Lawrence Kohlberg (Theory Of Moral Development)

Front 1

3 Levels of Moral Development

Back 1

- Pre-conventional level
- Conventional
- Post-conventional level

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Pre-conventional

Back 2

morality is externally controlled; children accept the rules of authority figures and judge actions by their consequences.

Stage 1: The punishment and obedience orientation: Children at this stage focus on fear
of authority and avoidance of punishment as reasons for behaving morally.

Stage 2: The instrumental purpose orientation: Children view right action as flowing from
self-interest and understand reciprocity as equal exchange of favours.

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Conventional

Back 3

At the conventional level, individuals regard conformity to social rules as important
because they believe that actively maintaining the current social system ensures positive
relationships and societal order.

Stage 3: The “good boy–good girl” orientation, or the morality of interpersonal
cooperation: The individual obeys rules in order to promote social harmony, based on an
understanding of ideal reciprocity and on the capacity to view a two-person relationship
from the vantage point of an impartial, outside observer.

Stage 4: The social-order-maintaining orientation: The individual takes societal laws into
account and believes that rules must be enforced even-handedly, and members of
society must uphold rules to maintain societal order.

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Post-conventional

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The Post-conventional or Principled Level
 Moving beyond unquestioning support for their own society’s rules and laws, individuals at
the post-conventional level define morality in terms of abstract principles and values that
apply to all situations and societies.

Stage 5: The social contract orientation: Individuals view laws and rules as flexible
instruments for furthering human purposes and will freely follow them when they are
consistent with individual rights and the interests of the majority.

Stage 6: The universal ethical principle orientation: At this highest stage, right action is
defined by self chosen ethical principles of conscience that are valid for all people,
regardless of law and social agreement.

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Influences on Moral Development

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Parenting Practices: parents who engage in moral discussions, encourage pro-social behaviour, and
create a supportive atmosphere by listening sensitively, asking clarifying questions, and presenting
higher-level reasoning encourage moral understanding.

Schooling: Higher education introduces young people to social issues that range beyond personal
relationships to entire political or cultural groups.

Peer Interaction: Interaction among peers who present differing viewpoints promotes moral
understanding;

Culture: People in industrialized nations move through Kohlberg’s stages more quickly and advance
to a higher level than those in village societies; these findings raise the question of whether
Kohlberg’s highest level represents a culturally specific way of thinking, limited to individualistic
Western societies.

Religion: Religious education and youth activities teach concern for others and provide opportunities
for moral discussions and civic engagement.