Kohlberg

Lawrence Kohlberg

-Started the theory to moral reasoning

-Born in Brownxville NY in 1927

-Died by suicide in 1987

-Published theory in 1958

-Child of divorced parents who seperated when he was 4 and then divorced when he was 14

-one of the 4 siblings were shuffled every 6 months to mom or dad

-attended Philips Academy in MA

-Nonviolent activist in establishment if State of Israel and lived on a Kibbitz

-Returned to the US and was educated at U of Chicago and Harvard

Stages of Moral development

-Inspired by the work of Jean Piaget

-Kohlberg was fascinated with children's responses to moral dilemmas

-believed educators could influence moral education and development

-moral development occurs alongside soical and cognitive developmen

-the more complex the social environment is the more diccucult the moral dilemmas are

-in order to cope with these difficult moral dilemnnas, people move toward more mature moral stages

Stage 1- obedience

-Preconventional Period

following rules set by an external force to avoid punishment

Stage 2- self-interest

-Preconventional Period

motivated by the desire for reward of personal benefit

Stage 3-conformity

-Conventional Period

-motivated by anticipation of disapproval of others

Stage 4-law and order

-Conventional Period

motivated by anticipation of dishonor, guilt

Stage 5-human rights

-postconventional period

concerned with maintaining respect of equals and the community

Stage 6-universal human ethics

-postconventional period

concerned with self-centralization for violating one's own principles