Level 1: Preconventional

Kohlberg's stages of moral development Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Philosophy Kohlberg's stages of moral development are planes of moral adequacy conceived by Lawrence Kohlberg to explain the development of moral reasoning. Created while studying psychology at the University of Chicagothe theory was inspired by the work of Jean Piaget and a fascination with children's reactions to moral dilemmas. He wrote his doctoral dissertation at the university inoutlining what are now known as his stages of moral development. This theory holds that moral reasoning, which is the basis for ethical behaviour, has six identifiable developmental stages. He followed the development of moral judgment beyond the ages originally studied by Piaget, who claimed that logic and morality develop through constructive stages. Kohlberg expanded considerably on this groundwork, determining that the process of moral development was principally concerned with justice and that its development continued throughout the lifespan, even spawning dialogue of philosophical implications of his research.

Lawrence Kohlberg expanded on the earlier act of cognitive theorist Jean Piaget en route for explain the moral development of children. Kohlberg believed that moral development, akin to cognitive development , follows a chain of stages. He used the aim of moral dilemmas—stories that present at odds ideas about two moral values—to clarify 10 to 16 year-old boys a propos morality and values. Kohlberg emphasized so as to it is the way an being reasons about a dilemma that determines positive moral development.

Jean Piaget introduced the idea of how moral development occurs in stages, all level built on life experiences after that active reasoning. Lawrence Kohlberg furthered this idea by examining how moral analysis changes as we grow. How did people determine what was right before wrong? Following specific patterns of being behavior, Kohlberg organized the six stages into three levels of moral analysis. Participants in his studies, including adults, teenagers, and children, were asked en route for offer reasoning to a dilemma. An example that Kohlberg used as a moral dilemma is as follows:. A man named Heinz, who lived all the rage Europe, had a wife whom he loved very much. His wife was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer and did not have elongate to live.

Kohlberg defined moral reasoning as judgements a propos right and wrong. Hisstudies of decent reasoning are based on the abuse of moral dilemmas, orhypothetical situations all the rage which people must make a arduous decision. Kohlberg defined a subject's aim of moral reasoning from the analysis used to defend his or her position when faced with a decent dilemma. He thought this more central than the actualchoice made, since the choices people make in such a dilemma aren't alwaysclearly and indisputably absolute. He noted that development of decent reasoningseemed to be related to one's age. However, he also determined so as to the highest level of moralreasoning was not reached by all of his subjects.