Kohlberg evaluation

Question 1

research support

Answer 1

there is evidence supporting the link between moral reasoning and offending

Palmer and Hollin compared moral reasoning between 210 female non-offenders, 122 male non-offenders and 126 convicted offenders with the socio-moral reflection measure short form

The offending group showed less moral reasomnng than the non offending groups

This is consistent with Kohlebrg’s predictions

Question 2

the level of moral reasoning depends on

Answer 2

the level of moral reasoning depends on the type of offence

Thornton and Reid found that individuals who committed crimes for financial gain such as robbery were more likely to show pre-conventional moral reasoning than those convicted of an impulsive crime such as assault where reasoning of any kind is not evident

This suggests that level of moral reasoning may only be applied to certain crimes for example those where offenders believe they have a good chance of evading punishment