Mean Girls: Developmental Moral Development

In the very popular comedy movie, Mean Girls, which was produced in 2004, there are many laughs about the high school cliques but there is also psychology throughout the film. The movie stars Lindsay Lohan who plays a 16 years old named Cady Heron whose parents are zoologist who traveled to South Africa and have returned after 12 years. Since she was away she was homeschooled and is attending public school for the first time in Evanston, Illinois. She befriends Janis and Damian who warn her about the various cliques and of especially the top and popular group, the Plastics, who take a special interest in Cady. Seeing their interest in Cady, Janis hatches a plan to take revenge on the Plastics and specifically their leader Regina George using Cady as an “inside-man.” …show more content…
This topic can be applied to the movie Mean Girls. Each stage is divided into two subsequent stages. The first stage is called Preconventional Moral Reasoning in which moral judgments are based on the prospect of reward and punishment. The two subsequent stages in this level are 1. Punishment-obedient orientation and 2. Personal reward orientation. The second stage of the moral development theory is called Conventional moral reasoning which are judgment based on laws of society, social norm or rules set by parent. This level can be divided into Good boy- nice girl stage and law and order orientation. The third stage is based on abstract principles such as fairness and justice and is called Postconventional moral reasoning. The two stages in this level are 1. Social contract orientation and 2. Universal ethical principle