Moral Development (study notes Kohlberg & Eisenberg) PDF

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Some summary psychology study notes on moral development (Kohlberg & Eisenberg) with reference list...

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MORAL DEVELOPMENT (Some study notes on Kohlberg & Eisenberg)

KOHLBERG Kohlberg (1969,1971), who built of Piaget’s theoretical work, proposed that there are 3 main levels of moral reasoning, each with 2 distinct stages. He argued that these stages are universal and hierarchical; with each stage following from the preceding one. However, he did not say that everyone reaches the final stage. In fact, most people will never reach the post-conventional stage. •

PRE-CONVENTIONAL LEVEL

At pre-conventional level (equates to Piaget’s sensorimotor stage roughly), children look at the consequences of an action when ‘assessing’ its moral worth. This type of reasoning is evident in elementary school children and in some early adolescents as well. •

The 1st stage of this level is known as PUNISHMENT & OBEDIENCE ORIENTATION

If the child gets punished, the behaviour is morally wrong, if he/she does not get punished, the behaviour is right. •

The 2nd stage is the INSTRUMENTAL RELATIVIST/ REWARD ORIENTATION

Rightness amounts to ‘what feels good’, ‘what brings pleasurable outcomes. Concern for others is evident at this stage, but only in a form of ‘If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’. Rules are followed as long as this benefits the child. Moral judgements are based on personal gains. •

CONVENTIONAL LEVEL

At conventional level, which corresponds to Piaget’s formal operational, that is, final stage, an individual’s moral judgements are based on norms and rules held by groups the person belongs to.

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This type of moral reasoning is dominant in middle and late adolescence, in fact it is the most common type in adulthood as well. •

The 3rd stage is called the INTERPERSONAL CONCORDANCE/ ‘GOOD BOY-NICE GIRL’ ORIENTATION

People define right and wrong in terms of what pleases their family members, friends etc. The major motivating factor in regard to moral behaviour is social approval from those closest to them. Intentions and motives will also start to play a part in determining the moral worth of an act. Someone might have done something that has bad consequences, but if he/she did not mean to cause harm, it is seen as less serious than if he/she did it wilfully. •

The 4th stage is known as LAW & ORDER ORIENTATION or social system and conscience stage.

Here morally right actions are defined by society. Laws and regulations should be followed. It is more duty-based.

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POST-CONVENTIONAL STAGE

At the post-conventional level, people have principled morality, which means that they consider abstract ethical principles and move beyond what is consistent with broader cultural norms. People think about freedom, justice, perhaps might even argue that what is legal may not be morally right or what is illegal might not be wrong. Kohlberg argued that only people, who have achieved formal operational thought are capable of making post-conventional moral judgements, since these require abstract thinking. Only a small percentage of people reach this stage. •

The 5th stage is called the SOCIAL CONTRACT (& UTILITY) ORIENTATION

Laws and rules are still seen as very important, however, they can be questioned, ignored or challenged if they do not support public welfare. •

The 6th stage is known as the ETHICAL PRINCIPLE ORIENTATION

An individual’s actions are guided by self-chosen moral principles.

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Piaget suggested that moral development is completed at around the age of 10. One of the strengths of Kohlberg’s theory is that it recognizes that moral development continues throughout life. His theory is sequential; with each stage following from the preceding one. According to him, this order is universal and invariant. He also hypothesized that individuals ought not to move backward through stages, only upward. Some empirical evidence (Colby et al. 1983, Snarey et al. 1985) does suggest that the developmental stages occur in the same order as Kohlberg had proposed.

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HOWEVER, Nantel-Vivier et al. (2009) reported that levels of prosocial tendencies declined from late childhood to mid-adolescence in many cases. Adolescents may regress back to hedonistic level of moral reasoning.

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Kohlberg’s research has been accused of androcentricity. All his participants were boys. The issue of morality was approached from a male perspective. Gillian (1982) criticized Kohlberg’s theory for being male-centred. She contended that girls and boys employ different standards of rightness. According to her, males have a justice perspective. Right and wrong are defined based on laws and formal rules. Females have a care perspective. They take personal relationships into account when judging a situation. However, both girls and boys are familiar with both orientations. Walker (1991) argued that the moral orientation is determined not so much by gender but the nature of the dilemma. Turiel (1998) argued that both men and women use both orientations to approach and resolve moral dilemmas.

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It has also been argued that Kohlberg underestimated young children’s moral reasoning abilities. Some research studies (Hamlin, Wynn & Bloom, 2007; Hamlin & Wynn, 2011; Hart et al. 2003) have demonstrated that young children’s moral understanding is much more sophisticated than Kohlberg’s theory suggested. Eisenberg (1982, 1986) also argued that younger children do concern themselves with the needs of others, although in the simplest terms (primitive empathy).

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EISENBERG The moral reasoning described by KOHLBERG is PROHIBITION-ORIENTED, which is concerned with wrong-doing. As opposed to that, EISENBERG (1982, 1986) argued for PROSOCIAL MORAL REASONING, which looks at the conflict between the needs of a particular individual and that of others.

She identified 6 STAGES: ➢ HEDONISTIC ORIENTATION Here children are still quite selfish. Their helping behaviour is mainly determined by gains and rewards or the lack of these for that matter. This is the most common moral orientation among pre-schoolers and some primary school children. ➢ NEEDS OF OTHERS ORIENTATION Children express concern for the needs of others, however, there is no evidence of roletaking, reflectiveness about generalized principles or reference to internalized affect. Their empathy is rather primitive and is expressed in the simplest terms. Many pre-schoolers and primary-schoolers have this orientation. ➢ APPROVAL/ STEREOTYPED ORIENTATION Individuals’ justification for helping or non-helping behaviours is based largely on appeals to acceptance of others and/or stereotypes of good and bad people and actions. This is the predominant mode of prosocial moral reasoning for some primary school children and some secondary schoolers. •

EMPATHIC ORIENTATION

Role-taking, reference to internalized affect evident at this level. Most secondary-schoolers have this mode of reasoning.

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TRANSITIONAL STAGE

Justifying helping or non-helping behaviours involves internalized values, norms and rules. However, these are not clearly stated yet at this level. •

STRONGLY INTERNALIZED STAGE

Very similar to the 5th stage. However, here the internalized values, norms and duties are clearly and strongly stated. •

One of the strengths of Eisenberg’s theory is that it is more flexible than Kohlberg’s. Although it argues that prosocial behaviour tends to increase with age, it also acknowledges the inconsistency of moral development. Nantel-Vivier et al. (2009) reported that levels of prosocial tendencies declined from late childhood to midadolescence in many cases. Adolescents often regress back to hedonistic level of moral reasoning. Eisenberg’s theory is compatible with this finding.

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It also recognizes that social relationships play an important part in an individual’s moral development.

RESOURCES Bee, H., & Boyd, D. (2004). The Developing Child (10th edn.). Boston: Pearson. Colby, A., Kohlberg, L., Gibbs, J., & Lieberman, M. (1983). A longitudinal study of moral judgement. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 48 (1-2, Serial No. 200). Davies, G., & Beech, A. (2012). Forensic Psychology Crime, Justice, Law, Interventions (2nd edn.). Chichester: John Wile & Sons. Gross, R. (2010). Psychology The Science of Mind and Behaviour (6th edn.). London: Hodder Education. Gross, R. (2009). Themes, Issues and Debates in Psychology (3rd edn.). London: Hodder Education. Hamlin, J. K., & Wynn, K. (2011). Young infants prefer prosocial to antisocial others. Cognitive Development, 26(1), 30-39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2010.09.001

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Hamlin, J. K., Wynn, K., & Bloom, P. (2007). Social evaluation of preverbal infants. Nature, 450(7169), 557-559. Kohlberg, L. (1969). Stage and sequence: The cognitive-developmental approach to socialization. In D. A. Goslin (Ed.). Handbook of socialization theory and research (pp. 347-480). Chicago: Rand McNally. Snarey, J. R. (1985). Cross-cultural universality of social-moral development: A critical review of Kohlbergian research. Psychological Bulletin, 97, 202-232. Walker, L. J. (1991). Sex differences in moral reasoning. In W. M. Kurtines & J. L. Gewitz (Eds.). Handbook of moral behaviour and development: Vol. 2. Research (pp. 333-364). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.

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