Paper2: Developmental-Kohlberg

Question 1

What is moral development?

Answer 1

shows how a person’s moral beliefs can be universal, which means that it is shown in all humans, whatever their cultural background.

Question 2

What was the aim to Kohlberg?

Answer 2

To show how his research supports his stage theory of moral development.

Question 3

Describe the research method?

Answer 3

Longitudinal study - took place over 12 years

Question 4

describe the sample

Answer 4

75 American boys
Start age between 10-16 years, through to ages 22-28 years

Question 5

describe the procedure

Answer 5

3 yearly intervals
Each of the boys presented with hypothetical moral dilemas, all deliberately philosophical.
answers and reasoning behind their answers were linked to 25 basic moral concepts or aspects.

Question 6

Which other places did Kohlberg collect data?

Answer 6

Malaysia, Taiwan, Mexico, Turkey, Canada and UK.

Question 7

Why did Kohlberg collect data from other places?

Answer 7

see cultural differences in the reasoning behind the same decision
see the different rate at which children moved through the stages.

Question 8

Describe stage 1

Answer 8

Obedience and punishment orientation
You should follow rules to avoid being punished

Question 9

describe stage2

Answer 9

Self-interest orientation
The right action is one that will benefit the individual.

Question 10

Describe stage3

Answer 10

Conformity to expectations and rules
Behaviour is judged as right or wrong based on the intentions of the person

Question 11

Describe stage 4

Answer 11

Authority and social order orientation
You have to follow the rules and laws which set out what is right and wrong.

Question 12

Describe stage 5

Answer 12

Social contract orientation
Right and wrong are judged by what the majority of people in the society think.

Question 13

Describe stage 6

Answer 13

Universal ethical principles
You set your own ethical principles and these dictate your actions.

Question 14

Describe the ethical guidelines

Answer 14

Participants gave consent
Could have withdrawn
Not decieved
No major harm

Question 15

Describe the conclusions from Kohlberg

Answer 15

the fundamental belief of each stage of development was shown in every culture.
Middle class boys were quicker than working class boys.
Urban boys were quicker than rural boys.

Question 16

Explain the internal reliability

Answer 16

Difficult to replicate
Qualitative data subjective so difficult to analyse

Question 17

Explain the external reliability

Answer 17

Large sample meant he was not seeing one off results

Question 18

Explain validity

Answer 18

Factors such as upbringing, socio-economic status or education could influence moral development.
Restricted to males and Americans
Hypothetical moral dilemas mean what people say they would do may be different to how they would actually behave in real life.

Question 19

Describe ethnocentrism in kohlberg

Answer 19

Assumes that all people have the same moral development as the american boys

Question 20

Describe nature/nurture

Answer 20

nature - within each individual is an innate predetermined sequence of stages which will remain invariant
nurture - doesn’t consider the influence that culture may have in influencing the childs moral reasoning

Question 21

Describe freewill/determinism

Answer 21

determinism - little choice of how you process through the stages which determine your moral judgement and behaviour

Question 22

Describe the weaknesses of the study

Answer 22

self-report to make a decision based on a hypothetical dilemma lacks ecological validity
what they see and what they do could be very different
gender bias
culture bias
low reliability due to self-report
Demand characteristics and social desirability in self report