Kohlbergs Theory of Moral Development - Essay Example

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development: Six Stages Lawrence Kohlberg is one of the most coveted philosophers and exponent of the theory of moral development in human beings. According to his theory of moral development, there are six stages that depict the life of an individual starting from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. The first level of Kohlberg’s theory comprises of pre-conventional morality (two stages), which illustrates the principle of obedience and punishment along with individualistic trends. The logic for obeying rules and facing punishment is expressed by children during the early stages when they assess the establishment of rules although adults can also express the same. For individual exchanges, children try to express their views based on certain actions that are of their interest and preference (Garz, 2009). The second level of this six stages theory is referred to as conventional morality involving interpersonal relationships and adherence to social order. In interpersonal relationships, individuals realize the significance of societal norms and develop the tendency of conforming to them e.g. coping with the expectations of the society. For adhering to social order, an individual comprehends the society before delivering judgments; it also includes maintenance of law and order and execution of responsibility towards the society and its people (Killen and Smetana, 2013). The third level comprising two stages refers to postconventional morality and includes the custom of social contract vis-à-vis individual rights and universal ethical principles. While the former custom is related to subjective opinions about justice even if it confronts the odds and oppositions of the society, the latter stage corresponds with the ability of individuals to understand the difference of opinions of others. It emphasizes on the significance of maintaining the rules of the society, but individuals must do so upon agreement (Modgil and Modgil, 2011). Presently, my moral reasoning is compatible with stage six or universal ethical principles as my psychology is built on subjective ideals that may not always adhere to the absolute rules and strictures and ethics of the society. Yet I always try to abide by the socially set norms and conduct my daily duties while respecting my authorities. Discovery of Positive and Negative Characteristics There are various positive and negative characteristics that I possessed as an individual during adolescence. Among the positive characteristics, I remember that I was extremely tolerant when compared with the individuals of the same age group and had this skill of cooperation whether at home or outside. I remember vividly that I used to help my mom with household chores after completion of studies and all this I did without any specific motivation. Among the negative characteristics, my temperament was not fixed and I frequently lost focus, which distracted me from reaching my goal in life. Another negative aspect of my character was that I was not too friendly although I was not an introvert in the true sense. There was an idiosyncrasy which I could not evade that I might not be accepted in a circle of friends. Broadly speaking, I was not able to comprehend whether the fault lay within me or it was with the others. Despite this, I was loved by my teachers who had placed their trust in me. I tried to get rid of my eccentricity by practicing meditation and also visited a learning center in order to outgrow the loss of confidence and behave as all my friends did. It is true that I have been able to control my fear of getting along with people to a great extent, but I still associate myself with meditation classes and also offer community services; all this has helped me to overcome my negative characteristics. Turning Point of Life One of the major turning points in my life was the decision to join teaching profession. I decided during the late adolescent years to continue with my teaching stint and it was undoubtedly one of the most appropriate decisions that I had taken as it helped me a lot to get rid of my unfriendliness. Now, when I am working as a teacher in a school, I help other people to overcome similar problems that I had faced once. Relationships of Life My relationships have not worked in my favor throughout my life until now. My parents had separated when I was 13 and I could no longer tolerate the presence of any male person in my life. Therefore, I had turned down a dozen proposal of marriage but eventually got hooked with a bad person and the consequences were obvious. My parents were extremely supportive towards me during the initial years and I had a fairly good relationship with them. They were fully aware of my problems and encouraged me with various suggestions that I intended to apply in my real life. However, trouble erupted when my parents started fighting over paltry issues, which put me back to my previous position and my scary feelings got a boost owing to frequent fights within the family. Relationship with Parents I used to miss the absence of a sibling with whom I could have shared my concerns. The disturbances in my family life from middle to late adolescence had a severe impact on life and psychology, which I could push and surge ahead with the help of my teachers and colleagues when I started working as a teacher in a school. In this respect, I certainly owe a lot to my parents for helping me to combat my weaknesses, but I cannot forgive them for the commotion that occurred in our household later. Currently, my students are my greatest strength and I get the vigor to live and work from them. Concerns of Different Stages of Adolescence During early adolescence, I could not fathom what my concerns were but a major one was that I used to feel extremely helpless while coping with new chapters and lessons, which also cast a shadow on my studies and made me less confident. During the middle stage of adolescence, I started realizing at one point that I was in awe of the opposite sex. Being a quiet girl from the beginning, I was apprehensive about talking to the people of opposite sex although the liking for a specific person grew and gave me lot of pain. I was in love with my math teacher as he helped me a lot in dissipating my fear about this subject as a result of which I got the opportunity of interacting with him on several occasions and never did he discourage me despite my poor performance. However, I was scared to disclose this to anyone even though my friends used to tease me about my dating plans and similar subjects of choice. In the years of late adolescence, my only concern was to fulfill my career ambitions. By this age, I had a more mature outlook and my performance in studies improved a lot, but I was not sure about my career plans and the major concern was my indecisiveness about moving head in one direction. References Garz D. (2009), Lawrence Kohlberg : An Introduction, Michigan: Barbara Budrich Killen M. and Smetana J. (2006), A Handbook of Moral Development, New Jersey: Psychology Press Modgil S. and Modgil C. (2011), Lawrence Kohlberg: Consensus and Controversy, Oxfordshire: Routledge . Read More