What are Kohlberg's Moral Development stages?

Kohlberg's moral development stages theory is one of the best-known theories that focus on a stepwise process of development of morality and moral reasoning in children. According to this theory, children’s moral development occurs in six stages, and moral logic is primarily focused on obtaining and upholding justice.

Kohlberg's moral development stages are a six-stage theory of how children learn and develop a sense of morality. According to this theory, which was first proposed in the early 1960s by developmental psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg, children pass through six distinct stages as they mature. Each stage involves considering different considerations when deciding what is right and wrong. 

Moral dilemmas can help determine which level of moral development a person is experiencing. By presenting people with moral decision-making tasks, psychologists can assess where individuals fall in the six stages of Kohlberg's moral developmental stages.

Examples of moral dilemmas include questions such as, “Would you go against your parents if they told you to do something wrong?” or “What would you do if you found a wallet full of cash and had an urge to keep it for yourself?”

According to Kohlberg's theory, moral action consists of 3 stages. The first stage is pre-conventional morality, in which a person uses their own interests and desires as the basis for moral decisions.

The second stage is conventional morality, in which a person follows societal standards and expectations when making moral decisions. Lastly, there is post-conventional morality which involves considering the rights and needs of others when making choices.

With these 3 stages of morality, Kohlberg believed people followed an inherent hierarchy of moral actions. People first acted on the basis of their own interests and desires, then out of societal expectations for acceptable behavior, and finally, with an understanding of individual rights which guides their moral choices. This concept is often referred to as "the morality of actions" and shows how Kohlberg's theory can be applied in different situations.

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Who was Lawrence Kohlberg?

Lawrence Kohlberg was an American psychologist and professor at Harvard University. He is best known for his work on the stages of moral development. Kohlberg proposed a six-stage theory of how moral behavior is developed in children. His theory was based on responses to moral dilemmas and has been used extensively in psychology and education for over 50 years.

To strengthen and support his theory, Kohlberg conducted empirical studies on diverse populations across cultures using surveys, interviews and moral dilemmas. From these studies, he found that most people moved through the stages in a linear fashion from early childhood to adulthood.

His findings and research have become important contributions to the field of psychology as well as being used in educational models around the world.

How is morality developed?

Moral development indicates differentiating and engaging in reasoning between what is morally right and wrong.

This question has gained the attention of philosophers, religious leaders, and parents for a long time. However, the American psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg proposed one of the famous theories of ethical principles to explain this topic. He expanded upon and modified Jean Piaget’s cognitive theory work but was more interested in answering how children build moral reasoning and morality.

Jean Piaget's cognitive theory was modified by Lawrence Kohlberg, who proposed that development of ethical principles and morality is an ongoing process of distinct stages that take place throughout one’s lifetime. Kohlberg's theory revolves around 6 stages of moral development at three different levels.

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How did Kohlberg Develop his Theory of Moral Development?

Lawrence Kohlberg's theory was based upon a sequence of moral dilemmas presented to his study subjects. For his theory of morality, Kohlberg interviewed study participants to find out the reasoning for their moral judgment in different scenarios.

For example, in one scenario, doctors prescribed medicine to a woman who had cancer. This drug cost $200 per dose to the pharmacist; however, he was selling this medicine at his pharmacy for $2,000 per dose. Heinz, the woman’s husband, only managed to raise $1,000 to purchase the medicine. Heinz requested the pharmacist reduce the medicine's price or take its payment in instalments.

The pharmacist did not agree to take the payment in parts or sell the medicine for any less. Disheartened husband stole the drug from the pharmacy to save his wife.

Kohlberg’s question was, "Did he do right?" Kohlberg had no interest in the answer to whether the husband did right or wrong but his primary interest was the reasoning behind the decision of each participant. Kohlberg then categorized each participant’s reasoning into the developmental stages of Kohlberg’s moral development theory.

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What are the Six Stages of Moral Development by Kohlberg?

Kohlberg's theory of moral development is divided into 3 primary levels. There are two stages of each level of moral development. Like Piaget, Kohlberg thought that not everyone achieves the top most developmental stages of moral development.

To address the potential limitation of Kohlberg's Theory, a Cognitive-developmental approach was taken. This explains moral judgement through the biological, psychological, and environmental development of individuals as they age and develop an understanding of social norms and values.

This approach also considers gender differences in moral judgments by accounting for the varied experiences women have that can help shape their judgements.

Level 1 – Preconventional Level of Morality

According to Lawrence Kohlberg's theory, it is the only time of preconventional morality development that continues up to the age of 9. At this age, the moral decisions of children primarily depend on the expectations of adults and the outcomes of disobeying the rules. The Pre-conventional level of Morality is divided into two stages:

Stage 1 - Obedience and Punishment

The foremost moral development stages, obedience and punishment are more frequently found in small kids, but adults may also express this sort of reasoning. Kohlberg believes that at this stage individuals consider rules as absolute and fixed. They think it is important to obey the rules because it will protect them from punishment.

Stage 2 - Individualism & Exchange

At this stage of moral development, Kohlberg seeks children's individual viewpoints and moral judgement how they see individual needs. For Heinz, children felt that the most appropriate thing was to fulfill Heinz’s needs. In morality, reciprocity is possible, but only to fulfill one's personal needs.

Level 2 - Conventional Morality

This level of morality development is characterized by accepting social rules about what is moral and good. This stage also takes into account conforming to the norms and accepting authority of groups. Below are the two moral stages of Conventional Morality level:

Stage 3 - Interpersonal relationships

Lawrence Kohlberg's Interpersonal relationships stage pays attention to performing designated roles and living up to the expectations of society. This stage is also known as "good boy-good girl" orientation. It highlights the need to be "nice," show conformity, and consider how choices impact relations.

Stage 4 - Supporting Social Order

Lawrence Kohlberg's stage 4 ensures that the social order must remain maintained. At this phase of moral development, individuals start to see society as a whole while making moral judgments about others. The main preference is given to the conformity of law and order by respecting the rules, performing duties, and obeying authority.

Level 3 – Postconventional Level of Morality

At this level, people develop knowledge of abstract principles of moral development. Below are the two stages of Post-conventional Morality level:

Stage 5 – Individual Human Rights and Social Contract

The ideas of individual human rights and social contract cause individuals in the next stage to start to account for the varying opinions, values and beliefs of others. Rules of law play a major role in maintaining a society; it is important that the members of the society must approve these standards.

Stage 6 - Universal Principles

Kohlberg’s last stage of morality depends on abstract reasoning and universal principles of ethics. At this level, individuals obey internalized guidelines of justice, even if they go against moral aspects of laws and rules.

According to Kohlberg, there could be a seventh stage referred to as Morality of Cosmic Orientation or Transcendental Morality. The seventh stage would connect moral reasoning with the religion.

Kohlberg thought that stages 1 – 4 of moral development is found as universal in people all through the world, only a limited number of individuals reach the post-conventional level and the fifth to sixth stage is very rare in all populations.

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In what ways can we apply Kohlberg's Theory?

It is important for educators and parents to understand Kohlbergian's theory of moral development as it may help them guide children as they advance their moral character. Those working with small children might help children with rule obedience, and those having older children might teach them about social rules and expectations.

Teachers may also use Kohlberg's theory of morality in the classroom, offering supplementary moral guidance. A preschool teacher may help children improve moral development by setting rules for the classroom, and the outcomes for not showing adherence to rules in the class. This will help children at level one of moral development.

A high school teacher is primarily focused on the development that takes place at stage 3 and stage 4 and is achieved by supporting the student's participation in creating the classroom rules. This can be achieved by supporting the students participate in creating the rules to be followed within the classroom, offering students with a better idea of the moral reasoning backed by moral rules.

What are the main criticisms of Kohlberg's Theory?

Kohlberg's theory is criticized for a bias toward men, for having a conservative global view based upon upper-middle-class value systems.

Although Kohlberg’s theory is highly influential, some aspects of this theory have been criticized for some reasons.

Moral reasoning is different from moral behavior

Kohlberg's theory of moral development is related to moral thinking however knowing what people should do is different from people’s actual actions. Therefore, moral reasoning does not lead to moral behavior.

Overemphasizing principles of justice

According to critics, Kohlberg’s theory is a Six-Stage Model and justice centered theory that overemphasizes the idea of justice while making a moral choice and factors like caring, compassion and other interpersonal feelings may have a major role in moral reasoning.

Cultural bias

Cross-cultural research shows that Eastern, collectivist cultures may hold a distinct moral outlook which Kohlberg's theory fails to address.

Age and Gender bias

In his theory of stages of morality experiments, most of the subjects were males and below the age of 16 with no personal experience of being married. Heinz dilemma could be too complex for them to understand, Kohlberg felt that women are more likely to stay at the 3rd level of moral development. It is due to the fact they women demonstrate a stronger emphasis on social relationships and well-being of others.

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