Dr. Kohleberg's Theory of Moral Development

I appologize for the quality of my voice, I am suffering from seasonal allergies.

Source links:
http://faculty.plts.edu/gpence/html/kohlberg.htm
http://www.haverford.edu/psych/ddavis/p109g/kohlberg.stages.html
http://faculty.plts.edu/gpence/html/kohlberg.htm


This is not my usual subject matter. I do have a little education in childhood development and I made this video because I felt it would be a useful tool when analyzing the motives and perspectives of Creationists and others. I hope this can be a useful tool to do so. I am planning on referring to it briefly in a future video.

Dr. Kohlberg described moral development from inward focus, to societal focus, to an individuality focus. His theory was inspired by the work of Jean Piaget and a fascination with children's reactions to moral dilemmas. Piaget wrote of the dramatic change in a childs basis for making moral decisions. Initially, children view rules as simple and inflexible. Once they reach the age of ten, their views begin to take on greater complexity. Kohlberg used the Heinz Dilemma in his original research. It gives an example of each of the six stages perceptions to an ethical dilemma.


A woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to produce. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $ 1,000, which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said, "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it." So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife. Should Heinz have broken into the laboratory to steal the drug for his wife? Why or why not?

Stage one (obedience): Heinz should not steal the medicine because he will consequently be put in prison which will mean he is a bad person. Or: Heinz should steal the medicine because it is only worth $200 and not how much the druggist wanted for it; Heinz had even offered to pay for it and was not stealing anything else.

Stage two (self-interest): Heinz should steal the medicine because he will be much happier if he saves his wife, even if he will have to serve a prison sentence. Or: Heinz should not steal the medicine because prison is an awful place, and he would probably languish over a jail cell more than his wife's death.

Stage three (conformity): Heinz should steal the medicine because his wife expects it; he wants to be a good husband. Or: Heinz should not steal the drug because stealing is bad and he is not a criminal; he tried to do everything he could without breaking the law, you cannot blame him.

Stage four (law-and-order): Heinz should not steal the medicine because the law prohibits stealing, making it illegal. Or: Heinz should steal the drug for his wife but also take the prescribed punishment for the crime as well as paying the druggist what he is owed. Criminals cannot just run around without regard for the law; actions have consequences.

Stage five (human rights): Heinz should steal the medicine because everyone has a right to choose life, regardless of the law. Or: Heinz should not steal the medicine because the scientist has a right to fair compensation. Even if his wife is sick, it does not make his actions right.

Stage six (universal human ethics): Heinz should steal the medicine, because saving a human life is a more fundamental value than the property rights of another person. Or: Heinz should not steal the medicine, because others may need the medicine just as badly,

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Kohlberg
• Moral
• Development
• Stages
• Psycology
• Children

[maynardvedder]

It should be said that Kohlberg's theory of moral development is quite dated.

Carol Gilligan, for example, has been opposed to this theory for years.

The Psychology of morality has come a long way since Kohlberg. I still understand what you were going for in this video (and its a good video), but I just felt the need to clear that up.

[JRChadwick]

Thanks for the information. I know it is old, but I think it still is valid. It is rather broad, but it is a good generalization.

[L00kng]

@JRChadwick

Actually, no it is not a good generalization. It is not valid. It needs to be integrated with Gilligan's work. The fact that you think it is valid and a good generalization is part of the issue. You are a male, and you sound young. You may be genetically prevented from seeing the importance of her work. It is fine to say this is a video about Kohlberg's work on Moral Development, but not really valid to say this is a video about Moral Development.

[JRChadwick]

@L00kng I am not sure why you think my age or gender make a difference in my interpretation of this study. I do not dismiss Gilligan's work, I am simply unaware of this. This is not a field I traditionally study. I was required to study Kohlberg's theory several years before this video was made and I decided it would be a useful concept to make a video about.

[Aaberg123]

"As such, this is not likely to be a topic most of my subscribers are particularly interested in hearing."

I think you may underestimate the interests of your subscriber base.

From my thorough,1-person survey, all things points towards an interest in topics like this.

[isylvan]

How this video manages to have less than a perfect-five-star rating is beyond me...

[bababyboo]

Thanks, i might just pass this test after all!!!!!

[piratentim]

I am at stage 4, i understand why he steal the medicine but he have to accept the conecvence of it....

[LifeIsTheGreatest]

I was first exposed to Kohlberg's theory in secondary school. Stages 1, 4 and 6 were what stuck in my mind most vividly. Now, 20 years later, I'm glad I have the internet to easily look it up again. My interest is in facilitating a movement up the stages in others I live with at a university college. Self-testing has revealed I have been at stage six for some years now. The key criticism of Kohlber's theory is it may be incomplete. Fair enough however, it still remains very valuable. Thankyou.

[zabelicious]

Great video!!.. explains very well the various stages. I am at 6 and cannot fathom any other way to be. Gets me in trouble sure, but I don't care. That's my true nature and that is the only way I make sense of the "crazy" world we live in! Thanks!!

[JRChadwick]

@5959512 How fascinating.

[TheNamelessCharacter]

VenomFangX

Still to pass reach stage 3.

[TheGoalSetter]

The USA.

Law is the life blood of the USA, thus it is primarily a Republic, stage four.

We get to vote for some officials/laws. That is Democracy (mob rule). Conceptually, level 5, but the voters would vary in morality.

Our top level rulers/laws are selected by groups (electoral college, appointments, Federal Reserve, etc). That is Oligarchy. Hopefully, these people are level 6.

Interesting mix.