Slide #1
Good afternoon everyone, also good afternoon to you sir
We are team barako, named Mr. Logue and & Mr. Hinay and we will going to
discuss Moral Development by Lawrence Kohlberg
Slide #2
Before we start let me ask you… what is moral development? And how do people
develop morality? This question has fascinated parents, religious leaders, and
philosophers for ages, but moral development has also become a hot-button issue is
psychology and education.
Slide#3
American psychologist named Lawrence Kohlberg developed one of the best-
known theories exploring some of these basic equations.
He was influenced by the swiss psychologist named Jean Piaget’s Stage-based
theory of development. Kohlberg expanded Piaget’s two stages identifying six
stages of moral development. And he argued that
Correct moral reasoning was the most significant factor in moral decision-making,
and that correct moral reasoning would lead to ethical behavior.
Slide #4
Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral development was derived from his
interviews with young boys distributed from early childhood to late adolescence
In this interview;
Kohlberg asked the participants to respond to hypothetical ethical dilemmas
Such as a man contemplating on stealing a drug to save his dying wife because he
cannot afford the drug after exhausting all possibilities to pay for it
The result of the interviews showed a pattern of responses which suggested a
progression in moral reasoning.
Thus was born the theory of moral development which Kohlberg is the basis for
ethical behavior
Slide #5
The result of the study allowed Kohlberg to come up with his famous six stages of
moral development which could be generally classified into 3 levels namely
Pre-conventional level
Conventional level
Postconventional level
In preconventional level
Is concerned primarily with the consequences of one’s action
According to Kohlberg that persons in this level simply pursue their own interest
while at the same time avoid sanctions.
Children base their judgements on external consequences
The child behaves according to socially acceptable rules or norms because he/she
told do so by some authority figure like his/her parents, teachers and community
elders.
According to Kohlberg that the child obeys the rules and avoid punishment
For example: a child may think, “ I don’t want to be spanked so I’m not going to
hit my brother!
Slide #6
in the 2nd stages children behave in the right way because they though that doing so
brings practical results .
in here moral decision are made based on the rewards one can receive.
example is scratch my back and I will scratch yours. Rather than on loyalty or
intrinsic respect
Slide #7
In the conventional level the child is concerned more with societal relationship
with emphasis on social conformity.
According to Kohlberg rules and conventions are somewhat rigid in this
conventional level so this is because moral decisions, are made based on what the
others may say and the reactions of others are somehow the basis of decision
making and behavior.
Slide #8
This stage is important because there is a higher value in obeying the law than by
simply seeking the approval of one’s peers
As you can see moral reasoning in this stage goes beyond the need for individual
approval that characterized stage three. In stage 4 children blindly obey the law
because of their importance to maintain a well-functioning society
Slide #9
In postconventional level us focused on the common good and universal moral
principles and is the most challenging
According to Kohlberg that persons at this level make judgement based on
impartial universal moral principles, even when these judgements may conflict
with societal standards.
In this level the individual sense of morality is defined in terms of abstract
principles and values.
For this reason individuals now believe that some laws are unjust (they must be
repelled , if not eliminated)
For Kohlberg postconventional individuals live by their own principles, which
typically include basic human rights such as right to life, liberty and justice.
For this reason laws can only be accepted or approved relative to the common
good of the society
Slide #10
In six stage the basis of ones action is not just the common good or a social
contract but a deeper universal principles.
According to Kohlberg that moral decision is not just based on the laws and rules
of the society, but on one’s conscience. He also states that an individual cannot just
jump from stage one to, say, stage four without passing through stages two and
three thus one’s moral development is linear and is ordered hierarchically.
