SHAMIR D.

BENJAMIN FUNDAMENTALS OF NURSING

BSN-1B

KOHLBERGS STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral development specifically addresses moral
development in children and adults. According to Kohlberg, moral development progresses
through three levels; preconventional, conventional, and post-conventional and through six
stages.
The first level in his theory is called the premoral or pre-conventional level. This is when
individuals begin to understand the rules of right and wrong, and good and bad. Their actions
are judged in terms of physical consequences, that is either a punishment or a reward. While
the second level, the conventional level, individuals are concern about maintaining the
expectations of their family, group or anyone else and they pay attention to the feelings of
others. The emphasis at the second level is conformity and loyalty to one’s own expectations
as well as society’s. For the third or last level, called the postconventional or also known as
the autonomous or principled level, individuals uphold the values, basic rights and legal
contracts of the society and they have an obligation to obey the law. They make an effort to
define valid values and principles without regard to outside authority or to the expectations of
others.
For the six stages, the first stage is punishment and obedience, where actions are
judged in terms of physical consequences and is connected to the preconventional level. The
second stage is the individual instrumental purpose and exchange, in this stage individuals
engage in actions that are right to meet their needs and they also separate their own interests
from the interests of authorities. In the third stage, mutual interpersonal expectations,
relationships and conformity, individuals put themselves in the other persons shoes, it means
that they also consider the feelings of others. Next is the social system and conscience
maintenance in the fourth stage, this stage is where individuals are doing or fulfilling their
duties to society. Then the fifth stage, prior rights and social contract, in relation to
postconventional level, is when an individual have a responsibility and obligation to obey the
law. Lastly is the sixth stage, the universal ethical principle, individuals follow what is right in
accordance with ethical principles. These ethical principles are the things that serve as
justification and evaluation of human actions.
To summarize, Kohlberg’s theory of moral development focuses or emphasizes on
rights and formal reasoning. Additionally, to further explain moral development, moral
development as defined in the book is the process of learning to tell the difference between
right and wrong and of learning what ought and ought not to be done. It is also a complex
process that begins in childhood and continues throughout life.
SHAMIR D. BENJAMIN FUNDAMENTALS OF NURSING
BSN-1B

JAMES FOWLERS SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

James Fowlers theory of spiritual development and developmental stages were
influenced by the work of Piaget, Kohlberg, and Erikson.
According to the book, he describes the development of faith as force that gives
meaning to an individual’s life. He uses the term faith as a form of knowing, a way of being in
relation to “an ultimate environment”. To Fowler,” faith is a relational phenomenon; it is an
active ‘mode-of-being-in-relation’ to another or others in which we invest commitment, belief,
love, risk and hope”. Fowler also believes that the development of faith is an interactive
process between the individual and the environment.
Fowler’s theory of spiritual development is consisting of seven stages: undifferentiated,
intuitive-projective, mythic-literal, synthetic-conventional, individuating-reflexive, paradoxical-
consolidative, and universalizing. These faith stages, according to fowler, are separate from
the cognitive stages of Piaget. The undifferentiated stage or the pre stage, occurs from age 0
to 3. At this stage, children experience faith as a connection between themselves and their
caregiver(parents/guardians). They are also primarily involved in learning knowledge and
emotional reactions rather than establishing spiritual beliefs. The intuitive-project stage occurs
on children from ages 4 to 6, they are introduced to images and beliefs from trusted individuals
such as parents and teachers. They also utilize or make use of their own imagination and
experiences in their spiritual development. The mythic-literal stage ranges from ages 7 to 12.
Children at this stage can distinguish or identify the difference between verified facts and
things that might be fantasy or speculation. Individuals like parents and priest influence them
in spiritual matters more than their peers. The adolescent or young adult reaches the synthetic-
conventional stage of spiritual development. At this stage, the adolescents focus is often on
interpersonal rather than conceptual matters. Adolescent believes that various religious beliefs
and practices have more similarities than differences. Individual enters the individuating-
reflective stage after the age of 18. The individual focuses on reality during this stage. Fowler
believes that only some individuals reach this stage after the age of 30, meaning not all adults
progress through paradoxical-consolidative stage. At this stage, the individual can view “truth”
from a number of viewpoints. This stage which is the fifth stage of Fowlers theory corresponds
to Kohlberg’s fifth stage of moral development. The last phase or stage of spiritual
development is the universalizing stage. Individuals rarely reach this stage, and, in this stage,
they express the principles of love and justice in their lives. Many older adults take their faith
and religious practices very seriously and they display a high level of spirituality.
In summary, James Fowlers theory of Spiritual Development outlines the framework in
understanding how individuals develop their faith and spirituality, starting from their birth to
their adulthood or throughout their lives.