Kohlberg: Stages of Moral Development

What was Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development for?

To determine how children would solve a series of moral dilemmas based on their responses

What are the three levels of moral development?

Preconventional morality, conventional morality, and postconventional morality

Level 1: Preconventional Morality

Early-to-middle childhood, children make moral judgements solely on the basis of anticipated punishments and rewards

Stage 1

Morality focuses on the power and possessions of those in authority and on the necessity for the weak to please the strong in order to avoid punishment

Stage 2

Morality focuses on the pleasure motive--fair exchange with friends

Level 2: Conventional Morality

Middle-to-late childhood, right behavior is that which is accepted, approved, and praised by other people who are seen as in positions of authority

Stage 3

Morality focuses on the approval of those immediately involved in judging one's behavior

Stage 4

Morality has been called "law and order," the focus on obeying the rules for their own sake

Level 3: Postconventional Morality

Adolescence, people make choices based on the basis of principles that they have thought through, accepted, and internalized

Stage 5

Morality focuses on the social contract and the basic human rights that do not need to be earned

Stage 6

Morality rests upon the individual conscience