Development area: Kohlberg Flashcards
What did Kohlberg base his theory about stages of moral development on?
Piaget’s ideas about how children around the age of 9/10 understand that intentions are more important than the consequences
What was Kohlberg’s aim?
To provide evidence for his stage theory of moral development from childhood into adulthood and to see if some basic stages are universal
What research method did Kohlberg use?
Self report, longitudinal
How was Kohlberg’s study longitudinal?
Because he interviewed the boys every 3 years for 12 years
Describe the sample used in Kohlberg’s study
75 boys from middle and lower class families in Chicago aged 10-16, he later extended this sample to other american cities and countries
What did Kohlberg give to the boys every 3 years?
Hypothetical dilemmas
What was then recorded about the boys’ answers to the dilemma’s?
The reasons behind their answer
What are 2 strengths of longitudinal studies?
Easy to compare differences over time
Reduces individual differences as same P’s are used
What are 2 weaknesses of longitudinal studies?
Loss of P’s
May be costly/difficult to track P’s
What other places around the world did Kohlberg collect data in?
Great Britain, Canada, Taiwan, Mexico, Turkey
Why did Kohlberg make the effort to collect data in these different countries?
As moral values may vary across cultures and by doing this he could avoid the study being ethnocentric
Give 2 strengths of cross cultural research
Helps avoid ethnocentrism
Helps researchers to identify flaws in their work
Give 2 weaknesses of cross cultural research
Can be difficult to avoid cultural bias Practical difficulties (e.g. language, misuse of research)
What is level one of the stage theory? (age?)
Pre-conventional morality (4-10 yrs)
What is stage 1?
Obedience orientation
What is the general idea of obedience orientation?
That rules are fixed and therefore we must follow them in order to avoid punishment
What is stage 2?
Self-interest orientation
What is the general idea of self-interest orientation?
That decisions are made on the principle of ‘what’s in it for me?’
What is level two of the stage theory?
Conventional morality
What is stage 3?
Social conformity orientation
What is the general idea of social conformity orientation?
That there is a sense of what ‘good boys’ and ‘nice girls’ do
What is stage 4?
Law and order orientation
What is the general idea of law and order orientation?
To maintain law and order by following the rules, doing one’s duty and respecting authority
What is level 3 of the stage theory?
Post-conventional morality
What is stage 5?
Social contract orientation
What is the general idea of social contract orientation?
People understand what is right and wrong and sometimes will disobey rules if they find them to be inconsistent with their personal values
What is stage 6?
Universal ethics orientation
What is the general idea of universal ethics orientation?
It is based on abstract reasoning and the ability to put yourself in other people’s shoes and people at this stage will have a principled conscience
Kohlberg concluded that the stages follow an ‘invariant developmental sequence’, what does this mean?
That they come one at a time and always in the same order
Conclusion 2: ‘All movement is forward in sequence, ________’
and does not skip steps
(Conclusion) Is the sequence affected by varying social, cultural or religious conditions?
No - it is universal
Was Kohlberg’s study internally reliable? (Standardised and replicable)
Yes - p’s were given the same moral dilemma’s and the same questions to answer
Was Kohlberg’s study externally reliable? ( Large sample to show consistent effect)
Yes - 75 boys from USA and p’s from other cultures means no one-off results
Did Kohlberg’s study have construct validity? (Was it an accurate measure of moral development)
It may have been testing linguistic understand or intelligence rather than solely measuring ‘moral development’
Was Kohlberg’s study externally valid? (Can the sample be generalised from?)
No - only males were used so therefore is biased against women
Was Kohlberg’s study ecologically valid?
No because people may behave differently to what they say they would do
Which ethics could it be argued that Kohlberg did not uphold?
Debrief - had to wait for 12 years
Protection from harm - mild emotional stress caused through the scenarios
