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Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development (Level Three: Post-conventional…
Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development
Stages of moral development
extremely rare to regress backward in stages
No one functions at their highest stages all times
impossible to jump forward stages
6 stages grouped into 3 levels
Level One: Preconventional
focus on self (ethical egoism)
morality of an action judged by its direct consequences
Stage one: Obedience and punishment driven
stick to the rules to avoid punishment
focus on direct consequences that their actions lead to
Rewards and Punishment
Stage two: Self interest driven
what's in it for me
position
right behaviour being defined by what is in one's own best interest
you scratch my back, and i'll scratch yours
attitude
concern on what you expect on return, not based on loyalty or intrinsic respect
Level Two: Conventional
conforming to social norms and laws
morality of actions judged by societal views and expectations
Stage three: Interpersonal accord and conformity driven
filling social roles
good boy/girl
attitude
may judge morality action by evaluating consequences in terms of person's relationships (
respect and gratitude
)
desire to maintain rules and authority
Stage four: Authority and social order obedience driven
important to obey laws and social conventions
important in maintaining a functioning society (laws)
obligations and duties to uphold laws and rules
when someone violates a law, it is morally wrong
Level Three: Post-conventional (
principled
)
individuals are separate entities from society now becomes salient
view become prominent
norms of society somehow may be ignored as they may conflict with the principled decision that ought to be made
Stage five: Social contract driven
individuals hold diff opinions and values
if do not promote general welfare, should be changed
the greatest good for the greatest number of people
majority decision and inevitably compromise
eg. democratic government
Stage six: Universal ethical principles driven
looking beyond yourself
looking at international norms
laws are only valid when they are grounded in justice
(
disobey unjust laws
)
prepare to break the law when there is injustice
Criticisms
Reliability
Biased against women
diff between men and women doesn't take into account
women are more likely to rely on concepts such as caring and personal relationships (
stage 3
)
men look more into justice and equity (
stage 5 or 6
)
Theories have been driven from how people live in west
may not identify accurately development status of culturally diff ppl