MORAL DEVELOPMENT

THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL REASONING,

ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS: KOLBERG, TURIEL, GILIGAN
OBJECTIVES :

At the end of the lesson the student should be

able to :
 define Moral Development
 know the Theories of the Development of
Moral Reasoning, Attitudes and Beliefs
 WHAT IS MORAL
DEVELPOMENT?
 Moral Development is an aspect of
a person’s overall development
that follows over the course of a
lifetime.

 Moral Development is growth and,

like all growth, it takes place
according to a pre-determined
sequence.
Lawrence Kohlberg
(October 25, 1927 – January 19, 1987 )

 He was an American psychologist.

 He served as a professor in:
- Psychology Department at the
University of Chicago.
- Graduate School of Education at
Harvard University.
 He started as a developmental psychologist
and then moved to the field of moral education.
 He was particularly well-known for his theory of moral
development which he popularized through research studies
conducted at Harvard's Center for Moral Education.
HOW DID KOHLBERG COME UP WITH
THE THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT?
 All his ideas started from the research he
performed with very young children as his
subjects. He found out that children are faced
with different moral issues, and their judgments
on whether they are to act positively or
negatively over each dilemma are heavily
influenced by several factors. In each scenario
that Kohlberg related to the children, he was not
really asking whether or not the person in the
situation is morally right or wrong, but he wanted
to find out the reasons why these children think
that the character is morally right or not.
For purposes of illustration, Kohlberg uses the Heinz
Dilemma.
The Heinz Dilemma:
A woman was near death from a special kind of
cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought
might save her. It was a form of radium that a
pharmacist in the same town had recently discovered.
The drug was expensive to make, but the pharmacist
was charging ten times what the drug cost him to
produce. He paid $200 for the radium and charged
$2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman's
husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow
the money, but he could only get together about
$1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the
pharmacist that his wife was dying and asked him to
sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the pharmacist
said: "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make
money from it." So Heinz got desperate and broke into
the man's store to steal the drug for his wife.
 Kohlberg’s Moral Dilemmas

• In each case, he presented a choice to be

considered, for example, between the rights
of some authority and the needs of some
deserving individual who is being unfairly
treated.
• Hypothetical situations in which no choice is
clearly and indisputably right.
Kohlberg's Theory of
Moral Development
Kohlberg's Theory of Moral
Development
Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Level 1. Pre-conventional Morality

Stage 1 - Obedience and Punishment
-The earliest stage of moral development is
especially common in young children, but adults are also
capable of expressing this type of reasoning. At this stage,
children see rules as fixed and absolute. Obeying the rules
is important because it is a means to avoid punishment.
Stage 2 - Individualism and Exchange.
- At this stage of moral development, children
account for individual points of view and judge actions
based on how they serve individual needs. In the Heinz
dilemma, children argued that the best course of action
was the choice that best-served Heinz’s needs.
Reciprocity is possible, but only if it serves one's own
interests.
Kohlberg's Theory of Moral
Development
Level 2. Conventional Morality
Stage 3 - Interpersonal Relationships
- Often referred to as the "good boy-good girl"
orientation, this stage of moral development is focused
on living up to social expectations and roles. There is
an emphasis on conformity, being "nice," and
consideration of how choices influence relationships.
Stage 4 – Authority and Maintaining Social Order
- At this stage of moral development, people
begin to consider society as a whole when making
judgments. The focus is on maintaining law and order
by following the rules, doing one’s duty and respecting
authority.
Kohlberg's Theory of Moral
Development
Level 3. Post-conventional Morality :
Self-accepted Moral Principles
Stage 5 - Social Contract and Individual Rights
- Social Contract and Individual Rights At this
stage, people begin to account for the differing values,
opinions and beliefs of other people. Rules of law are
important for maintaining a society, but members of the
society should agree upon these standards. •
Stage 6 – Morality of Individual Principles and
Conscience
- Universal Principles Kolhberg’s final level of moral
reasoning is based upon universal ethical principles and
abstract reasoning. At this stage, people follow these
internalized principles of justice, even if they conflict
with laws and rules.
 Elliot Turiel
 Elliot Turiel was born
in 1938 , PhD in
Psychology from Yale.
 American
psychologist and
Chancellor’s Professor
at the Graduate
School of Education at
the University of
California, Berkeley
Publications.
 He has formulated a theory of
domains of social development
involving the development of moral
judgments (based on concepts of
welfare, justice, and rights) and their
distinction, throughout development,
from understandings of the
conventions and customs of societies
– as well as from arenas of personal
jurisdiction.
The Start of Turiel’s Idea
 Turiel based his theory of moral development
off of psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg’s
framework of moral reasoning.
 Kholberg stated that, “moral judgments may
be defined as judgments of value, as social
judgments, and as judgments that oblige an
individual to take action.”
Kohlberg’s theory:
There are three types of reasoners:
preconventional, conventional, and
postconventional.
An example of the distinction between morality and
convention is given in the following excerpt from an
interview with a four-year-old girl regarding her
perceptions of spontaneously occurring
transgressions at her preschool.
 MORAL ISSUE: Did you see what happened? Yes. They were
playing and John hit him too hard. Is that something you are
supposed to do or not supposed to do? Not so hard to hurt.
Is there a rule about that? Yes. What is the rule? You're not
to hit hard. What if there were no rule about hitting hard,
would it be all right to do then? No. Why not? Because he
could get hurt and start to cry.

 CONVENTIONAL ISSUE: Did you see what just happened?

Yes. They were noisy. Is that something you are supposed to
or not supposed to do? Not do. Is there a rule about that?
Yes. We have to be quiet. What if there were no rule, would
it be all right to do then? Yes. Why? Because there is no rule.
 CAROL GILIGAN

 1989 - New York

 Professor of Gender
Studies,
Harvard University
 Ph.D., Harvard University
Carol Gilingan’s Theory of Moral
Development
 Morality is to be treated in terms of
their responsibility to others, rather
than as the rights of individuals.
Morality are more compassionate by
nature and are careful and fair in
their actions.
 THREE LEVELS
FIRST LEVEL – Pre Conventional
 The primary concern is with oneself. When one
sees caring for oneself as selfish and not
congruent to responsibility to others, transition to
the next level happens.
SECOND LEVEL - Conventional
 Females equate morality with goodness, self-
sacrifice and caring for others. The transition to
the next level occurs whey they meet problems in
their relationship resulting from their exclusion
from their own care.
 THIRD LEVEL – Post Conventional
 Morality is equated with care for both themselves
and others.
 CAROL GILIGAN’S ADDS

 Females tend to see themselves in terms

of their relationship with others. On the
contrary, males have the tendency to view
themselves as distinct and separate from
others, the concepts of separation and
connectedness translate into their
approach to morality.