the only thing that is affected is the rate at which individuals progress through the sequence
• Link to approach Q

  
• Issues of validity in Kohlberg's study

  • low EV = Ps are provided with hypothetical dilemmas which aren't real e.g. one dilemma asks children 'should a doctor kill a fatally ill woman?' as this isn't real we dk how children would respond to this sitch in reality = limits generalisability of findings into moral reasoning to real life
  • high population validity = representative sample from different countries, he used 75 American boys but also boys from other cultures such as GB, Taiwan and Mexico = results regarding moral development in adolescence + early adulthood can be generalised to a number of cultures
  • low pop validity = androcentric sample (only considers men), only studies moral development in 75 American boys so dk about moral development in females who may progress through stages quicker = cannot generalise
• Exam Q

  
• What debates does Kohlberg link to

  • individual = behaviour develops as people progress through different stages of life
  • nurture = we learn or acquire morals in a fixed 3 stage, 6 level sequence of moral development
  • interactionist = our moral development occurs in stages which are fixed + invariant (nature) however the speed of progression through these stages may be affected by the culture we are from (nurture)