Title: Moral Development: A historical perspective
1Moral Development A historical perspective
- Lawrence Kohlbergs Theory
2The good, the bad
- Good
- Focused on morality as an important area of human
development - Developed a system (moral dilemmas) for measuring
reasoning
- Bad
- Has definite race, class and gender bias. We had
a hard time accepting that middle-class Caucasian
males were the most ethical folks on earth - Moral reasoning does not predict moral behavior
well
3Okay, now that we got that out of our system!
4Why study Kohlbergs theory?
- It provides a useful way to analyze our own moral
reasoning. How do we decide what is right? - It is true that knowing what is right and doing
what is right are two very different things, but
we believe that if thinking ethically comes first
then acting ethically may follow.
5Harvard psychologist, Lawrence Kohlberg, was one
of the first people to seriously study whether or
not an older person has the capabilities to learn
ethical behavior later on in life. He found the
ability to think morally develops in levels and
stages.
6Kohlbergs Levels
- Pre-conventional Level
- Conventional Level
- Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or Principled
Level
7Each level has two stages
8 Pre-conventional Level
- The first level develops at a very young age.
Kohlberg called this stage the pre-conventional
level. At this level a persons view of right
and wrong is usually influenced by their family,
mainly their parents and older siblings, and the
consequences attached to their behavior. If one
of these authority figures is morally and
ethically corrupt, there is a good chance the
child will be to. Right or wrong is identified
in terms of what results in rewards and
punishments. Some people stay at this level all
their lives. - The individuals who stay at this level often
refuse to believe his/her family member did
something wrong, even when the evidence is
overwhelming. Parents will defend children,
individuals will defend siblings, wife's/
husbands will defend their spouse and children
will defend their parents unethical behavior. We
can think of many examples of this on the
reservation.
9 Pre-conventional Level
- Stage 0 Egocentric Judgment
- The child makes judgments of good on the basis
of what he likes and wants or what helps him, and
bad on the basis of what he does not like or what
hurts him. He has no concept of rules or of
obligations to obey or conform independent of his
wish. (Kohlberg, 1971)
10 Pre-conventional Level
- Stage 1 The Punishment and Obedience
Orientation. - The physical consequences of action determine
its goodness or badness regardless of the human
meaning or value of these consequences.
Avoidance of punishment and unquestioning
deference to power are values in their own right,
not in terms of respect for an underlying moral
order supported by punishment and authority (the
latter is stage 4).
11 Pre-conventional Level
- Stage 2 The Instrumental Relativist Orientation.
- Right action consists of what instrumentally
satisfies ones own needs and occasionallythe
needs of others. Human relations are viewed in
terms such as those of the market place.
Elements of fairness, reciprocity, and equal
sharing are present, but they are always
interpreted in a physical, pragmatic way.
Reciprocity is a matter of you scratch my back
and Ill scratch your, not loyalty, gratitude,
or justice. (Kohlberg, 1971)
12Conventional Level
- Kohlberg calls the second level of moral
development the conventional level. Young people
have internalized the ethical and moral beliefs
of their family and the group they associate
with. Kohlberg says this is because of loyalty
to these groups. Young people at this stage will
often say, my dad said (family) or, all my
friends are doing it (society) or, I plan to
join the army to defend my country (patriotic).
Many people remain at this level, continuing to
define right and wrong in terms of what society
believes or what laws require.
13Conventional Level
- Children raised in a society where the parents
missed work on a weekly basis, where the ones who
did work falsified time sheets, where leaders
were known to help only their friends and
relatives, out of loyalty these children are more
than likely to develop these same values.
14Conventional Level
- Stage 3 The Interpersonal Concordance or Good
Boy - Good behavior is what pleases or helps others
and is approved by them. There is much
conformity to stereotypical images of what is
majority or natural behavior. Behavior is
frequently judged by intention he means well
becomes important for the first time. One earns
approval by being nice. (Kohlberg, 1971)
15Conventional Level
- Stage 4 The Law and Order Orientation
- The individual is oriented toward authority,
fixed rules, and the maintenance of the social
order. Right behavior consists in doing ones
duty, showing respect for authority, and
maintaining the given social order for its own
sake. (Kohlberg, 1971)
16Post-Conventional Level
To reach Kohlbergs final level, which he labeled
the post-conventional level, a person must
continue to develop morally. A person at
this level stops defining right and wrong in
terms of group loyalties or norms. Instead, the
adult at this level develops moral principles
that define right and wrong from a universal
point of view. Simply stated, a person at this
level makes his/her ethical decisions based on
what any reasonable person would know as right
or wrong. These decisions are based on
universal ideals of justice or human rights or
human welfare.
17Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or Principled
Level
- Stage 5 The Social-Contract Legalistic
Orientation - EXAMPLE We all know and admire these
individuals. They are the ones who stand up to
tribal council members, program directors, and
other tribal members when they are exhibiting
questionable behavior. While we admire these
people, we often dont emulate them because of
fear.
18Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or Principled
Level
- Stage 5 The Social-Contract Legalistic
Orientation - Right action tends to be defined in terms of
general individual rights and standards that have
been critically examined and agreed upon by the
whole society. .. Aside from what is
constitutionally and democratically agreed upon,
right action is a matter of personal values and
opinions. The result is an emphasis upon the
legal point of view, but with an additional
emphasis upon the possibility of changing the law
in terms of rational considerations of social
utility (rather than freezing it in terms of
stage 4 law and order). Outside the legal
realm, free agreement, and contract, is the
binding element of obligation. The official
morality of the American government and
Constitution is at this stage. (Kohlberg, 1971)
19Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or Principled
Level
- Finally, Kohlberg also found that when his
students took courses in ethics that challenged
them to look at issues from a universal point of
view, they had a more likely chance of changing
their moral behavior. - Many rez Indians would vehemently disagree with
this finding. One elder said to me, "It seems
like they go to school just to learn how to steal
more. Indeed, on most Indian reservations I am
aware of, having an advanced degree does not make
a person more ethical.
20Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or Principled
Level
- Stage 6 The Universal Ethical-Principle
Orientation - Right is defined by the decision of conscience in
accord with self-chosen ethical principles that
appeal to logical comprehensiveness,
universality, and consistency. These principles
are abstract and ethical (the Golden Rule, the
categorical imperative) they are not concrete
moral rules like the Ten Commandments. At heart,
these are universal principles of justice, of the
reciprocity and equality of the human rights, and
of respect for the dignity of human beings as
individual persons. (Kohlberg, 1971)
21Which one of Kohlbergs stages describes you?
- Give examples of your own behavior to support
that stage.