Lesson 6 - Kohlberg's Moral Reasoning

Presentation of Theoretical Construct

Lecture Information:

Level 1	Pre-Conventional	Reasoning Based on Personal Impact
	Stage 1 Punishment Obedience	Children at this stage reason right and wrong based on if there is a punishment associated with an action or not.  If there is no punishment for an action, then it must be morally appropriate to do.
	Stage 2 Personal Reward	Children here reason right from wrong based on their own personal needs.  If an action satisfies their needs at the time then it is okay.  This is very similar to the old pleasure principle, "If it feels good do it!"
Level 2	Conventional	Reasoning Based on Personal Approval
	Stage 3 Good Boy/Girl	This is the stage where children begin to reason right & wrong by how significant others will perceive them, for example; as a "good boy/girl" or as a "bad boy/girl."  This stage may well be age marked as well in the following way: Pre-Pubescents try to please primarily authority figures & secondarily peers; Post Post-Pubescents try to primarily please peers & secondarily authority figures.
	Stage 4 Law & Order	It was here that Kohlberg observed that subjects would judge actions as either "legal" or in accordance with authority or it was wrong.  Everything is either black or white; as in "no gray."
Level 3	Post-Conventional	Reasoning Based on Personal Interpretation
	Stage 5 Social Contract	At this stage subjects begin to view laws a humankind's best approximations of right & wrong.  There are always individual circumstances that are unique to the individual and therefore laws can only get us so close.  The rest is really a matter of personal interpretation.
	Stage 6 Universal Ethic	Is there an act that is always right? always wrong?  Kohlberg took the most criticism for proposing this stage.  He later acknowledged that he had not actually observed this stage in his subjects but hopes that it does exist.

Back to Lesson 6 Index