Question

Describe Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. Write 1 paragraph for each of the 3 levels. How is this different from the Worldview Theory?

Answer 1

• Developed by psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg, this theory made us understand that morality starts from the early childhood years and can be affected by several factors.
• Level 1: Preconventional Morality-The first level of morality, preconventional morality, can be further divided into two stages: obedience and punishment, and individualism and exchange.
• Stage 1: Punishment- Obedience Orientation-Related to Skinner’s Operational Conditioning, this stage includes the use of punishment so that the person refrains from doing the action and continues to obey the rules. For example, we follow the law because we do not want to go to jail.
• Stage 2: Instrumental Relativist Orientation-In this stage, the person is said to judge the morality of an action based on how it satisfies the individual needs of the doer. For instance, a person steals money from another person because he needs that money to buy food for his hungry children. In Kohlberg’s theory, the children tend to say that this action is morally right because of the serious need of the doer.
• Level 2: Conventional Morality-The second level of morality involves the stages 3 and 4 of moral development. Conventional morality includes the society and societal roles in judging the morality of an action.
• Stage 3: Good Boy-Nice Girl Orientation-In this stage, a person judges an action based on the societal roles and social expectations before him. This is also known as the “interpersonal relationships” phase. For example, a child gives away her lunch to a street peasant because she thinks doing so means being nice.
• Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation-This stage includes respecting the authorities and following the rules, as well as doing a person’s duty. The society is the main consideration of a person at this stage. For instance, a policeman refuses the money offered to him under the table and arrests the offender because he believes this is his duty as an officer of peace and order.
• Level 3: Postconventional Morality-The post-conventional morality includes stage 5 and stage 6. This is mainly concerned with the universal principles that relation to the action done.
• Stage 5 : Social Contract Orientation-In this stage, the person is look at various opinions and values of different people before coming up with the decision on the morality of the action.
• Stage 6 : Universal Ethical Principles Orientation-The final stage of moral reasoning, this orientation is when a person considers universally accepted ethical principles. The judgment may become innate and may even violate the laws and rules as the person becomes attached to his own principles of justice.
• Worldview theory explains set of cultural beliefs that explain;what it means to be human, how human relations should be conducted, how human problems should be addressed.The fundamental difference between worldview theory and Kohlberg's theory is that they classify reasoning into different types not higher/lower levels of moral reasoning as proposed by Kohlberg.