Kohlberg and Moral Development Flashcards
What is the principle behind the levels of moral development?
How a child or a person is able to understand their knowledge of these moral principles, and how they have behaved according to them.
Pre-Conventional– Immediate motivation of a person; punishment and reward.
Conventional – How society would view a certain type of action or would justify certain actions.
Post-Conventional – Goes beyond the conventional and how society acts. Create their own set of morality principles to offer better outcomes for everyone.
How did Kohlberg assessed the responses of his subjects in his research?
He assessed them by looking at their explanations. How do they choose certain decisions? He was more concerned with their reasons (the why) behind their yes or no decisions.
Are the levels of moral development directly linked to one’s age?
The levels are not necessarily linked to one’s age. Some children fall on the obedience stage or at a rare level of the conventional and postconventional stage. An adult may also be stuck at pre-conventional morality or stay at conventional morality.
Is a higher level of morality actually a good thing? Is the other stage better than the other?
It depends.
