Kohlberg's study Flashcards
What was Kohlberg’s aim?
To provide evidence for his stage theory of moral development
Describe Kohlberg’s US sample
75 amewricaj boys aged 10-16 at the beginning and 22-28 at the end. From Chicago - working class
Why was Kohlberg’s study longitudinal?
Because it took place over 12 years, with participants being tested every three years
How did Kohlberg collect information?
hypothetical, moral dilemmas. Their answers and reasonings behind them were linked to 25 basic moral concepts
What are two strengths of longitudinal studies?
allows researcher to look at changes over time (good for developmental issues)
Higher validity as more time to look over and check results
What are two weaknesses of longitudinal studies?
They require lots of time and are often expensive , so have a small sample.
Some participants may drop out over time, threatening the validity of the experiment and shrinking the sample size (attrition)
In which countries did Kohlberg conduct his experiment?
USA, Malaysia, Taiwan, Mexico, Canada, Turkey, UK
Why did Kohlberg go to the effort of collecting data is so many different countries?
To decrease ethnocentrism - to compare how culture affects moral development
What are two strengths of cross cultural research?
Helps reduce ethnocentrism
Helps establish factors linked to development (nature/nature)
What are two weaknesses of cross cultural research
Can be expensive and time consuming
Might be a language barrier - damages validity of experiment if they don’t fully understand what they are being asked
Did Kohlberg’s study have internal reliability
Yes as they did the same thing every 3 years with the same stories, however may have been confusion or stress
Did Kohlberg’s study have external reliability?
Yes because there were many people across all countries, however No as only 75 in the original may have not been enough. Also, there was a Social Class bias as they were all from working/ lower classes
Did Kohlberg’s study have external population validity?
Yes because there were people from all over the world
No because they were all young men
Did Kohlberg’s study have external ecological validity?
No as the people had probably never experienced some of the things in the hypothetical senators (e.g being married)
Did Kohlberg’s study have internal construct validity?
Not really, it could have been measuring social desirability or demand characteristics
What did Kohlberg’s conclude?
The stages of moral development follow an invariant developmental sequence and do not skip steps and that the nature of the sequence is universal, he said that moral thought behaves like all other kinds of thought
In what areas can Kohlberg’s research be defended ethically?
Deception, right to withdraw, confidentiality, parental consent
How can Kohlberg’s study be criticised ethically?
There was no full informed consent and no protection from harm (may have felt bad about giving the right/wrong answer)
What is stage 1 of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development called? and summarise it
Obedience/punishment orientation
The child is good in order not to be punished
What is stage 2 of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development called? and summarise it
Self interest orientation
Morality seen as an exchange - do something if they get something in return
What is stage 3 of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development called? and summarise it
Social conformity orientation
children behave to look good and be seen as nice
What is stage 4 of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development called? and summarise it
Law and order orientation
right behaviour is doing one’s duty, law is set in stone
What is stage 5 of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development called? and summarise it
Social contract orientation
Still based on law but more personal side of law. law now seen as changeable
What is stage 6 of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development called? and summarise it
Universal ethics orientation
Decisions based on universal principles of justice, equality of human rights and of respect of dignity of human beings as individual persons.
