Moral Development Theory by Lawrence Kohlberg - Research Paper Example

? Moral Development Theory by Lawrence Kohlberg Feb. 25, Lawrence Kohlberg theory of moral development is mainly based on the studies that were conducted by Jean Piaget in that they have a strong base in mental or cognitive development (Yahaya, n.d.). Following the stages of cognitive development suggested by Piaget, Kohlberg’s theory follows in the footsteps to explain how individuals develop into moral beings or rather immoral beings. His theory or proposition of moral development is done in stages, where there are six stages through which one has to go to become a morally mature individual in his or her lifetime. Theory states that each stage builds upon the next meaning that one cannot move from one stage to the next unless the requirements of the previous stage are satisfied. In addition, theory goes on to state that one cannot jump between stages due to the above reason and morality in an individual is not measured based on the actions of the individual in question, but rather it is measured by how the individual thinks (Yahaya, n.d.). This is because an individual can speak of morality, but it is not guaranteed that the person will act upon his or her words backed by the same morality accentuated in the words. The first division of moral development, according to Kohlberg, is that of preconvention, followed by the conventional and finally post-conventional, which later give rise to the six stages. This is to mean that Kohlberg's theory has three main divisions that are broken down to provide the details of distinct stages. As such, the first stage is punishment and obedience orientation, in which physical consequences of an action determine how good or bad a thing is. Morality is dependent on avoidance of punishment and not recognition of right from wrong (Cherry, n.d.). The second stage is the instrumentation relativist orientation, where right is that which satisfies the desires, needs and wants of the person in question and at times the satisfaction of other people’s needs. However, for things to be deemed as right, it is based on a mutual trust where one’s needs have to be satisfied before those of others. The third stage is based on individual behavior, where one seeks to achieve the approval of others and conformity is key in order to gain the approval of others. The next stage is based on law and order, in which one is oriented towards authority, maintenance of social order and fixed rules, where one shows respect for authority and promoting social order (Cherry, n.d.). The fifth stage is the social-contract legalistic stage where one acts based on individual rights and standards that have social approval and there is clear awareness in the difference between self and other’s opinions. The last stage is the universal ethical principle orientation, which relies on one’s conscience and ethical principles that one chooses of his or her own accord, and that appeal to logic and consistency. Due to the dependency on previous stages for one to progress, the stages are not based on age, but rather on the level at which one is in (Charles, 1982). Kohlberg was born in the year 1927, and came from a family of a Jewish mother and a protestant mother, who later divorced in 1932. Following the breakup, child custody was offered to both parent until 1941, when all the children were given an opportunity to choose with whom they wanted to live. The older children chose the mother and the younger ones stuck to their father who had at the time remarried. With Kohlberg being part of the younger children, went with his father and was assimilated into his father’s Jewish community. The community offered a counterbalance of his father’s extreme views, which then influenced his own liberal opinions. In school, he was in probation for most of the time he was in school as he attempted to adopt the conduct of one the alumnus who got expelled from the school in which he was (Garz, 2009). During his youth, prominent people such as Dostoevsky and Emerson exposed Kohlberg to moral and religious content. The above events could have had an impact on his ideas for the development of his theory on moral development since the exposure to moral literature must have aroused questions on how he perceived the issue of morality. In addition, the religious content he accessed during his youthful days coupled with his religious background and the community in which he lived could have played a role in investigating how his father’s extremist opinions influenced his liberal thought and opinions. As such, religion coupled with morality could have influenced the inception of his investigations on how one develops morally as merging the two with his decision to live with his father could have aroused questions in him as to how he chose to live with him instead of his mother. In my opinion, Kohlberg’s theory holds a lot of water in that it looks at the systematic process of how one acts, thinks and speaks based on morality or rather right and wrong. His theory attempts to explain how certain people are fixated on their own beliefs of right and wrong, which affect how they relate with other and even how they think. This is as can be seen in people who believe that morality is based on mutual benefit regardless of whether what one is doing is right or wrong. Instead, for them, what counts is who stands to gain and loses, and when they are not gaining in any way, it is wrong. This makes Kohlberg’s theory a true reflection of the events that occurs in the real world and how people behave in practicality. In addition, it states that one cannot bypass one stage and go to the next, which can be observed since morality is learnt and gained through experience; thus, one cannot force experiences onto a person. However, it fails on one part in that measurement is done based by thought and not actions, in my opinion it should be measured using both means to ensure that thoughts and spoken words are followed to the end as actions of morality. References Charles S. (Fall, 1982). Moral Stage Development and Knowledge of Kohlberg's Theory.The Journal of Experimental Education , Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 14-17 Cherry, K. (n.d.) Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development: Stages of Moral Development. About.com Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/kohlberg.htm Garz, D. (2009). Lawrence Kohlberg. Opladen, Germany: Barbara Budrich. Yahaya, A. (n.d.). Theory of Moral Development. Retrieved from http://eprints.utm.my/5991/1/aziziyahteori.pdf Read More