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Moral Development:
A historical
perspective
Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory
The good, the bad
Good
 Focused on morality as an
important area of human
development
 Developed a system
(moral dilemmas) for
measuring reasoning
Bad
 Has definite race, class
and gender bias. We had a
hard time accepting that
middle-class Caucasian
males were the most
ethical folks on earth
 Moral reasoning does not
predict moral behavior
well
Okay, now that we
got that out of our
system!
Why study Kohlberg’s theory?
It provides a useful way to analyze our own moral
reasoning. How do we decide what is right?
It is true that knowing what is right and doing what
is right are two very different things, but we
believe that if thinking ethically comes first then
acting ethically may follow.
Harvard psychologist, Lawrence Kohlberg, was
one of the first people to seriously study
whether or not an older person has the
capabilities to learn ethical behavior later on in
life. He found the ability to think morally
develops in levels and stages.
Kohlberg’s Levels



Pre-conventional Level
Conventional Level
Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or
Principled Level
Each level has two
stages
Pre-conventional Level

The first level develops at a very young age. Kohlberg called this stage the
pre-conventional level. At this level a person’s view of right and wrong is
usually influenced by their family, mainly their parents and older siblings, and
the consequences attached to their behavior. If one of these authority figures is
morally and ethically corrupt, there is a good chance the child will be to. Right
or wrong is identified in terms of what results in rewards and punishments.
Some people stay at this level all their lives.

The individuals who stay at this level often refuse to believe his/her family
member did something wrong, even when the evidence is overwhelming.
Parents will defend children, individuals will defend siblings, wife's/ husbands
will defend their spouse and children will defend their parent’s unethical
behavior. We can think of many examples of this on the reservation.
Pre-conventional Level
Stage 0: Egocentric Judgment
“The child makes judgments of good on the
basis of what he likes and wants or what helps
him, and bad on the basis of what he does not like
or what hurts him. He has no concept of rules or
of obligations to obey or conform independent of
his wish.” (Kohlberg, 1971)
Pre-conventional Level
Stage 1: The Punishment and Obedience Orientation.
The physical consequences of action determine its
goodness or badness regardless of the human
meaning or value of these consequences. Avoidance
of punishment and unquestioning deference to power
are values in their own right, not in terms of respect
for an underlying moral order supported by
punishment and authority (the latter is stage 4).
Pre-conventional Level

Stage 2: The Instrumental Relativist Orientation.
Right action consists of what instrumentally satisfies
one’s own needs and occasionallythe needs of others.
Human relations are viewed in terms such as those of the
market place. Elements of fairness, reciprocity, and equal
sharing are present, but they are always interpreted in a
physical, pragmatic way. Reciprocity is a matter of ‘you
scratch my back and I’ll scratch your”, not loyalty,
gratitude, or justice. (Kohlberg, 1971)
Conventional Level
Kohlberg calls the second level of moral development the
conventional level. Young people have internalized the
ethical and moral beliefs of their family and the group
they associate with. Kohlberg says this is because of
loyalty to these groups. Young people at this stage will
often say, “my dad said…” (family) or, “all my friends are
doing it” (society) or, “I plan to join the army to defend
my country” (patriotic). Many people remain at this
level, continuing to define right and wrong in terms of
what society believes or what laws require.
Conventional Level
Children raised in a society where the parents missed
work on a weekly basis, where the ones who did
work falsified time sheets, where leaders were
known to help only their friends and relatives, out
of loyalty these children are more than likely to
develop these same values.
Conventional Level
Stage 3: The Interpersonal Concordance or “Good Boy”
“Good behavior is what pleases or helps others and is
approved by them. There is much conformity to
stereotypical images of what is majority or “natural”
behavior. Behavior is frequently judged by intention –
‘he means well’ becomes important for the first time.
One earns approval by being ‘nice’.” (Kohlberg, 1971)
Conventional Level
Stage 4: The “Law and Order” Orientation
“The individual is oriented toward authority, fixed rules, and
the maintenance of the social order. Right behavior
consists in doing one’s duty, showing respect for
authority, and maintaining the given social order for its
own sake.” (Kohlberg, 1971)
Post-Conventional Level
To reach Kohlberg’s final level, which he labeled
the post-conventional level, a person must continue to develop
morally. “A person at [this] level stops defining right and
wrong in terms of group loyalties or norms. Instead, the adult
at this level develops moral principles that define right and
wrong from a universal point of view.”
Simply stated, a person at this level makes his/her
ethical decisions based on what any reasonable person
would know as right or wrong. These decisions are based
on universal ideals of justice or human rights or human welfare.
Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or Principled Level
Stage 5: The Social-Contract Legalistic Orientation
EXAMPLE: We all know and admire these
individuals. They are the ones who stand up to
tribal council members, program directors, and
other tribal members when they are exhibiting
questionable behavior. While we admire these
people, we often don’t emulate them because of
fear.
Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or Principled Level
Stage 5: The Social-Contract Legalistic Orientation
Right action tends to be defined in terms of general individual rights
and standards that have been critically examined and agreed upon by
the whole society. ….. Aside from what is constitutionally and
democratically agreed upon, right action is a matter of personal
values and opinions. The result is an emphasis upon the ‘legal point
of view’, but with an additional emphasis upon the possibility of
changing the law in terms of rational considerations of social utility
(rather than freezing it in terms of stage 4 ‘law and order’). Outside
the legal realm, free agreement, and contract, is the binding element
of obligation. The ‘official’ morality of the American government
and Constitution is at this stage. (Kohlberg, 1971)
Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or Principled Level
Finally, Kohlberg also found that when his students took
courses in ethics that challenged them to look at issues
from a universal point of view, they had a more likely
chance of changing their moral behavior.
Many rez Indians would vehemently disagree with this
finding. One elder said to me, "It seems like they go to
school just to learn how to steal more.” Indeed, on most
Indian reservations I am aware of, having an advanced
degree does not make a person more ethical.
Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or
Principled Level
Stage 6: The Universal Ethical-Principle Orientation
Right is defined by the decision of conscience in accord
with self-chosen ethical principles that appeal to logical
comprehensiveness, universality, and consistency.
These principles are abstract and ethical (the Golden
Rule, the categorical imperative); they are not concrete
moral rules like the Ten Commandments. At heart,
these are universal principles of justice, of the
reciprocity and equality of the human rights, and of
respect for the dignity of human beings as individual
persons. (Kohlberg, 1971)
Which one of
Kohlberg’s stages
describes you?
Give examples of your own
behavior to support that stage.