kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Reasoning

Stages of Moral and Ethical Development

Moral Development: A historical perspective

• Author of a three-stage theory on how moral reasoning develops

• Moral reasoning is the aspect of cognitive development that has to do with the way an individual reasons about moral decisions; about what is right and what is wrong; what should be done and what should not be done.

The good, the bad

Good• Focused on morality as

an important area of human development

• Developed a system (moral dilemmas) for measuring reasoning

Bad• Has definite race, class

and gender bias. We had a hard time accepting that middle-class Caucasian males were the most ethical folks on earth

• Moral reasoning does not predict moral behavior well

Why study Kohlberg’s theory?

It provides a useful way to analyze our own moral reasoning. How do we decide what is right?

It is true that knowing what is right and doing what is right are two very different things, but we believe that if thinking ethically comes first then acting ethically may follow.

Kohlberg’s Levels

• Pre-conventional Level

• Conventional Level

• Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or Principled Level

Pre-conventional Level

Stage 0: Egocentric Judgment

“The child makes judgments of good on the basis of what he likes and wants or what helps him, and bad on the basis of what he does not like or what hurts him. He has no concept of rules or of obligations to obey or conform independent of his wish.” (Kohlberg, 1971)


Stage 1: The Punishment and Obedience Orientation.

The physical consequences of action determine its goodness or badness regardless of the human meaning or value of these consequences. Avoidance of punishment and unquestioning deference to power are values in their own right, not in terms of respect for an underlying moral order supported by punishment and authority (the latter is stage 4).

Stage One: Obedience Out of Fear of Punishment

• Conduct is based upon saving one's own hide, without regard for consequences to others. This is a form of "might makes right." It is consequentiality in that no overarching principles apply--only the likely results (consequences) are weighed. They're only weighed based upon impact to the individual rather than based upon consequences for all.


– Stage 2: The Instrumental Relativist Orientation.

Right action consists of what instrumentally satisfies one’s own needs and occasionally the needs of others. Human relations are viewed in terms such as those of the market place. Elements of fairness, reciprocity, and equal sharing are present, but they are always interpreted in a physical, pragmatic way. Reciprocity is a matter of ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch your”, not loyalty, gratitude, or justice. (Kohlberg, 1971)

Stage Two: Quid Pro Quo, or You Scratch My Back, I'll Scratch Yours

This can perhaps be looked upon as a primitive version of the famous phrase informing the Founding (of the American Republic), "enlightened self-interest." So one might take some liberties and call this the "UNenlighted self-interest" stage.

The needs of others are considered, but only insofar as said consideration is viewed as means to selfish results. If I do x as x involves another person (or refrain from doing x), what do I get out of it? Sound familiar in Washington? Remember, this is a very early stage of development.

Conventional Level

Kohlberg calls the second level of moral development the conventional level. Young people have internalized the ethical and moral beliefs of their family and the group they associate with. Kohlberg says this is because of loyalty to these groups. Young people at this stage will often say, “my dad said…” (family) or, “all my friends are doing it” (society) or, “I plan to join the army to defend my country” (patriotic). Many people remain at this level, continuing to define right and wrong in terms of what society believes or what laws require.

Conventional Level (Other-directed)

Children raised in a society where the parents missed work on a weekly basis, where the ones who did work falsified time sheets, where leaders were known to help only their friends and relatives, out of loyalty these children are more than likely to develop these same values.

Conventional Level

Stage 3: The Interpersonal Concordance or “Good Boy” “Good Girl”

“Good behavior is what pleases or helps others and is approved by them. There is much conformity to stereotypical images of what is majority or “natural” behavior. Behavior is frequently judged by intention – ‘he means well’ becomes important for the first time. One earns approval by being ‘nice’.” (Kohlberg, 1971)

Stage Three: Good Boy/Good Girl (or bad boy/bad girl)

• Progression to the consideration of the approval or disapproval of others not merely as means for getting one's own way but for its own sake. Another key development in this stage is the intentions (rather than only the consequences) of self and others are considered. It's now possible to, at least in a rudimentary way, assess actions based upon whether good was intended, regardless of the outcome. Meaning well and meaning ill comes into play.

Conventional Level

Stage 4: The “Law and Order” Orientation

“The individual is oriented toward authority, fixed rules, and the maintenance of the social order. Right behavior consists in doing one’s duty, showing respect for authority, and maintaining the given social order for its own sake.” (Kohlberg, 1971)

Stage Four: Law and Order (what one can call the fascist stage)

• It's rather frightening that many people never progress past this stage that involves obedience to laws solely because "society says so"; but there you have it. An advance is made in terms of looking at society at-large instead of just at the self of Level I or the approval by others of self in Stage Three. However, the "blind obedience," black-or-white orientation, and sense that rules are inflexible and it's always one's duty to obey them simply because they "are," make this stage to me one of the more dangerous at which fixation can occur.

Post-Conventional Level(Principles Higher Than Rules)

To reach Kohlberg’s final level, which he labeled the post-conventional level, a person must continue to develop morally. “A person at this level stops defining right and wrong in terms of group loyalties or norms. Instead, the adult at this level develops moral principles that define right and wrong from a universal point of view.” Simply stated, a person at this level makes his/her ethical decisions based on what any reasonable person would know as right or wrong. These decisions are based on universal ideals of justice or human rights or human welfare.

Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or Principled Level

Stage 5: The Social-Contract Legalistic Orientation

EXAMPLE: We all know and admire these individuals. They are the ones who stand up to tribal council members, program directors, and other tribal members when they are exhibiting questionable behavior. While we admire these people, we often don’t emulate them because of fear.

Stage Five: Social Contract

• The main leap made here is that of seeing current rules as subordinate to the needs of society rather than as instructing them. Laws are viewed as responsive and flexible; as such, persons are active creators of rules instead of merely passive recipients. As such, rules are based upon dynamic discourse between persons in a society (social contract) and may be altered along the way. Unlike Stage Four, rules are not viewed as the "be-all, end-all," but are only responsive to current societal needs for well-being.

This stage introduces what one would call engaging in dynamic "ethics" as opposed to simply adhering to "morality."


Finally, Kohlberg also found that when his students took courses in ethics that challenged them to look at issues from a universal point of view, they had a more likely chance of changing their moral behavior.


Stage 6: The Universal Ethical-Principle Orientation

Right is defined by the decision of conscience in accord with self-chosen ethical principles that appeal to logical comprehensiveness, universality, and consistency. These principles are abstract and ethical (the Golden Rule, the categorical imperative); they are not concrete moral rules like the Ten Commandments. At heart, these are universal principles of justice, of the reciprocity and equality of the human rights, and of respect for the dignity of human beings as individual persons. (Kohlberg, 1971)

Stage Six: Universal Ethical Principles

• Here, overarching abstract principles exceed current rules and laws in terms of importance. In Stage Five we had attention to communication of social needs by all, we now have the primacy of personal conscience (as opposed to the personal desires of Level I).

Stage Six: Universal Ethical Principles "conscientious objection" • This stage is only rarely attained, but that might be a good thing, as

it's one of the more problematic stages. In a sense, this stage is similar to the rule-following of Stage Four. The advance is that conformity isn't set up as the "summum bonum" (highest good), but adherence to one's personal conscience is. While it's certainly laudable to question conformity and blind obedience by using one's own judgement, the danger here is that one become dogmatic about one's own ideas and principles that one regards as universal. This smacks as bordering on hubris (arrogance) in that it replaces the social give-and-take of Stage Five with the appeal to personal conscience. Taken to extreme, this could lead, ironically enough, to the imposition by one of allegedly absolute principles to be followed by those in Stage Four. In other words, these supposedly advanced principles that a person derives here in Stage Six could be viewed by those in Stage Four as laws to be blindly followed, but the person in Stage Six might be wrong!

Stage 7 Transcendental Morality

• This deals with religion and values and what is called Spirituality and relates to your SQ i.e. Spiritual Quotient and enlightenment.

Which one of Kohlberg’s stages describes you?

• Give examples of your own behavior to support that stage.

kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning

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