Download 9. Kohlberg`s Theory of Moral Development PPT

SOCIOLOGY
Review Definition
Sociological Theories
Moral Development
Kohlberg
SOCIOLOGY
Definition:
The scientific study of social groups
Focus on:
On humans as members of a social group
On the behaviour of people in groups, on their
interactions and relationships and on the social structures
they develop
Areas of Inquiry:
Names:
Comte, Durkheim, Marx,
Weber, Parsons, Murdock
• How the group we belong to shapes our thinking and
experience
• Relates what appears to be an individual issue (e.g.
Suicide) to larger issues (e.g. social alienation)
Example:
Why do so many North American suffer from depression?
Why do increasing numbers of youth cheat at school?
Sociology - Theories
Conflict Theory - A theoretical framework in
which society is viewed as being composed of
groups competing for scarce resources.
Functional Analysis - A theoretical framework in
which society is viewed as a whole unit, composed of
interrelated parts, each with a function that, when
fulfilled, contributes to society’s equilibrium.
Symbolic Interactionism - A theoretical
perspective that focuses on how people use symbols to
establish meaning, develop their views of the world,
and communicate with one another.
And back and forth it goes...
William Wundt: Structuralism
- introspection
Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalysis
– innate drives &
structures of the mind
- psycho sexual stages
Alfred Adler – Humanism
- innate drive for
perfection
Jean Piaget – Cognitive Dev.
- invariable stages
William James – Functionalism
– environment &
behaviours
B.F. Skinner: Behaviourism
- operant conditioning
Lev Vygotsky: Cognitive Dev.
- social context = key
Activity:
Small groups...
elect an interviewer ...
answer questions about the story...
explain your reasoning…
record responses (point form)...
Afterwards...
Analyse responses:
See if you can place them in one of Kohlberg’s
stages of moral reasoning
Moral Dilemma - Activity
Heinz Steals the Drug
In Europe, 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 druggist in the same town had recently
discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was
charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. 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 druggist that his wife was dying and asked him
to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist 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.
Moral Development – Innate or Social?
Piaget on development of Moral Reasoning
Developments in the Formal Operations Stage
Children younger than 10 or 11 years
- think about moral dilemmas one way
- regard rules as fixed and absolute: cannot be changed
- base their moral judgments more on consequences
Older child
- a more relativistic view
- understands that it is permissible to change rules if
everyone agrees
- base their judgments on intentions
- rules are not sacred and absolute but are devices which
humans use to get along cooperatively
Example...
For example, the young child
(under 10-11) hears about one
boy who broke 15 cups trying
to help his mother and another
boy who broke only one cup
trying to steal cookies...
The young child thinks
that the first boy did
worse. The child
primarily considers the
amount of damage--the
consequences—
From the younger child’s POV,
who did worse? Why?
The older child is more
likely to judge wrongness
in terms of the motives
underlying the act
From the older child’s POV,
who did worse? Why?
Enter Lawrence Kohlberg
• Moral reasoning is the basis for ethical behaviour
• Interviewed both children and adolescents about moral dilemmas
• Found stages that go well beyond Piaget's
• He uncovered six stages
• (only the first three of which share many features with Piaget's stages)
KOHLBERG'S Research
• core sample was comprised of 72 boys (1958)
• from both middle- and lower-class families in Chicago
• ages 10, 13, and 16
• later added younger children, delinquents, and boys and girls from
other American cities and from other countries (1963, 1970)
METHOD
Basic interview - consists of a series of dilemmas such as the following:
Moral Dilemma - Activity
Heinz Steals the Drug
In Europe, 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 druggist in the same town had recently
discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was
charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. 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 druggist that his wife was dying and asked him
to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist 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.
Questions...
Some of Kohlberg’s interview questions (1963):
􀂃Should Heinz steal the drug?
􀂃Suppose the person dying is not his wife but a
stranger. Should Heinz steal the drug?
􀂃If it was a drug for a pet dog that he loves should
Heinz steal the drug?
􀂃Is it important for people to do everything they
can to save another’s life?
􀂃Is it against the law for Heinz to steal?
􀂃Should people try to do everything they can to
obey the law?
􀂃Did the druggist have the right to charge that
much?
Note :
Whether the individual
says to steal the drug or
not to steal it is not
important in identifying
the moral stage.
What is important is the
level of moral reasoning
behind the decision
Kohlberg’s Stages
Pre- Age 4-10
Conventional - Sense of good and bad is connected with fear of being
punished for disobeying those in positions of power
- Children learn that actions have consequences
- Motivation can mean avoiding punishment, satisfying a
need, or an exchange of favours
Conventional
- Adolescence - conformity to the rules
- connected with the belief that the existing social order
must be right and should be followed
- Stage 3 is defined by the need for acceptance in
interpersonal relationships
- Stage 4 is law and order orientation; here judgments are
based on acceptance of and respect for authority
PostConventional
- Older children and young adults
- Actions and self judgment are guided by consideration of
the welfare of the community, of the rights of the individual,
and of universal ethical principles (e.g. the basic dignity of
the individual)
• Kohlberg:
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
▫
Used dilemmas to identify moral development
Levels were age-related
Stages occurred in sequence
Before age 9, most children use level 1
Most adolescents reason at stage 3
Early adulthood: few use post-conventional ways
• Research on Kohlberg’s theory:
▫ No 10-year-olds use level 4
▫ 62% of 36-year-olds used stage 4
▫ Stage 5 did not appear until age 20–22
Stage one (obedience)
• Heinz should not steal the medicine because he
will consequently be put in prison which will
mean he is a bad person
• Or: Heinz should steal the medicine because it is
only worth $200 and not how much the druggist
wanted for it
• Heinz had even offered to pay for it and was not
stealing anything else.
Stage two (self-interest)
• Heinz should steal the medicine because he will
be much happier if he saves his wife, even if he
will have to serve a prison sentence
• Or: Heinz should not steal the medicine because
prison is an awful place, and he would probably
languish over a jail cell more than his wife's
death
Stage three (conformity)
• Heinz should steal the medicine because his wife
expects it; he wants to be a good husband
• Or: Heinz should not steal the drug because
stealing is bad and he is not a criminal; he tried
to do everything he could without breaking the
law, you cannot blame him.
Stage four (law-and-order)
• Heinz should not steal the medicine because the
law prohibits stealing, making it illegal
• Or: Heinz should steal the drug for his wife but
also take the prescribed punishment for the
crime as well as paying the druggist what he is
owed. Criminals cannot just run around without
regard for the law; actions have consequences.
Stage five (human rights)
• Heinz should steal the medicine because
everyone has a right to choose life, regardless of
the law
• Or: Heinz should not steal the medicine because
the scientist has a right to fair compensation.
Even if his wife is sick, it does not make his
actions right.
Stage six (universal human ethics)
• Heinz should steal the medicine, because saving
a human life is a more fundamental value than
the property rights of another person
• Or: Heinz should not steal the medicine, because
others may need the medicine just as badly, and
their lives are equally significant.
• Criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory:
▫ Too much emphasis on thought
▫ Not enough emphasis on moral behavior
▫ Need other means of measuring moral reasoning
▫ Dismissed family and peer relations as influences
of moral values
▫ Some cultures influence moral values that conflict
with Kohlberg’s
• Bandura: people engage in harmful conduct after
they justify morality of their actions to
themselves
• Others criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory:
▫ Children focus on consequences of actions
▫ Recent research: Kohlberg’s results have male
bias – females socialized as more care-oriented
▫ Need distinction between moral reasoning and
social conventional reasoning
▫ Moral behavior can be negative and antisocial
▫ Altruism is unselfish effort
• Prosocial behavior is positive aspect of moral
behavior like empathy
And back and forth it goes...
William Wundt: Structuralism
introspection
-
Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalysis
– innate drives &
structures of the mind
- psycho sexual stages
Alfred Adler : Humanism
- innate drive for
perfection
Jean Piaget: Cognitive Dev.
- invariable stages
Lawrence Kohlberg: Moral Dev.
- invariable stages
William James – Functionalism
– environment &
behaviours
B.F. Skinner: Behaviourism
- operant conditioning
Lev Vygotsky: Cognitive Dev.
- social context = key
Erik Erikson: Psychosocial Dev.