Kohlberg's Three Levels of Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg was an Harvard University professor, and is famous for his work on the theory of moral development, which became popular via his research work during his time in Harvard Moral Education Center.

Kohlberg said that most people progressed with their sense of moral reasoning in relation to ethical behaviour through three stages or levels.

These three stages can be further broken down into six identifiable levels, but mostly generalized as three stages.

This article will be useful for students studying the ACCA P1 Paper: Governance, Risk and Ethics.

Kohlberg's classification can be outlined in the following manner:

Pre-Conventional Level:

Stage 01: is generally found in the elementary school level where people behave according to generally accepted norms. Because they are ordered to do so by someone with authority e.g. school teacher or their parents and non-obedience is generally met with punishment.

Stage 02: is where they behave according to their own interests so that they are rewarded. E.g. a parent may encourage a child with potential rewards for good behaviour or grades.

Conventional Level: Generic norm of thinking within our society.

Stage 03: Good boy / girl attitude where the approval others are sought so as to be accepted within the society or culture.

Stage 04: Obedience to law and order as an obligation by an responsible corporate citizen.

Post-Conventional Level: This level of thought or moral attitude are not reached by most individuals within our society as per Kohlberg.

Stage 05: Social Contract is mutual dependence and having an genuine interest in the betterment & welfare of others in general. Have a understanding between moral and legal rights and the recognition that rules should not be followed where it is deemed ethically & morally wrong.

People believe that rules & regulations should exist for their general good and where this is deemed otherwise, under Social Contract obligations they must be broken.


Stage 06: Principle Conscience is where universally accepted ethical principles are followed and this may sometimes not fit the law. Examples of such are: Human Rights, Justice and Equality. Some individuals will be prepared to break the law, in order to defend such principles.


I have shown some examples below for better clarification and understanding:

Sources:

https://explorable.com/theory-of-moral-development

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kohlberg's_stages_of_moral_development

http://www.simplypsychology.org/kohlberg.html

https://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/kohlberg01bk.htm

References

Bee, H. L. (1994). Lifespan development. HarperCollins College Publishers.

Colby, A., Kohlberg, L., Gibbs, J., & Lieberman, M. (1983). A longitudinal study of moral judgment. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 48 (1-2, Serial No. 200). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Gilligan, C. (1977). In a different voice: Women's conceptions of self and of morality. Harvard Educational Review, 47(4), 481-517.

Kohlberg, L. (1958). The Development of Modes of Thinking and Choices in Years 10 to 16. Ph. D. Dissertation, University of Chicago.

Kohlberg, L. (1984). The Psychology of Moral Development: The Nature and Validity of Moral Stages (Essays on Moral Development, Volume 2). Harper & Row

Piaget, J. (1932). The moral judgment of the child. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co.

Rest, J. R. (1979). Development in judging moral issues. University of Minnesota Press.

Rosen, B. (1980). Moral dilemmas and their treatment. In, Moral development, moral education, and Kohlberg. B. Munsey (Ed). (1980), pp. 232-263. Birmingham, Alabama: Religious Education Press.