Psychological explanations - Levels of moral reasoning

Question 1

What are the three levels of moral reasoning?

Answer 1

Pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional

Question 2

What is the pre-conventional morality stage?

Answer 2

Consideration of self:
Punishment stage: The most basic reasoning; will I be punished? If yes, the behaviour is less likely.
Reward stage: This is all about what there is to gain from the behaviour. If the rewards are good the behaviour is more likely to occur.

Question 3

What is the conventional morality stage?

Answer 3

Consideration of society:
Good boy/girl stage: Considers what other people would think. If those closest to them are criminals the crime is more likely to occur.
Law and order stage: Considers obedience to the law; someone at this stage is the least likely to commit a crime.

Question 4

What is the post-conventional stage of morality?

Answer 4

Own mind:
Social contract stage: Someone at this stage adheres to the law but may commit a crime in certain circumstances, where they feel the law shouldn’t apply.
Ethical principle stage: The individual has their own moral code, and may commit a crime if they feel the law is unjust.

Question 5

What is the level of moral reasoning argument for criminal behaviour?

Answer 5

Offenders have not progressed through all levels of moral reasoning, so they are thinking about themselves

Question 6

Who suggested that incorporating levels of morality into rehabilitiation programmes could reduce offending?

Answer 6

Palmer

Question 7

What is wrong with Kohlberg’s moral reasoning research?

Answer 7

It is based on males so has a beta bias; women’s morality is more likely to be based on caring than justice, and Kohlberg’s theory suggests that this is a lower and less sophisticated reasoning than justice