Compare And Contrast Kohlberg's Theory Of Moral Development

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1. The belief of how people make meaning of their world are very different between Kohlberg and Gilligan (as cited in Patton et al., 2016). One difference between to two theorist is a concept of justice versus the concept of care. Kohlberg’s theory of Moral Development was based on a study conducted on 72 upper and middle class males, which does not give complete picture of the process of moral development of human beings because it only focuses on one sex. Gilligan challenged Kohlberg’s model by constructing a separate moral development theory for women. Gilligan’s model is based on the characteristics of women regarding care and relationships, where Kohlberg’s theory is based upon the principle that human beings make decisions on the basis of universal, …show more content…
Similarly, both theorists’ levels have progression, and focus on only one gender. Kohlberg focused on how individuals make moral judgments based on emphasis on value rather than fact, the effect on a person or persons, and a requirement that action be taken (as cited in Patton et al., 2016). Kohlberg’s stages of moral development consist of three levels and six stages. Stages progress in a hierarchy from lower order to higher order of moral thinking where universal justice is the goal and autonomy is prized (as cited in Patton et al., 2016). According to Kohlberg (1976), in the preconventional level, individuals have not come to understand societal rules, there are two stages. Stage one (heteronomous morality/obedience), if a person is punished they must have done something wrong, an individual is good in order to avoid being punished. Stage two (individualistic, instrumental morality/self-interest), an individual recognizes that these is not just one right view, and will follow rules if it is in their interest. In the conventional level, individuals identify with rules and expectations, there are two

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