Moral Development

Dr. C. George Boeree

Kohlberg's Theory

Traditionally, psychology has avoided studying anything that is loaded

with value judgements. There is a degree of difficulty involved in
trying to be unbiased about things that involve terms like "good" and
"bad!" So, one of the most significant aspects of human life --
morality -- has had to wait quite a while before anyone in psychology
dared to touch it! But Lawrence Kohlberg wanted to study morality,
and did so using some of the most interesting (if controversial)
techniques. Basically, he would ask children and adults to try to solve
moral dilemmas contained in little stories, and to do so outloud so he
could follow their reasoning. It wasn't the specific answers to the
dilemmas that interested him, but rather how the person got to his or
her answer.

One of the most famous of these stories concerned a man named

Heinz. His wife was dying of a disease that could be cured if he could
get a certain medicine. When he asked the pharmacist, he was told
that he could get the medicine, but only at a very high price -- one that
Heinz could not possibly afford. So the next evening, Heinz broke
into the pharmacy and stole the drug to save his wife's life. Was Heinz
right or wrong to steal the drug?

There are simple reasons why Heinz should or should not have stolen
the drug, and there are very sophisticated reasons, and reasons in
between. After looking at hundreds of interviews concerning this and
several other stories, Kohlberg outlined three broad levels and six
more specific stages of moral development.

Level I: Pre-conventional morality. While infants are essentially

amoral, very young children are moral in a rather primitive way
described by the two preconventional stages.

Stage 1. We can call this the reward and punishment stage. Good or
bad depends on the physical consequences: Does the action lead to
punishment or reward? This stage is based simply on one's own pain
and pleasure, and doesn't take others into account.

Stage 2. This we can call the exchange stage. In this stage, there is
increased recognition that others have their own interests and should
be taken into account. Those interests are still understood in a very
concrete fashion, and the child deals with others in terms of simple
exchange or reciprocity: "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine."
Children in this stage are very concerned with what's fair, but are not
concerned with real justice.

Level II: Conventional morality. By the time children enter

elementary school, they are usually capable of conventional morality,
although they may often slip back into preconventional morality on
occasion. But this level is called conventional for a very good reason:
It is also the level that most adults find themselves in most of the time!
Stage 3. This stage is often called the good boy/good girl stage. The
child tries to live up to the expectations of others, and to seek their
approval. Now the concern includes motives or intentions, and
concepts such as loyalty, trust, and gratitude are understood. Children
in this stage often adhere to a concrete version of the Golden Rule,
although it is limited to the people they actually deal with on a day-to-
day basis.

Stage 4. This is called the law-and-order stage. Children now take

the point of view that includes the social system as a whole. The rules
of the society are the bases for right and wrong, and doing one's duty
and showing respect for authority are important.

Level III: Post-conventional morality. Some adolescents and adults

go a step further and rise above moralities based on authority to ones
based on reason.
Stage 5. The social contract stage means being aware of the degree to
which much of so-called morality is relative to the individual and to
the social group they belong to, and that only a very few fundamental
values are universal. The person at this level sees morality as a matter
of entering into a rational contract with one's fellow human beings to
be kind to each other, respect authority, and follow laws to the extent
that they respect and promote those universal values. Social contract
morality often involves a utilitarian approach, where the relative value
of an act is determined by "the greatest good for the greatest number."

Stage 6. This stage is referred to as the stage of universal principles.

At this point, the person makes a personal commitment to universal
principles of equal rights and respect, and social contract takes a clear
back-seat: If there is a conflict between a social law or custom and
universal principles, the universal principles take precedence.

Bronfenbrenner's Theory
Another psychologist unafraid to tackle morallity was Urie
Bronfenbrenner. He is famous for his studies of children and schools
in different cultures. He outlines five moral orientations:

1. Self-oriented morality. This is analogous to Kohlberg's pre-

conventional morality. Basically, the child is only interested in self-
gratification and only considers others to the extent that they can help
him get what he wants, or hinder him.
The next three orientations are all forms of what Kohlberg called
conventional morality:
2. Authority-oriented morality. Here, the child, or adult, basically
accepts the decrees of authority figures, from parents up to heads of
state and religion, as defining of good and bad.

3. Peer-oriented morality. This is basically a morality of conformity,

where right and wrong is determined not by authority but by one's
peers. In western society, this kind of morality is frequently found
among adolescents, as well as many adults.

4. Collective-oriented morality. In this orientation, the standing

goals of the group to which the child or adult belongs over-ride
individual interests. Duty to one's group or society is paramount.

The last orientation is analogous to Kohlberg's post-conventional

level:
5. Objectively oriented morality. By objectively, Bronfenbrenner
means universal principles that are objective in the sense that they do
not depend on the whims of individuals or social groups, but have a
reality all their own.
Bronfenbrenner noted that while 1 is found among children (and some
adults) in all cultures, 6 is found in relatively few people in any
culture. The differences between 2, 3, and 4 are more a matter of
culture than of development. Many cultures promote strict obedience
to authority figures. One can see this in some middle eastern cultures,
where the word of the religious authorities is law. In many western
cultures, conformity to one's peers is a powerful force. And in others
still, such as some Asian cultures, the welfare of the group is
considered far more important than that of the individual.

Bronfenbrenner also talks about how we get movement from one

orientation to another. The movement from 1 to 2, 3, or 4 involves
participation in the family and other social structures, where concern
for others begins to take precedent over concern for oneself.

Movement from 2, 3, or 4 to 5 occurs when a person is exposed to a

number of different moral systems which at least partially conflict with
each other, a situation he calls moral pluralism. This forces the
person to begin to think about what might lie beneath all the variation,
and lead him or her to consider ultimate moral principles.

On the other hand, sometimes people slide back down to the lowest
orientation when they suffer from the disintegration of social
structures, as in war and other social disasters. This can force a
person's attentions back onto their own needs, and cause them to begin
ignoring the welfare of larger social groupings.

© Copyright 2003, C. George Boeree