Moral Development - Lawrence Kohlberg

Lawrence Kohlberg was an American phycologist who also was the author of the three stages of moral development. Kohlberg graduated from the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts in 1945 after serving in the merchant marines. Lawrence was also working on a ship owned by a Zionist military organization which would try to smuggle Jewish refugees into Palestine past the British blockades (Doorey). Once Kohlberg was done serving in the military organization he came back to the U.S and went to the University of Chicago. He then began teaching in different places and settled in Harvard, where he started

Moral development is when the child will learn the difference between right and wrong. Piaget came up with three theories of moral development: id, ego and superego. Lawrence Kohlberg expanded Piaget?s theories and came up with six stages of moral development. A four year old child is known to be very active and energetic. They love to talk, enjoy silly humor, love learning new information about their world, and enjoy finding solutions to problems in imaginative ways (Miller, 1999).

In this case, Russell is in Mr. Willow’s eighth-grade biology class. After scoring a 72 percent on his first test, Russell’s dad threatens to take away his extracurricular activities. Worried that his dad will take away his social life, Russell decides that he is going to work extra hard on his genetics assignment so that he can improve his grade and get back on his dad’s good side. After hearing that Mr. Willow’s genetics assignment is extremely difficult, Russell is persuaded by his soccer teammate, Luis, to use his brother’s assignment that he turned in to Mr. Willow a few years back that had received a high grade. Thinking about pleasing his dad, keeping his social life, and not getting made fun of by his teammate, Russell turns in Luis’ brother’s assignment as his own. Mr. Willow notices that the paper is not Russell’s original work and embarrasses him in front of the entire class. Given Russell’s age and actions, Russell is in the conventional stage of Kohlberg’s Moral Development, more specifically the “Good boy/Good girl” stage because he is looking to meet other people’s expectations when he is making decisions. For example, Russell used Luis’s brother’s assignment because he wanted to get a good grade that would please his dad. Secondly, Russell knew that if Luis found out that he didn’t use his brother’s assignment, Luis would more than likely make fun of him.

Stage 3: Initiative Versus Guilt Between three and five years of age with acquired new skills from stage 1 and stage 2 children have the capacity and are ready to learn .Now children have the capacity and ready to learn productive ways of dealing with people and things. They learn how to take initiative without being hurtful to others and also discover how the world works. They take challenges and master the new skills acquired. In this stage they forget quickly and move forward energytically. This gives them a sense of success. At this stage children need to develop sense of purpose, this happens when adults direct children’s urges toward acceptable social practices. If children are discouraged by criticism, feelings of incompetence are

However, there is a level 2 which is now conventional moral reasoning which is more for adults with the laws. This level has stages 3 and 4 which are interpersonal expectations which means to follow the rules or do what other people what so that they can get their approval (Kohlberg Theory of Moral Development). Stage 4 is law and order which means to follow the laws instead of what one rele believes because following the laws is important. Also it’s basically someone trying to be a good citizen that follows the law and doesn’t break it because the are scared of what can happen. For example, if someone is driving in a road that is empty and there is a stop sign a person in this stage would stop even though nobody is around they know that would be breaking the law and in their mind they can’t do that. Of course many adults aren’t in this stage because some laws are just too strict but there are many in between which is they follow most rules or laws but break other ones. The people in this stage do this because they

My life closely mimics how Kohlberg described in his theory of moral development. From the first stage of his theory of moral development, I recall following orders to the letter. The punishment and threat thereof were terrifying. Detention, suspension, expulsion were strong deterrents. Raised by very strict parents, I listened and obeyed every command. School was the priority, and getting good grades was the most important thing to them. Therefore, it was the most important thing to me. But as I grew, I began to see conflict in what my parents saw was right and what the teachers said was right. This lead me to stage two of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development that different people will have different opinions on what is right. I had to

The 3 children that I observed also have different social development. Alexander, who is 7 years old is in the level 2 conventional morality. When I read to him the story and the dilemma that Kenny had his answer to my questions were based on how it was right to return the wallet and it was wrong to keep it. For him it was right to return the wallet because it was the right thing to do. Which, reflects the conventional morality of acting as a good member of society. Enrique’s social development is also in the level 2 conventional morality because he focused on how he is a good person if he returned the wallet. He mentioned that it’s not good to keep things that aren’t yours. Which, reflects on the interest in pleasing others by acting as good members of society. Finally, Alexis is in the level 3 postconventional morality because for him it’s okay to keep the wallet if the owner were rich

Children who are successful at this stage feel capable and able to lead others. Those who fail to acquire these skills are left with a sense of guilt, self-doubt, and lack of

Goldman Sachs should have been punished for its behavior in the years leading up to the financial crisis. Goldman ended up settling with the federal government for $110 Billion, which I do not believe was sufficient based on the magnitude of problems created. This amount should have been much larger, and at minimum they should have forfeited the $14 Billion paid to them by AIG. (Inside Job, 2011) In addition, AIG should have had the right to sue Goldman Sachs for fraud. It was in the public’s best interest to keep Goldman up and running, however additional penalties could have been put on a repayment schedule to keep them solvent. Instead, you had Goldman giving out large bonuses.

Guilt, where they begin to assert their power and control more frequently. The most central idea to this stage is play, where children have the opportunity to consistently interact with other children and form strong inter-personal skills. Through this seemingly minute activity, children gain the ability to make decisions and take initiative. If the child is presented with harsh criticism (like bullying or teasing) they will be overcome with the feeling of being a burden, and therefore remain a follower. This contributes to guilt over believing that they are a nuisance, inhibiting their creativity and

The third stage is the post-conventional level. This happens in adults over 20 years old. This is when individuals critically examine customs and social rules according to their own sense of universal human rights, moral principles, and duties.

Annotated Bibliography and Reflections 3 Moral Development McCarthy, M. A., Phillips, B.A., Mills, J. & Horn, M.E. (2002). Moral reasoning: Does the college experience make a difference? College Student Affairs Journal, 21, 3-8. Although one research found age to be a factor impacting moral development of people, the authors examined whether there is a difference between moral development of traditional and non-traditional students, differentiated by the age of attending university.

Lawrence Kohlberg was your average American boy. He was born in 1972 into a wealthy family. While growing up in Bronxville, New York he attended schooling at Phillips academy, but to a surprise as a student he was very mischievous. After his schooling he became a part of the Zionist cause, helping to bring Jewish refugees through the British blockade. In 1948 he attended the University of Chicago and obtained his BA in one year due to his excellent scores on the entrance examination. He was going to school to study to become a clinical psychologist. While in the process he came across the work of Jean Piaget’s moral development. This caught Kohlber’s interest and Kohlberg himself began to look into moral development. He began to interview

I definitely think that Conventional Level Stage 4: Maintain the Social Order has a big influence on children of all ages. The reason for this is because of peer pressure. While peer pressure is viewed in a negatively light, it can be good if it helps pressure away from something bad; in an instance of children following rules and procedures of a classroom, that is good peer pressure. Unless a student wants to be seen in a dark light by their peers, for example a class clown, they will do their best to maintain the social order of the classroom as to not rock the boat too much, both for themselves and for others. At certain ages, the "bad kid" will not want to be associated by other children as if their rebellion is some sort of contagion that