Levels Of Moral Reasoning^

Question 1

Moral Development

Answer 1

Kohlberg
First to apply the principle of MR to offending beh
Theorised that people’s morality can be determined by the stage theory
Based on his research into P’s responses to moral dilemmas
Studies violent youths
Offenders had lower levels of MD than non-offenders, even controlling for social factors

Question 2

Pre-Conventional Morality (Level 1)

Answer 2

Stage 1: Punishment orientation
- rules obeyed to avoid punishment
Stage 2: Instrumental Orientation or Personal Gain
- rules are obeyed for personal gain

Question 3

Conventional Morality (Level 2)

Answer 3

Stage 2: ‘Good boy’ or ‘Good girl’ orientation
- rules are obeyed for approval
Stage 3: Maintenance of the Social Order
- rules are obeyed to maintain social order

Question 4

Post-Conventional Morality (Level 3)

Answer 4

Stage 5: Morality of Contract & Individual Rights
- rules are challenged if they infringe on the rights of others
Stage 6: morality of Conscience
- Ind have personal set of ethical principles

Question 5

Link With Criminality

Answer 5

Offenders more likely to be classified at Level 1
Wanting to avoid punishment and gain rewards
May commit a crime if they think they won’t get caught and gain rewards
Chandler
- Supports this as they found offenders are more self centred and have poorer social perspective skills

Question 6

Palmer & Hollin

Answer 6

Investigated if morality was associated with delinquency
Two all male samples
- 97 convicted offenders 13-21
- CG: 77 non-offenders 12-24
Given 4 diff psychometric questionnaires
- Socio-Moral Reflection Measure
- Perceptions Of Parenting
- Attributions Of Intent
- Self-Reported Delinquency Checklist (SRD)

Question 7

Socio-Moral Reflection Measure

Answer 7

Measure level of moral development
Offenders had less MR than CG and more hostile attribution bias

Question 8

Perceptions Of Parenting

Answer 8

Measure perceptions of parenting experienced
Offenders perceived their fathers as more rejecting

Question 9

Attributions Of Intent

Answer 9

Measures perception of ambiguous situations via pictures and deciding if they saw an aggressive face
Offenders also made more hostile attributions of intent

Question 10

Self-Reported Delinquency Checklist (SRD)

Answer 10

List of crimes they committed
Offenders had 24 score VS score for CG was 4

Question 11

Research Support

Answer 11

Palmer & Hollin
Support the link between levels of MR and criminal beh
332 non offenders VS 126 offenders to 11 moral dilemma scenarios
Offenders showed less mature moral reasoning VS non-offenders

Question 12

Type Of Offence

Answer 12

Level of MR may depend on type of offence
Thorton & Reid
- Level 1 are associated with robbery and other crimes where the offender thinks they will not get caught compared to those who commit other crimes
Kohlberg’s theory may be too simplistic

Question 13

Thinking VS Behaviour

Answer 13

Kohlberg’s theory provides insight into the mechanics of the human mind
- Offenders are more immature when making moral decisions
But Krebs & Denton
- Argue that there should be a distinction between MR and moral beh
- MR may be used to justify beh after it has happened