Ma. Cristina B.

Calago – Maed-EdL Student EDUC 202- Seminar on Educational Psychology

Mission
Vision MABINI COLLEGES provides quality instruction, research and extension
service programs at all educational levels as its monumental contribution to
national and global growth and development. Specifically, it transforms
MABINI COLLEGES shall cultivate a students into:
CULTURE OF EXCELLENCE in God-fearing
Nation-loving
education. Earth-caring
Law-abiding
Productive, and
Locally and globally competitive persons

SUBJECT: EDUC. 202

Seminar on Educational Psychology
(Sunday 07:00 AM-10:00 AM)
Professor: Ma. Teresa G. De Alban

Group 4
DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES AND OTHER RELEVANT THEORIES

Stages of Moral Development – Lawrence Kohlberg

Introduction:

Psychology as a subject deals with the human mind and behavior, which makes it one of the most
extensively studied subjects. Why? Because it helps us to get an insight into the human psyche and
behavior patterns. The subject of moral development (what is right, what is wrong, and the
reasoning behind it) is something that generates a lot of interest because it is one of the most
basic forms of behavior that every human being can relate to. That’s where the subject of
Kohlberg’s stages of moral development comes in. This theory was drawn by a famous
psychologist, Lawrence Kohlberg, who studied the basis of development of moral behavior in order
to draw this particular theory. In the following article, we will get to the core of how the theory
came about and the reasoning behind the same.

Jean Piaget introduced the idea of how moral development occurs in stages,
each level built on life experiences and active reasoning. Lawrence Kohlberg furthered
this idea by examining how moral reasoning changes as we grow. How did people
determine what was right or wrong? Following specific patterns of human behavior,
Kohlberg organized the six stages into three levels of moral reasoning. Participants in
his studies, including adults, teenagers, and children, were asked to offer reasoning to a
dilemma. An example that Kohlberg used as a moral dilemma is as follows:

A man named Heinz, who lived in Europe, had a wife whom he loved very much.
His wife was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer and did not have long to live. Luckily,
there was a pharmacist who invented a drug called radium that could cure her. The
Ma. Cristina B. Calago – Maed-EdL Student EDUC 202- Seminar on Educational Psychology

pharmacist owned all rights to this medication and decided to sell it at a high markup in
order to make a profit. While it cost only $200 to make, he sold it for 10 times that
amount: $2000. Heinz did not have enough money to pay the exorbitant price, so he
tried fundraising to cover the costs. With time running out, he had only managed to
gather $1000, which was not enough to buy the medication. Heinz begged the
pharmacist to sell it to him at a reduced price but the man refused. Desperate and
running out of time, Heinz broke into the pharmacy after hours and stole the drug. Was
this the right or wrong thing to do? Why?

There were three levels of moral reasoning that encompassed the six stages. Like
Piaget, subjects were unlikely to regress in their moral development, but instead, moved
forward through the stages: pre-conventional, conventional, and finally post-
conventional. Each stage offers a new perspective, but not everyone functions at the
highest level all the time. People gain a more thorough understanding as they build on
their experiences, which makes it impossible to jump stages of moral development.

1. Stage 1 (Pre-Conventional)

Obedience and punishment orientation (How can I avoid punishment?)

Self-interest orientation (What’s in it for me? aiming at a reward)
2. Stage 2 (Conventional)
 Interpersonal accord and conformity (Social norms, good boy – good girl
attitude)
 Authority and social-order maintaining orientation (Law and order morality)
3. Stage 3 (Post-Conventional)
 Social contract orientation (Justice and the spirit of the law)
 Universal ethical principles (Principled conscience)

Preconventional morality – young children under the age of 9

Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment Orientation

The first stage highlights the self-interest of children in their decision making as they
seek to avoid punishment at all costs. In relation to our example above, the man should
not steal the medication from the pharmacy as he may go to jail if he is caught.

Similar to the first stage in Piaget’s theory, Kohlberg reflects on the moral thought of
children. At a young age, they believe that rules are meant to be followed and those in
charge will undoubtedly follow through with punishment. A child’s reasoning to the
above example may include “it’s bad to steal,” or “it’s against the law,” without
assessing the perspective of the man whose wife is sick.

This stage is labeled preconventional due to the limited association that children have with the
outlined principles. They view the ethics taught as something that society implements, not as
something they internalize themselves.
Ma. Cristina B. Calago – Maed-EdL Student EDUC 202- Seminar on Educational Psychology

Stage 2: Individualism and Exchange

This stage observes how children begin to adopt the views taught, but also recognize
that there is more than one point of view for each matter. Each person is different and
will, therefore, have a unique outlook according to their interests. In terms of our
example above, they may reason that “he may think that it is right to take the drug, but
the pharmacist would not.”

The second stage relies heavily on the exchange of favors and can be summarized with the
common marketing saying “what’s it in for me?” Children at this stage are not motivated by
friendship or respect but by the personal advantages involved. For example, if a parent asks
their child to complete a chore around the house, the child may ask what the benefit would be to
them. Parents often recognize the “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” mindset at this
stage and offer a reward, such as an allowance.

Conventional morality – older children, adolescents, and most adults

Stage 3: Good Interpersonal Relationships

This stage recognizes the desire to be accepted into societal groups as well as how each
person is affected by the outcome. In terms of our example above, the man should take the
medicine from the pharmacy in order to be a good partner to his wife.

Children in the third stage are typically pre-teens or early teenagers and have now adopted the
societal norms as their own. While they believe that people should behave appropriately in their
communities, they recognize that there is no simple solution to moral dilemmas. In Kohlberg’s
study per the example above, they accepted that he should steal the medicine and “he was a
good man for wanting to save her.” They also reasoned that “his intentions were good, that of
saving the life of someone he loves.”

Stage 4: Maintaining the Social Order

In this stage, laws and social order reign supreme. Rules and regulations are to be
followed and obeyed. In the above example, the man should not steal the medicine
because it is against the law.

Stage four shows the moral development of a person as a part of a whole society. Each
person becomes more aware of the impact of everyone’s actions on others and focuses
now on their own role, following the rules, and obeying authorities. While stage three
highlights the close relationships with family and friends, stage four attempts to maintain
social order in the community. Pertaining to the example above, participants in stage
four would argue that while they understood why he wanted to steal the medication,
they could not support the idea of theft. Society cannot maintain order if its members
decided to break the laws when they thought they had a good enough reason to do so.
Ma. Cristina B. Calago – Maed-EdL Student EDUC 202- Seminar on Educational Psychology

Postconventional morality – rare with adolescents and few adults

Stage 5: Social Contract and Individual Rights

This stage acknowledges the introduction of abstract reasoning as people attempt to

explain specific behaviors. In our example above, the man should steal the medication
for his wife because she is deathly ill and the laws do not take the circumstances into
account.

In the fifth stage, members begin to consider “What makes for a good society?” They
are able to step back and assess each situation as a whole, reflecting on what is good
and just. Reflecting on the morals and ethics of their current community allows them to
address inconsistencies in their values and attempt to fix what they do not agree with. A
society that runs smoothly does not necessarily uphold their desired principles. This is
one step ahead of stage four, where the main goal is to keep a society functioning at all
costs.

Stage 6: Universal Principles

The final stage of Kohlberg’s theory states that moral reasoning is based on personal
values. In the above example, it is okay for the man to take the medication without
paying as objects or property are not as valuable as his wife’s life.

Stage six was developed when Kohlberg discovered that elected processes do not
always result in fair outcomes. Individuals at the fifth stage of moral reasoning
recognized the importance of protecting human rights while also resolving challenges in
a democratic way. Unfortunately, some majority votes resulted in regulations that
actually hurt a minority group, leading to questions of an even higher level of reasoning.

The sixth stage was created to acknowledge the use of justice in moral reasoning.
General, universal morals and ethics are used as a baseline for what is right and just.
These are often abstract concepts that cannot be clearly defined, only outlined.
Equality, justice, dignity, and respect are all ideas that form the basis of universal
principles. Laws and rules are only effective if they support the universal principles,
which each person at this stage works to uphold.

Similarly, they work on disobeying laws that are unfair, and feel guilty if they don’t obey
the laws that they believe in. Individuals at this level of reasoning behaved in a certain
way because it was the right thing to do, and were not motivated by laws or societal
expectations. Kohlberg found it challenging to identify participants in his studies who
could consistently display moral reasoning in the sixth stage.
Ma. Cristina B. Calago – Maed-EdL Student EDUC 202- Seminar on Educational Psychology

Summary

In the first stage, children obey the rules taught and believe what society says is right.
Avoiding punishment is a leading factor in their desire to obey authority. This has
diminished by stage two, where children can see that they are multiple points of view to
the matter in question. They tend to reason according their own self-interests, including
bartering with others.

In stage three, people value a supportive community and therefore have the desire to
be a good, helpful member. This changes as they move into stage four, where they
seek instead to meet the goals of the society, which includes maintaining law and order.
Throughout both stages, we see how young teens value the morals and ethics of the
group of which they are part.

In stage five, people evolve from the idea of being ‘good’ into what would be the right
thing to do. They seek to create morals and values for a good society instead of
maintaining the society for the sake of doing so. They take these ideas one step further
in stage six, where they work to incorporate justice and creating a fair society for all.

Insights:

This theory based on the stages of moral development as theorized by Kohleberg, gives
us a clear understanding of how moral behavior is developed within an individual. It is
very interesting to note that the value system and moral behavior which includes ethics
and morality is something that has dimensions to it, that it can be studied and theorized
upon in comparison with the important values in society. It gives us an understanding of
how the human mind and psyche thinks and how it is influenced and undergoes change
due to changes within the mind setup caused by age and other reasons.

Educational Implications of Moral Development

The educational implications of moral development are as follows:

· Morality is not inborn or given by the creator. It is acquired through living in a

community of human relations. There is need for both formal and informal education
(the school and the family) to provide adequate opportunities for children to observe
others acting a cooperative, helpful manner.

· Children should be encouraged to interact with peers in joint activities in which they
share a common goal.

· Though society prescribes rules, regulations and standards for conduct, children
should not be made to harbour a feeling of vileness or guilt for minor infractions on the
Ma. Cristina B. Calago – Maed-EdL Student EDUC 202- Seminar on Educational Psychology

standards of conduct. For one thing, children’s understanding and interpretations of

standards of conduct is at best, relatively naïve.

· Education in morality should not emphasize the intrinsic rightness or wrongness of

actions. Children should be led to see that there are always alternative explanations for
others’ behaviour. Children should be made to understand that the behaviour of their
peers has several possible interpretations.

· While a child’s level of maturation may limit their understanding of moral precepts, the
school should not just sit back and wait for maturation to occur. Intellectual discourse on
moral issues may speed up the appearance of relevant cognitive structures that permit
the child to reason about morality. Therefore, the school should provide a good setting
in which values; beliefs and opinions may be critically examined.

· It may be true that contingency management engender prosocial behaviour, however,

parents and teachers should be wary in the use of punishments or reproach to instill
moral behaviour. The value of punishment in changing behaviour is very uncertain.

Parents and teachers should rather select the appropriate behaviours exhibited by the
child and nurture these through a system of rewards.

· Parents and teachers should make effort to explicitly teach children moral reasoning
and self-control. Rules and regulations should be explained and understood in terms of
their value for all stakeholders in a community of relations. Rules and regulations are no
absolutes designed to tame children’s freedom or excesses.

Children are neither good nor bad by their nature. Moral behaviour is learned, like most
other behaviours of children. The capacity for moral judgement and moral decision
unfolds with maturation and experience.

There are universal principles that guide moral behaviour. Your duty, as a caregiver, is
to create an enabling environment to challenge children to reason about moral issues. It
is not enough to preach moral dogmas; adults must also “walk the talk”. Example is the
best moral precept.

Soci-Cultural Theory of Development – Lev Vygotsky

The sociocultural theory:

 Did NOT focus on the individual child but on the child as a product of social
interaction, especially with adults (parents, teachers).
Ma. Cristina B. Calago – Maed-EdL Student EDUC 202- Seminar on Educational Psychology

 Focus on DYADIC INTERACTIONS (e.g., child being taught by a parent how to

perform some culturally specific action), rather than child by himself.
 Social world mediates children’s cognitive development. Cognitive development
occurs as child’s thinking is molded by society in the form of parents, teachers,
and peers. This leads to peer tutoring as a strategy in classrooms.
 People’s thinking differs dramatically between cultures because different cultures
stress different things.

Theory’s Principles and Concepts:

Children construct their knowledge.

Knowledge is not transferred passively, but is personally constructed.

The learning is mediated.

Cognitive development is not a direct result of activity, but it is indirect; other people
must interact with the learner, use mediatory tools to facilitate the learning process, and
then cognitive development may occur.

Language plays a central role in mental development.

The most significant sociocultural tool is language, as it is used to teach tool use and is
vital in the process of developing higher psychological functions.

Learning appears twice.

First on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first between people
(interpsychology), and then inside the child (intrapsychology).

Development cannot be separated from its social context.

The context needed for learning is that where the learners can interact with each other
and use the new tools. This means that the learning environment must be authentic,
that is, it must contain the type of people who would use these types of tools such as
concepts, language, symbols in a natural way.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).

The difference between what a child can do independently and what the child needs
help from a more knowledgeable person to do is the Zone of Proximal Development.

https://psychologenie.com/kohlbergs-stages-of-moral-development-chart

https://educationaltechnology.net/stages-of-moral-development-lawrence-kohlberg/

https://www.wefinder24.com/2021/07/moral-development-nature-factors-and.html
Ma. Cristina B. Calago – Maed-EdL Student EDUC 202- Seminar on Educational Psychology

https://www.preptoz.com/library/lev-vygotskys-theory-of-socio-cultural-development/

Submitted by:

MA. CRISTINA B. CALAGO

MaEd-EdL Student

Submitted to:

MA. TERESA G. DE ALBAN

Professor
Ma. Cristina B. Calago – Maed-EdL Student EDUC 202- Seminar on Educational Psychology