Kohlberg

Question 1

methodology?

Answer 1

• used more dilemmas and semi-structured interviews
• interviews produced qualitative data
• there were 75 participants American boys aged 10-16 years old
• a longitudinal study was used and the boys were followed up every 3 years until the ages 22-28
• also studied people from the UK, Canada, Taiwan, Mexico and turkey

Question 2

procedure?

Answer 2

• created 9 hypothetical moral dilemmas which represented a conflict between 2 moral issues
• each participant was asked to discuss 3 of these dilemmas
• the discussion was prompted by 10 or more open ended questions
• each boy was interviewed every 3 years
• data was analysed for different themes and staged or moral development

Question 3

findings 1 ?

Answer 3

• qualitative data from interviews were analysed and common themes identified reading to the levels of moral development
  3 levels are =
  1. pre-conventional level
• right and wrong determined by punishment/rewards
  2. conventional morality
• views of others matter seeking approval and avoiding blame
• most adolesencts and adults
  3. post conventional level
• abstract ides of justice, may question laws
• 0-15% if over 20s

Question 4

findings 2?

Answer 4

• each level has 2 stages
• all children go through these staged in this order, they start at stage 1 and they do not miss a stage
• children progress at different rates
• not everyone will reach post conventional level

Question 5

pre conventional level age? stage? and what determines right and wrong

Answer 5

• up to age 9
  1. punishment and obedience - right and wrong is what you get punished for
  2. instrumental purpose orientation - right and wrong determined by what we get rewarded for

Question 6

conventional morality level age? stage? and what determines right and wrong?

Answer 6

• adolescence and adults
  1. interpersonal relationships - being good is what pleases others determined by the majority
  2. authority and social order - being good means going your duty to society, obeying laws and showing respect to authority

Question 7

post-conventional level age? stage? and what determines right and wrong?

Answer 7

• 0-15% of over 20s
  1. social contract - determined by own personal values
  2. universal ethics - live in accordance to deeply held moral principles that are seen as more important than laws

Question 8

cross cultural values?

Answer 8

stages were found in all other cultures
- people from Taiwan and Mexico progress through the stages more slowly
- at age 16 stage 5 thinking was more obvious in US than Taiwan and Mexico
- middle class children were more advanced in staged than lower class
- religious beliefs had no effect

Question 9

conclusion?

Answer 9

• stages of moral development are invariant and universal
• each stage represents a more morally mature and logically consistent form of thinking
• moral reasoning is not affected by race or culture but the speed of progress may be effected

Question 10

external validity evaluation?

Answer 10

Gilligan also criticised the use of dilemmas which are hypothetical situations rather than real life
- may not make sense to young children

Question 10

sampling evaluation?

Answer 10

• all males which is population bias
• Gilligan - males moral thinking is different from females. males focus on justice and law whereas females focus on compassion and caring

Question 11

social desirability bias evaluation?

Answer 11

in self report methods such as interviews people often try to present themselves in a good light
- findings therefore may reflect idealistic thinking rather than what people would actually do in real life

Question 12

longitudinal research evaluation?

Answer 12

• can see change in behaviour over a long period of time
• time consuming and expensive
• difficult to apply results to a larger population
• some participants may drop out of the study over time shrinking sample size decreasing the amount of data collected.