Lawrence Kohlberg

2. Lawrence Kohlberg The Moral Reasoning of Children Fall 2010 Mebane & Frassrand

3. Morality A set of values that a person follows. Actions which are preceded by moral judgments; they take priority over all other value judgments; implicate judgment of one’s self as either good or bad; and they tend towards a high degree of generality, universality, consistency, and inclusiveness (Kohlberg’s dissertation)

4. Hypothesis • Children will fall into one of Kohlberg’s six stages of moral reasoning. • After being asked questions, the children will answer them consistently every time. • The reasonings of younger children will fall in the preconventional reasoning group, while the reasoning of older children will fall in the postconventional reasoning group.

5. Biography • Born October 25, 1927 in New York, to a well-to-do family • Youngest of four children • Raised Jewish (like Vygotsky!!) • Attended Andover Academy for High School • Did not immediately go to college, instead became anengineer on a ship in Europe. • Went to college at University of Chicago • Scored so high on admissions tests that he only had to take a few classes to earn Bachelor's degree (which he did in only one year!)

6. Biography cont. • Graduated with his Ph.D. in 1958 (Univ. of Chicago) • Intended to become Clinical Psychologist • Instead became interested in Piaget and his theories of moral development in children and adolescents • Professor at the University of Chicago (1962-68), and later at Harvard (1968-87) • Responsible for creation of “Moral Development” as a field within Psychology • Contracted a tropical disease while doing research in Belize • Struggled with Depression • Died on January 17, 1987 reportedly of having committed suicide

8. Bibliography of Works • A Cognitive-Developmental Analysis of Children's Sex-Role Concepts and Attitudes (1966) • The Meaning and Measurement of Moral Development (1981) • The Philosophy of Moral Development: Moral Stages and the Idea of Justice (1981) - used • The Psychology of Moral Development: The Nature and Validity of Moral Stages (1984) - used • Child Psychology and Childhood Education: A Cognitive Developmental View (1987) • Constructivist Early Education, Overview an Comparison With Our Program: Overview and Comparison With Other Programs (1989) • The Stages of Ethical Development: From Childhood Through Old Age (1991)

9. Kohlberg’s Philosophy of Education • Believed that there should be a cooperative effort in all that people do, i.e. that they should work together as a community. • Believed also that group discussions and debates are the best way to learn. • This is important because in a collective group, you are more able to form ideas (notion of social contract) • Kohlberg would approve of Mrs. Khirallah’s classroom setting because it is a seminar style class, allowing for interactive learning. • He would not approve of lecture style because students are not easily able to participate and debate different ideas and moral aspects.

10. Piaget and Kohlberg • Piaget’s work had a direct influence on Kohlberg • Kohlberg based his work off of Piaget’s theory of moral development. • Found Piaget’s work to be impressive, yet “incomplete” (Crain, p.152) • Decided to expand upon Piaget in order to enhance his theory. • Added two more stages to Piaget’s theory because he did not think that Piaget’s stages were thorough enough. • Kohlberg’s development of moral reasoning

11. Kohlberg’s Six Stages of Moral Reasoning • In order to do what is right, on must first know what is right • How do children understand what kind of behaviors are right, and which are wrong? • Established three different levels in which moral reason is developed. In each level there are two stages, an early stage and a late stage.

12. Level I: Preconventional • Children ages 4 to 10 years old typically fall within in this stage. • This level is characterized by one-dimensional thinking • Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment Orientation • Conception that there is a set of rules handed down by an authority figure (parents, teachers) that must be obeyed, otherwise punishment will follow. • Children are very ego-centric. They are unable to consider the perspectives of others. • Stage 2: Individualism and Exchange • Move towards reciprocity and idea that what is right is also fair.

13. Level II: Conventional • Children ages 10-13 years typically fall in this stage • Focused on social relationships, duties, and conventions • The child in this stage tends act in accordance to what society defines as right. • Stage 3:Good Interpersonal Relationships • Awareness of shared emotions, agreement, and expectations. Attempts to gain approval and to avoids disapproval and rejection from others • Stage 4: Authority and Social Order Maintaining Orientation • Abide by codes of law and order and respect to authority Examples: “If you steal from the store, your family will think bad of you”

14. Level III: Postconventional • Adolescents and adults typically fall within this level. • Focuses on ideals and principles. • Stage 5: Social Contract and Individual Rights • Being aware of the values and opinions of others • Taking into consideration the values and rules of society • Stage 6: Universal Principles • Doing what is best not because it is right, but because it is what needs to be done • Most important: the move away from a one dimensional way of thinking, to a two dimensional way of thinking • Although not all people achieve stage six, those who do, have achieved and mastered all of the other five stages.

15. Developing 6 Stages • Kohlberg wrote a series of dilemmas • Used to assess the moral reasoning of children and adults • The most famous is the Heinz Dilemma • Invariant Sequences • Hierarchical Integration • That there was a Cross-Cultural Universality

16. Criticisms • Carol Gilligan argued that Kohlberg’s work is biased as he exclusively interviewed boys. She argued that girls have a different orientation towards moral reasoning. • Kohlberg’s stance that his stages are universal have also been argued against, as he did not take in consideration other cultures outside of America. • List of 10 ‘Universal Moral’ Issues: 1) Laws and Rules 6) Contract, Trust, and Justice 2) Conscience 7) Punishment 3) Personal Roles of Affection 8) The Value of Life 4) Authority 9) Property Rights and Values 5) Civil Rights 10) Truth

18. Dilemma VII Two Brothers Two young men, brothers, had got into serious trouble. They were secretly leaving town in a hurry and needed money. Karl, the older one, broke into a store and stole a thousand dollars. Bob, the younger one, went to a retired old man who was known to help people in town. He told the man that he was very sick and that he needed a thousand dollars to pay for an operation. Bob asked the old man to lend him the money and promised that he would pay him back when he recovered. Really Bob wasn't sick at all, and he had no intention of paying the man back. Although the old man didn't know Bob very well, he lent him the money. So Bob and Karl skipped town, each with a thousand dollars.

19. The Questions 1a. Which is worse, stealing like Karl or cheating like Bob? 1b. Why is that worse? 2. What do you think is the worst thing about cheating the old man? 2a. Why is that the worst thing? 3. In general, why should a promise be kept? 4. Is it important to keep a promise to someone you don't know well or will never see again? 4a. Why or why not? 5. Why shouldn't someone steal from a store? 6. What is the value or importance of property rights? 7. Should people do everything they can to obey the law? 7a. Why or why not? 8. Was the old man being irresponsible by lending Bob the money? 8a. Why or why not?

20. OUR STUDY • Kohlberg’s VII Dilemma • Four participants (all homeschooled siblings) • Male age 5 • Male age 8 • Female age 11 • Male age 13 • Note: this participant has a learning difference • Interviews were conducted orally • Data was collected with a recorder then later transcribed • The interviews were conducted in one of the Resident Halls.

21. Kohlberg’s Characteristics of Moral Types • Value:Modes of attributing moral value to acts and persons. Differentiating and relating means and ends, intentions and consequences, one person’s evaluation and others, etc. Modes of assessing value-consequences in the situation • Choice: The kind of identification with the actor in conflict and methods of resolving the conflict. The social process of moral argumentation and the capacity for making and maintaining an independent choice. The outcome chosen in the particular situation. • Sanction: The dominant rewards, punishments or goals to which conformity is oriented. • Stealing Rule:The type of concept against which an act is assessed, on which guides conformity, e.g., taboo, rule, law. The concept of duty or moral compulsion. • Cheating and Good Self: Modes of defining concepts of good person and good role. • Justice:Concern for and concepts of rights and the legitimate relation of one act, as deserved, to another. Standards of exchange, reciprocity, contract, punishment, and reward.

22. Kohlberg’s Coding Form

24. Responses

25. Responses

26. Coding Form

27. Were We Right? Children will fall into one of Kohlberg’s six stages of moral reasoning. After being asked questions, the children will answer them consistently every time. The reasoning of younger children will fall in the preconventional reasoning group, while the reasoning of older children will fall in the postconventional reasoning group.

28. Comparison Kolhberg Kristina & Amanda

29. Yes and No.

30. Notes on Study • For the 13 year old, because of his age he should have scored higher, but because he had a learning difference, this has caused him to score lower. • Interesting that the female scored so high because according to the book Promoting Moral Growth, Kohlberg held that females always tend to score lower than males. • In most studies involving Kohlberg’s dilemmas, his Heinz dilemma is used. We assume this is because it is easier to identify with for children. Of all of Kohlberg’s dilemmas it is also the easiest to simplify, as well as the easiest to code.

31. Implications for Further Research • How would children answer differently if role-play was incorporated with the questions? Would the children understand the questions better and hence answer more elaborately? Would they have answered differently? • How would children with learning differences score differently compared to others of the same age?

32. Limitations • Verbiage of the dilemma was to lofty for young children. • Confusion of questions. • Asked for clarification. • Simplification of dilemma necessary for full comprehension of story. • Got distracted easily. • Limited number of children.

33. Nature vs. Nurture Nature Nurture Amanda Kristina Piaget & Kohlberg Locke Rousseau

34. Question • The third stage of Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning discusses the • importance of ‘Good Interpersonal Relationships’. He defined this • as the following: • 1. The awareness of shared emotions, agreement, and expectations. • The child attempts to gain approval, and to avoid disapproval and • rejection from others. • 2. The acceptance of being in a relationship with someone else, and • understanding how this relationship effects you as a person. It is also the desire and need of feeling approval from someone else. • 3. The awareness of shared emotions, agreement, and expectations. • It involves being a good friend to others with the intention of gaining • the approval and acceptance of others. • 4. Being aware of the feelings and emotions of others. This is the first • step in forming relational bonds with another person.