GROUP 6

TOPIC: HOW IS KOHLBERG’S THEORY OF

MORAL DEVELOPMENT IMPORTANT IN
UNDERSTANDING MORAL DEVELOPMENT
IN ADOLESCENTS?

DONE BY:
ABDALLAH MARYAM HUSSEIN – 643308
ABDI HANNAN JAMA – 648429
ATUMBA SAMMY – 637640
AWAN ZEYNA – 648260
HASSAN AHMED YUSRA – 642562

LECTURER: ELSIE NEWA

SUMMER SEMESTER 2017

INTRODUCTION

Lawrence Kohlberg (October 25, 1927 – January 19, 1987) was an American psychologist

who is best known for his theory; which was the stages of moral development. He filled in as

a professor at the university of Chicago in the psychology department as well as at the

Harvard university at the graduate school. Despite the fact that it was viewed as uncommon

in his time, he chose to consider the subject of moral development, broadening Jean Piaget's

account of children moral development from twenty-five years earlier

Kohlberg's work reflected and expanded Piaget's discoveries as well as the speculations of

philosophers, in the meantime he was making another field within psychology known as:

"moral development ".

WHAT IS MORAL DEVELOPMENT?

Moral development focuses on the emergence, change, and understanding of morality from

infancy through adulthood. In the field of moral development, morality is defined as

principles for how individuals ought to treat one another, with respect to justice, others'

welfare, and rights. In order to investigate how individuals, understand morality.it is essential

to measure their beliefs, emotions, attitudes, and behaviors that contribute to moral

understanding. The field of moral development studies the role of peers and parents in

facilitating moral development, the role of conscience and values, socialization and cultural

influences, empathy and altruism, and positive development. The interest in morality spans

many disciplines e.g., philosophy, economics, biology, and political science and

specializations within psychology e.g., social, cognitive and cultural. Moral developmental

psychology research focuses on questions of origins and change in morality across the

lifespan.

KOHLBERGS STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

Building upon Jean Piaget's cognitive theory of development, Kohlberg developed three

levels with six stages to reflect our progression through moral development. These levels and

stages describe how our ideas of right and wrong change as we grow.

Level 1: Pre-conventional Moral Development

The first level in Kohlberg's theory is the pre-conventional level of moral development.

This level of development has two stages and is based on punishments and rewards. In other

words, people who are functioning at the pre-conventional level of development make

decisions on right and wrong to earn rewards or avoid punishments. 

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 Moral Development

The second level, the conventional level of moral development, also has two stages, but

focuses more on parental rules and societal laws. People at this level of moral development

base their decisions on what their parents and/or law enforcement says is right. 

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: The Post Conventional Level

Throughout the post conventional level, a person's sense of morality is defined in terms of

more abstract principles and values. This level is marked by a growing realization that

individuals are separate entities from society and that individuals may disobey rules

inconsistent with their own principles. Post-conventional moralists live by their

own ethical principles, principles that typically include such basic human rights as life,

liberty, and justice and view rules as useful but changeable mechanisms

Stage 5: Social-Contract Orientation

In stage 5, the world is viewed as holding different opinions, rights, and values. Such

perspectives should be mutually respected as unique to each person or community. Laws are

regarded as social contracts rather than rigid edicts. Those that do not promote the general

welfare should be changed when necessary to meet the greatest good for the greatest number

of people. This is achieved through majority decision and inevitable compromise.

Stage 6: Universal-Ethical-Principal Orientation

In stage 6, moral reasoning is based on abstract reasoning using universal ethical principles.

Generally, the chosen principles are abstract rather than concrete and focus on ideas such as

equality, dignity, or respect. Laws are valid only insofar as they are grounded in justice, and

a commitment to justice carries with it an obligation to disobey unjust laws. People choose

the ethical principles they want to follow, and if they violate those principles, they feel

guilty. In this way, the individual acts because it is morally right to do so (and not because he

or she wants to avoid punishment), it is in their best interest, it is expected, it is legal, or it is

previously agreed upon.

Importance of Kohlberg’s theory in understanding moral development in adolescents

As youths' cognitive, emotional, social development continue to mature, their understanding

of morality expands and their behavior becomes more closely aligned with their values and

beliefs. Therefore, moral development describes the evolution of these guiding principles and

is demonstrated by the ability to apply these guidelines in daily life.

An area of experimentation and risk-taking in adolescence is substance abuse. Strengthening

relationships with peers and identity crises not only result in challenging moral norms but

often lead to drug use that can have negative developmental consequences. Alcohol,
marijuana, ecstasy (in a club or party setting), prescription opiates, sedatives and prescription

stimulants are the most commonly abused drugs.

Early adolescence

Teens must make moral judgments on a daily basis.

When children are younger, their family, culture, and religion greatly influence their moral

decision-making.

During the early adolescent period, peers have a much greater influence. Peer pressure can

exert a powerful influence because friends play a more significant role in teens' lives.

Furthermore, the new ability to think abstractly enables youth to recognize that rules are

simply created by other people. As a result, teens begin to question the absolute authority of

parents, schools, government, and other traditional institutions.

Late Adolescence

By late adolescence, most teens are less rebellious as they have begun to establish their own

identity, their own belief system, and their own place in the world.

Some youth who have reached the highest levels of moral development may feel passionate

about their moral code; as such, they may choose to participate in activities that demonstrate

their moral convictions.

For example, some college students may organize and participate in demonstrations and

protests while other students may volunteer their time for projects that advance the ethical

principles they hold important.

During the early adolescent period, peers have a much greater influence. Peer pressure can

exert a powerful influence because friends play a more significant role in teens' lives.

Furthermore, the new ability to think abstractly enables youth to recognize that rules are

simply created by other people. As a result, teens begin to question the absolute authority of

parents, schools, government, and other traditional institutions.

For example, some college students may organize and participate in demonstrations and

protests while other students may volunteer their time for projects that advance the ethical

principles they hold important.

Factors that Affect Moral Development

Unfortunately, some youth have life experiences that may interfere with their moral

development:

1.Trauma

Traumatic experiences can include: Physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, the death of a

family member or close friend or witnessing senseless violence.

These types of experiences can cause them to view the world as unjust and unfair.

2.Social learning: Adolescents may have also observed the adults in their life making

immoral decisions that disregarded the rights and welfare of others, leading these adolescents

to develop beliefs and values that are contrary to the rest of society.

3.Lacking a moral compass: These adolescents may never reach their full potential and

may find it difficult to form meaningful and rewarding relationships with others.
Thus, while parents may find this process of moral development difficult or challenging, it is

important to remember that this developmental step is essential to their children's well-being

and ultimate success in life.

STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF KOHLBERGS THEORY

Strengths

Cross cultural research shows that Kohlberg’s theory can be applied across all cultures as

Berk tested Kohlberg’s stage sequences across other cultures and found that children

progress from pre-to post-conventional levels. (However, the scoring system may only

reflect western values.)

The Kohlberg moral development theory has a positive effect on educational matters, it has

benefits to education, especially the education of young adults and their sense of intellectual

and moral development. Kohlberg’s intention was to enable individuals to understand

advanced stages of moral thought, the principles of universal liberty and justice and the need

for a sense of order in society. Kohlberg’s belief was that the development of moral thought

would help individuals to develop a greater understanding of the norms of society

Limitations

Research shows that moral development does not proceed through 6 distinct stages, as in the

Walker study 6% did seem to have slipped back stages of development.

Other studies contradict evidence that the theory is universal – although the research

indicates that the rate of moral development is similar in a wide range of cultures,

development in some however is more advanced than that of rural cultures.

Gillian thought that Kohlberg had neglected female moral development because his stages

were derived from interviews with males and do not accurately describe moral development

in females

Kohlberg has been criticized for his assertion that women seem to be deficient in their moral

reasoning abilities when compared to men. Carol Gilligan (1982), a research assistant of

Kohlberg, criticized her former mentor’s theory because it was based so narrowly on

research using white, upper-class men and boys. She argued that women are not deficient in

their moral reasoning and instead proposed that males and females reason differently: girls

and women focus more on staying connected and maintaining interpersonal relationships. 

Kohlberg's theory has been criticized for emphasizing justice to the exclusion of other

values, with the result that it may not adequately address the arguments of those who value

other moral aspects of actions. Similarly, critics argue that Kohlberg's stages are culturally

biased—that the highest stages in particular reflect a westernized ideal of justice based on

individualistic thought. This is biased against those that live in non-Western societies that

place less emphasis on individualism.

Methodological problems associated with the moral dilemma technique – the dilemmas

where hypothetical, not real life, and so have low predictive validity as reasoning may not

reflect behavior. The theory has been critiqued for placing too much emphasis on moral

thought and not enough emphasis on moral behavior.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The first recommendation is that parents and members of the society should emulate good

behavior rather than condemning bad behavior. Since adolescents are quite impressionable
they will pick on the poor choices and bad behaviors that members of the society and their

parents do hence hindering their moral development.

Secondly, parents and the society should understand that adolescents’ rebellion is a stage that

affects adolescents during early adolescence and they should advice and nurture them into

late adolescence where they develop their own sense of identity and morale code.

The society should encourage adolescents to develop their own ethical principles and morals

separate from those constructed by society and the law in order to encourage individuality

and also makes it easier to in co-operate other morals.

Lastly, parents and the society should help adolescents understand that what is wrong is

wrong no matter the reasons behind their choices. Some adolescents always have an excuse

for doing something that is wrong in order to escape punishment. This may become a

copying mechanism to continue doing the wrong things claiming they are for the right

reasons.

CONCLUSION

Moral development is a process that is needed from early adolescence to late adolescence in

order for adolescents to transmission into morally upright adults. An adolescent’s

environment influences their morals through their experiences and interactions.

As much as the societal construction of what is wrong and right might be important in an

adolescence growth, they also need to find their own sense of morality by going through the

motions of life. Through this personal discovery adolescent find their own internal moral

compass that makes it easier to adopt other morals hence they are able to transmission into

adult hood morally upright and understanding of other people’s moral views as well.
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