Name: ______________________________ DUE DATE: ___________________

Primary Research – Examining Moral Development Across the Lifespan

You are a budding psychologist who is part of a team of researchers studying moral development. You are familiar with Kohlberg’s
work and you and your colleagues are trying to test the validity of his conclusions about moral development. Some of your team
believes that Kohlberg’s theory is very useful in understanding and determining the level of a person’s moral development, while
others disagree.

1. Read and take note of the assigned material to deepen your understanding of Kohlberg theory (see dropbox).
2. Practice classifying responses to moral dilemmas by creating responses to the practice dilemma that shows fitting
response for each level of moral development, according to Kohlberg’s classifications [see practice dilemma below]
3. You have been assigned fieldwork to test the validity of Kohlberg’s findings. You must find two willing subjects that you
can interview about their moral reasoning and complete a consent form (see online assignment resources) for each subject.
Choose your two interview subjects from the following four age categories. PLEASE NOTE: Each interview subject must
be part of a different age category.

Age Categories
4-7 years 8-13 years 15-20 years over 25 years

4. You will present two moral dilemmas (see handout posted on Elearning A1. Kohlberg Dilemmas for Primary Research
Assignment) to each of the subjects. Make sure to use the SAME two dilemmas for each of the two subjects and fully
record their responses—these are your field notes and represent the primary data you have collected.
Things to note:
 If you are working with young children, choose an appropriate dilemma. Additionally, you will need to simplify the language or adapt the
dilemma.
 Make sure to ask follow-up questions to the dilemma so that you can properly judge the level of development (ie. see dilemma follow-up
questions on handout : A1. Kohlberg Dilemmas for Primary Research Assignment)

5. Once you have completed your interviews, you will summarize the fieldnotes to capture the key points of the response that
will support your classification.
6. Review your field notes and determine the moral level for each response and justify your classification. (Use lecture
notes, assigned readings, independent research and handout: A1. Summary_Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development)
7. Finally, you will consider how useful Kohlberg’s stages of development are in determining and classifying moral
development. Explain your reasoning by referring to Kohlberg’s’ theory and using evidence from your fieldwork to support
your claim about the validity of Kohlberg’s theory.

Breakdown of Tasks to Complete Total Time: 4.5 hrs

1. Complete the assigned reading, taking notes to deepen your understanding 1 hour
2. Practice Dilemma Responses complete (see assignment dropbox) 30 minutes
3. Find 2 interview subjects of different ages (subjects cannot be in the same age category). 10 minutes
4. Have your subjects sign the consent form agreeing to participate in the study. NOTE: For subjects under the age
of 14 you require parental consent. This is an ethical issue necessary for proper social science research. (see
handout A1. Parental Consent Form)
1 hour
Interview your 2 subjects using the same two moral dilemmas and keep a detailed fieldnotes of their responses—
these field notes represent primary data. Immediately after the interview it will be useful to review notes and add
any details that weren’t captured while the material is still fresh in your mind
5. Prepare a brief report using the template provided (see handout A1. Report Template) including a summary of
1 hour
the response a classification of the response and a justification for your classification.
6. Write a concise conclusion (150 words) explaining whether or not you believe Kohlberg’s theory is useful in
determining moral development. You must use evidence from your research to support your conclusions.
Consider how well the person fits into the model for moral development as outlined by Kohlberg. Are they clearly 30 minutes
in one level/stage? Are they in the stage they should be according to the age that Kohlberg identifies as typical in
his theory? Any other insights?

Day 1: Complete Step 1-3 Day 2: Complete Step 4 Day 3: Complete Step 5-6 and submit
Name: ______________________________ DUE DATE: ___________________
RUBRIC:
Criteria Level
Knowledge – Practice Dilemma
 Formulates responses to the practice dilemma that show a limited/considerable/strong/insightful understanding of each 1 2 3 4
stage of development
Thinking – Primary Research
 Justifies and supports the classification using evidence from the interview and connecting it to knowledge of
Kohlberg’s theory with limited/some/considerable/thorough accuracy and support 1 2 3 4
 Comments with limited/some/considerable/excellent insight and support from primary/secondary research when drawing
a conclusion about Kohlberg’s theory
Communication – Report Format
 Follows Report Template
 Effectively summarizes and communicates primary research findings (use paraphrasing and direct quotes) 1 2 3 4
 Minimal spelling and grammatical errors
 Uses appropriate social science terminology (key terminology)
Application – Social Science Research Methods
 Includes consent form and detailed field notes of interview
 Uses a full and appropriate range of questioning to draw out full, classifiable responses from subject 1 2 3 4

Practice Dilemma (see D2L for electronic copy)

You are an inmate in a concentration camp. A sadistic guard is about to hang your son, who tried to escape, and wants you to pull the
chair from underneath him. He says that if you don’t, he will not only kill your son but some other innocent inmate as well. You don't
have any doubt that he means what he says. What should you do?

Practice Dilemma Responses: create responses to the practice dilemma that shows fitting response for each level/stage of moral
development, according to Kohlberg’s classifications.

Stage Possible response at this stage of moral development

Checklist for assignment submission:

Course Assignment Dropbox In Person
 Practice Dilemma Responses  Field notes or shared link to audio recordings. NB: video
 Completed Report (using the provided report template) + recordings are not permitted for the assignment
Conclusion on efficacy of Kohlberg’s theory  Signed Consent Forms

PLEASE REVIEW THE CLASSROOM EXPECATIONS REGARDING AI GENERATED WORK AND PLAGIARISM.