Kohlberg Flashcards
Background
Theory of moral development
Kohlberg , believed children’s thinking about moral decisions they age as a consequence of maturation. He identified three levels of development preconventional conventional postconventional. Each level has two stages and can be assessed using moral dilemmas.
Aim of kohlbergs 1968 study on moral development
Kohlberg. Sort further support for his theory with the particular focus on whether everyone went through stage five.
Design method of kohlbergs 1968 study on moral development
Longitudinal and cross cultural study, using two quasi experiments
American longitudinal study IV-AGE. DV- Stage of development.
Cross cultural sample IV-CULTURE
DV-stage of development
Sample of kohlbergs 1968 study on moral development
American longitudinal study 75 American boys from Chicago 10 to 16-year-old at start and 22 to 28 years at end from lower and higher social economic families and the spread of religious backgrounds
Cross cultural sample, boys from Great Britain, Canada, Mexico and Turkey, plus boys from two villages -Malaysian, aboriginal and Taiwanese
Materials/apparatus of kohlbergs 1968 study on moral development
Moral dilemmas related to 25, moral concepts, e.g. the value of a human life
Procedure
American longitudinal study
-Assessed at either 10,13 or 16 years old, then retested every three or four years until age 24
Boys level of morals development assessed by moral dilemmas, e.g. the Heinz dilemma
Boys asked questions about the dilemmas
Questions were adjusted depending on the previous answer
The oral interview took about 45 minutes and covered nine dilemmas.
Cross cultural sample
Boys from two rural villages in Mexico and turkey were also tested
Results? of kohlbergs 1968 study on moral development
American longitudinal study
Responses on the moral issue with value of human life. From two boys were analysed. For example, Tommy age 10 mixed up value of life with property. A person owed stage. One reasoning. Richard age 24 argued for absolute values of justice. Stage six reasoning.
Both boys showed progression of moral reasoning through. Tommy was slower, despite being a bright boy, IQ 120
Across cultures
At age 10 stage, one reasoning is the most common in all countries
Seminar results were found in Mexico and Taiwan, but the development was slower with stage three being the most common at age 16
Middle-class children were more advanced than lower class children
Conclusions of kohlbergs 1968 study on moral development
More reasoning develops with age in a fixed and in various sequence of stages
Similar in all countries, but at different rates
Middle-class children move through the sequence faster and further than lower class children
Research method and techniques
+ longitudinal, designs means that participant, variables, are controlled e.g. so that aspect of participants personality would not affect differences in the development of more reasoning between boys.
-And long to, and all studies, participants often drop out overtime, e.g.kohlbergs Original sample was 84 boys, but nine boys had dropped out by the time results were analysed. This may bias the sample.
Validity
+Kohlbergs aim was to assess more reasoning, not moral behaviour, so he was testing what he intended to showing high internal validity.
-additionally, the moral dilemmas were hypothetical scenarios, and may have made little sense to Young boys which lowers the validity
Real liability
Kohlberg produced a complex system to turn qualitative data into quantitative data to make the classification of moral development. Reliable this provided good interrater, reliability and good test test reliability.
Sampling bias
-Kohlbergs research as biased towards men/boys, the dynamics were written by a man based on a principle of Justice favoured by men and tested on a sample of men/boys only thus Kohlbergs study provides evidence for only one kind of moral reasoning
Types of data
Quantitative data-each participant was represented by a number indicating the stage of development. E.g. Richard age 16 so life as important for all humans, but dependent on someone else’s authority, God= stage four reasoning
Qualitative data -boys were asked to provide reasons why they made such a decision
Ethical considerations
The interview itself was unlikely to be stressful as shown by the fact that the majority of participants returned to be interviewed several times
Ethnocentrism
The cross cultural part of Kohlbergs study means the focus was not solely on American culture, and that his ideas were universal testing of the ATL and Taiwanese boys involved an interpreter to help him make unbiased judgements. He also reframed the moral dilemma he use, so it would make better sense in that culture.
