psychological explanations: cognitive (moral reasoning)

Question 1

what does level of moral reasoning mean?

Answer 1

• moral reasoning if the way a person thinks about right and wrong
• the higher the level, the more that behaviour is driven by a sense of what if right and the less it is driven by avoiding punishment or avoiding the disapproval of others

Question 2

what did kolhberg (1968) suggest?

Answer 2

that people’s decisions and judgements on issues of right and wrong can be summarised in a stage theory of moral reasoning

Question 3

what are the 3 levels in stage theory?

Answer 3

• level I: pre-conventional morality (stage 1+2)
• level II: conventional morality (stage 3+4)
• level III: post-conventional morality (stage 5+6)

Question 4

stage theory: stage 1

Answer 4

• punishment orientation
• rules are obeyed to avoid punishment

Question 5

stage theory: stage 2

Answer 5

• instrumental orientation or personal gain
• rules are obeyed for personal gain

Question 6

stage theory: stage 3

Answer 6

• ‘good boy’ or ‘good girl’ orientation
• rules are obeyed for approval

Question 7

stage theory: stage 4

Answer 7

• maintenance of the social order
• rules are obeyed to maintain social order

Question 8

stage theory: stage 5

Answer 8

• morality of contract and individual rights
• rules are challeneged if they infringe on the rights of others

Question 9

stage theory: stage 6

Answer 9

• morality of conscience
• individuals have a set of personal ethical principles

Question 10

how is stage theory linked with criminality?

Answer 10

• many studies have suggested that offenders tend to show a lower level of moral reasoning than non-offenders
• offenders are more likely to be classified at the pre-conventional level of kohlberg’s model (stage 1+2)
• non-offenders have generally progressed to the conventional level and beyond

Question 11

kohlberg et al. (1973)

Answer 11

used moral dilemmas to show that a group of violent youths were at a significantly lower level of moral development than non-violent youths, even after controlling for social background

Question 12

why might people at the pre-conventional level be more likely to commit a crime?

Answer 12

• pre-conventional level is characterised by a need to avoid punishment and gain rewards
• associated with less mature, childlike reasoning
• crime may be committed if they can get away with it or gain rewards eg. money, increased respect

Question 13

chandler (1973)

Answer 13

offenders are ofen more egocentric and display poorer social perspective-taking skills than non-offender peers

Question 14

why would individuals at a higher level not commit crime?

Answer 14

• sympathise more with the rights of others
• exhibit more conventional behaviours eg. honesty, generosity, non-violence

Question 15

evaluation: research support for link between level of moral reasoning and crime (palmer and hollin 1998)

Answer 15

• compared moral reasoning in 332 non-offenders and 126 convicted offenders
• used socio moral reflection measure short form (SRM-SF)
• 11 moral dilemma-related questions eg. keeping a promise to a frined
• offender group shows less mature moral reasoning than non-offender group, supporting kohlberg’s predictions

Question 16

evaluation: level of moral reasoning may depend on the offence (thornton and reid 1982)

Answer 16

• people who committed crimes for financial gain (eg. robbery) were more likely to show pre-conventional moral reasoning than those convicted of impulsive crimes (eg. assault)
• pre-conventional moral reasoning tends to be associated with crimes where offenders believe they have a good chance of evading punishment
• this suggests that kohlberg’s theory may not apply to all forms of crime

Question 17

evaluation: thinking vs. behaviour

Answer 17

• moral thinking is not the same as moral behaviour
• krebs and denton (2005) - moral reasoning of the kind kohlberg was interested in is more likely used to justify behaviour after it has happened