Lawrence Kohlberg: An

Introduction to the Stages of

Moral Development

Faith, Hope and Charity are

theological virtues.
Theological virtues are the foundation of
Christian moral activity; they animate it and
give it its special character. They inform and
give life to all the moral virtues. They are
infused by God into the souls of the faithful to
make them capable of acting as his children
and of meriting eternal life. They are the
pledge of the presence of the action of the
Holy Spirit in the faculties of the human
being.
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Lawrence Kohlberg: Who

Is He?

For many years, he was a professor at

Harvard University. He became famous for
his work there beginning in the early 1970s.
He started as a developmental psychologist
and then moved to the field of moral
education. He was particularly well-known
for his theory of moral development which
he popularized through research studies
conducted at Harvard's Center for Moral
Education.
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Lawrence
Kohlberg

His theory of moral development was

dependent on the thinking of the Swiss
psychologist Jean Piaget and the
American philosopher John Dewey. He
was also inspired by James Mark
Baldwin. These men had emphasized that
human beings develop philosophically
and psychologically in a progressive
fashion.
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Kohlberg believed...and was able to

demonstrate through studies...that people
progressed in their moral reasoning (i.e., in
their bases for ethical behavior) through a
series of stages. He believed that there
were six identifiable stages which could be
more generally classified into three levels.

The stages include growth from selfcenteredness to other-centeredness.

Self-centeredness

Other-centeredness

6 Key Points to Keep in

Mind in
Stages of Development
One must progress through the stages
in order. One cannot get to a higher
stage w/o passing through the stage
immediately preceding it.

1.

Moral development is growth, and like

all growth, takes place according to a
pre-determined sequence.
Cant walk before you crawl
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6 Key Points to Keep in

Mind in
Stages of Development
2. Subjects cannot comprehend moral
reasoning at a stage more than one
stage beyond their own.
e.g. If Johnny is oriented to see the good
almost exclusively as that which brings
him satisfaction, how will he understand
a concept of good in which the good
may bring him no tangible pleasure at
all.
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6 Key Points to Keep in

Mind in
Stages of Development
3. Individuals are cognitively attracted to
reasoning one level above their own
present predominant level.
- The person has questions and problems to the solutions
for which are less satisfying at his present level. Since
reasoning at one stage higher is intelligible, and since it
makes sense and resolves more difficulties, it is more
attractive.

6 Key Points to Keep in

Mind in
Stages of Development
4.

Movement through the stages is effected when

cognitive disequilibrium is created, that is, when a
persons cognitive outlook is not adequate to cope with
a given moral dilemma.

- The person who is growing, will look for

more adequate ways of solving problems.

If he has no problems or dilemmas, he is
not likely to look for solutions. He will not
grow morally.

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6 Key Points to Keep in

Mind in
Stages of Development
5. It is quite possible for a human
being to physically mature but not
morally mature.
- If a child is spoiled, never having to accommodate
for others needs, he may never generate enough
questions to propel him to a higher level of moral
reasoning.

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6 Key Points to Keep in

Mind in
Stages of Development
6. Kohlberg believed that only about
25% of persons ever grow to level six,
the majority remaining at level four..
-

If Kohlbergs observations are true,

then level 6 thinkers would be in the
minority. In fact, they might even be
misunderstood and persecuted by a
level 4 majority.
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Sample Videos:
Vertical Limit: ..\HOPE IN DESPAIR\vertical limit short video.avi

If you were the son will you do the same

thing? Why?
Seinfeld
If you were among the four, is it right
what have you done whether there is a
law or not? Why?
Wang Yue Case

If you were among the 18 passersby what

could be your reason for not helping the
child?
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Level One: PRE-CONVENTIONAL

(Self-Centered)

Description
A persons moral reasoning results from
consequences of actions, such as
punishment, reward, or exchange of
favors, and from the physical power of
authority figures. The first level of moral
thinking is that generally found at the
elementary school level.
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Stage 1: Punishment &

Obedience
Not law or justice, but cost to me
Conscience = self-protection
Doing what is right for fear of
punishment.
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Stage 2: Instrumental
Relativist
Right behavior means acting in one's own
best interests.
Reasoning is largely based on an attitude of
you scratch my back and Ill scratch yours.
Exchange of favors.
Doing what is right for personal gain
(reward)
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Level Two: The Conventional

Level
(Group Centered )
Description:
A persons moral reasoning involves
maintaining the expectations of ones family,
peer group, or nation for ones own sake
regardless of the immediate consequences,
and a desire to respect, maintain, support,
and justify the existing social order.
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Stage 3:
Interpersonal
Concordance
Obligation to ones family, gang, etc.
One earns acceptance by being nice.
Doing what is right for accdg. to majority
to be good boy/girl.
Individual acts with the goal of fulfilling
social roles such as student, parent, worker.

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Stage 4: Law and Order

Without laws, society would be chaos

Right behavior consists of doing ones
duty and respecting authority.
Flaws in the system are due to the failure
of individuals who do not obey the system.
Doing what is right because it is your
duty and helps society
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Level Three: Post

Conventional Level
(Internalized-Truth-Centered)

Description:
A person reasons according to moral values
and principles which are valid and applicable
apart from the authority of the groups.
Moral reasoning becomes more
comprehensive, reflects universal principles,
and is based on internalized norms.
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Stage 5: Social
Contract
Loyalty to truth
Rules are social agreements that can be
changed when necessary.
Right and wrong now determined
by personal values.
Doing what is right even if it is against
the law because the law is too restrictive.
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Stage 6: Universal Ethical

Principles
Morality is based on principles that transcend
mutual benefit.
Choices are grounded in genuine moral
interest in the well-being of others, regardless
of who they are.

Doing what is right because of our inner

conscious which has absorbed the
principles of justice, equality and
sacredness of life.
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SUMMARY:
Stages of Moral Development
Lawrence Kohlberg

Level

Stage

Ages

Social Orientation

Pre-Conventional

2-4

Obedience and Punishment

4-7

Individualism, Instrumentalism

7-10

Good Boy/Girl

10-12

Law and Order

Teens

Social Contract

Adult

Principled Conscience

Conventional

Post-Conventional

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SUMMARY:

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Some Final
Thoughts
A. Kohlberg's scale has to do with moral
thinking, not moral action. As everyone
knows, people who can talk at a high
moral level may not behave accordingly.
B. Consequently, we would not expect
perfect correlations between moral
judgment and moral action. Still,
Kohlberg thinks that there should be
some relationship.
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Some Final
Thoughts
C. As a general hypothesis, he
proposes that moral behavior is
more consistent, predictable, and
responsible at the higher stages
(Kohlberg et al., 1975). Why?

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Conclusion:
Because
the
stages
themselves
increasingly employ more stable and
general standards, i.e. principles.
For example, whereas stage 3 bases
decisions on others' feelings, which can
vary, stage 4 refers to set rules and laws.
Thus, we can expect that moral behavior,
too, will become more consistent as people
move up the sequence.
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EXAMPLE OF MORAL DILEMMA:

In the movie Vertical Limit, a father (Royce) an

expert mountain climbing went with his 2 children
(Peter and Anne) to climb the Monument Valley
together with other two companions.
Unfortunately, when they were almost half of the
way an accident had happen. The two amateurs
fell leaving the family dangling, Royce forces
Peter to cut the rope and loose him to save Peter
and his sister. If you were Peter, will you cut the
rope to save your life and your sister at the
expense of losing your fathers life?
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STAGES

RESPONSES

1 Punishment
& Obedience
2
Instrumental
- Relativist

I will cut the rope. I will obey my

father and so that I can be saved.

3
Interpersonal
concordance

I will not cut the rope. In doing so

my sister will not got angry to me
as well as the other member of my
family.

4 Law and
Order

I will not cut the rope it is

against the law (murder).

5 Social
Contract

I will not cut the rope because

there is still possibility to be saved
and if not all of us will die.
I will not cut the rope because I
know my conscience will bother 29me

6 Universal

I will cut the rope so that I can

have my reward to be alive.

Principle of
Double Effect

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Principle of Double
Effect

A good effect that is intended but

along with the good effect there is
a concomitant evil effect that is not
intended.

the principle of double effect

governs situation in which one
action is followed by two effects,
one good (and intended), the other
evil (foreseen but not intended).

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Four Conditions for

DE

1) the action in itself is a good act

considered in its object.

2) the good effect is intended not the bad

effect.
3) the good effect is not produced by the
bad effect.
4) there is a proportionately grave reason
for performing the bad act.

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Using the same Moral Dilemma in the film Vertical Limit

and Applying the Principles of Double Effect:
1.Primarily the act is not good because cutting the rope is
evidently will cause the death of the father.
2.The intention is good to save the lives of the children but at the
expense of the death of their own father.
3.Good effect was not come first instead the bad ones which is
the death of the father. In the situation also how sure the siblings
will be able to survive even they remove the weight of their father?
4.The grave reason is all their lives were at risk at that time and
they have to make an immediate decision for survival.

CONCLUSION: Applying the Principles of D.E. in the

situation in Vertical Limit the act of the son will be considered
IMMORAL for failing to meet the 1 & 3 requirements.

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