ETHICS

Lawrence Kohlberg – American Psychologist

- Studied the moral development of group of small children for 20 years

- Interested in justification or reasoning
- Six stages of moral development

Stages of Moral Development

LEVEL STAGE SOCIAL ORIENTATION

Pre-conventional 1 Obedience and Punishment

2 Individualism, Instrumentalism,
and Exchange

Conventional 3 "Good boy/girl"

4 Law and Order

Post-conventional 5 Social Contract

6 Principled Conscience

Pre-conventional: Stage 1. Obey or Pay

- generally found at the elementary school level

- people behave according to socially acceptable norms because they
are told to do so by some authority figure (e.g., parent or teacher)
- obedience is compelled by the threat or application of punishment
- moral decisions are based on self-interest

Stage 2. Self-satisfaction

- acting in one's own best interests

- satisfying own needs is a big priority

Conventional: Stage 3. Approval-Group Norms

- generally found in society

- moral decisions are based on what pleases others
- concerned about interpersonal relations
- gain the approval of others
Stage 4. Law and order
- biding by the law and responding to the obligations of duty
- society is looked upon as a whole guideline about behavior
 - Rules are thought of as inflexible or unchangeable

Post-Conventional: Stage 5. Standard of society

- Kohlberg felt is not reached by the majority of adults

- social mutuality and a genuine interest in the welfare of others
- rules are social agreements that can be changed when necessary

Stage 6. Logical Moral Principle

- Kohlberg could never get enough subjects to define it

- based on respect for universal principle
- the demands of individual conscience