...Kohlberg Theory on Moral Development Team Peace: Belinda Cooper, Dawn Lunsford, and Laverne Phillips PSY 600 August 24, 2015 Dr. Ellingford Introduction Summary of Kohlberg’s Moral Development Theory Three Contributions of Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development Three Limitations of Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development Although Kohlberg is considered an authority on the human development of morals, his theory is considered limited by other reputable psychologists. Kohlberg’s theory states there are six stages to the development of morals and those six levels are divided into three levels: the pre-conventional stages of moral development, the conventional stage of moral development, and the post-conventional stage of moral development. Other psychologists have claimed that there are no specific stages to the development of morals. Psychologists believe that because people make moral decisions at one age in their life and tend to make the same moral decision later in their life that moral judgment does not develop in stages like Kohlberg theorized. “With respect to stages, we recognize that age-related trends exist in the types of moral judgments people make, and we acknowledge that cognitive development plays a role in determining them. However, because the evidence suggests that different aspects of moral cognition may change in different ways, that people do not relinquish their old ways of thinking when...
Words: 853 - Pages: 4
...Kohlberg’s Theory Tiffany Easterling, Sandra Maxey, and Nakeia Trimble PSYCH/600 – Developmental Psychology October 5, 2014 Vicki Koenig Abstract How the development of morality in children develops has been a big question for parents and philosophers for decades. The issue of moral development has been and has become a hot topic within education and psychology. “One of the best known theories was developed by a psychologist named Lawrence Kohlberg who modified and expanded up Jean Piaget’s work to form a theory that explained how children develop moral reasoning” (Cherry, 2014). Moral development was described in two stages by Piaget. Kohlberg took those two stages described by Piaget and elaborated on them. The theory of moral development, which is described by Kohlberg, outlines three levels with six stages. Kohlberg believes that political liberalism “will not be replaced by a new ideology of the West but will continue to be its dominant ideology for the next century” (Crain, 1985). Kohlberg’s proposed moral development is a process that is continuous and occurs over the period of a person’s lifetime. “Furthermore, Kohlberg believes that the liberalistic concept of justice represents a higher conceptualization of justice in the same sense in which a higher developmental stage in morality represents a higher understanding of justice” (Crain, 1985). However, Carol Gilligan a well-known psychologist, ethicist, and feminist is against Kohlberg’s theories. “Through...
Words: 1617 - Pages: 7
...abilities? All of these questions are questions that many dynamic psychologists have tried to answer and define throughout the years. More notably are Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg, who both addressed the concerns of moral development in the individual, but in differing ways. Piaget, who was best known for his work in how we learn throughout our development, gave Kohlberg a foundation to establish his focused study of how the moral fibers of an individual are created and developed throughout the lifespan (Kretchmar, 2015). Both found that each individual will establish a code of moral ethics throughout their lifespan, but the "why's" of those ethical decisions are often something that are hard to determine. Kohlberg set out to define the moral development of the individual through his studies of human dilemmas. The theory of moral development, formalized by Lawrence Kohlberg is one of significance in study of the lifespan, as it addresses our ability to distinguish right from wrong. The theory also questions if morality was a result of one's true emotional stance or one's expected rationale based on societal rules. With the moral development theory, Kohlberg established with our growth , our ideas of right and wrong change based on the cognitive level that an individual happens to be in. Kohlberg created three levels with 6 stages that are not all experienced by all throughout their lifespan. The three levels are defined as:(1) the Pre-Conventional Morality Level, (2) the...
Words: 719 - Pages: 3
...Moral Development Many theorists have developed theories to understand and define the ability of people to reason morally. Moral reasoning is defined as the thinking process where the objective is to determine whether an idea is right or wrong and involves the formation of values on which someone bases their decisions. Theorists have different views on moral reasoning and the factors that contribute to an individual’s level of reasoning capabilities. Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan developed cognitive theories to explain moral reasoning in a series of stages. The movie John Q, raises the question of what is considered morally right and what is wrong and by whose perspective. The characters in the movie can be classified into either Kohlberg’s or Gilligan’s theories of reasoning. Theorist Lawrence Kohlberg (1973) had a qualitative perspective of moral development. His theory breaks development into three levels, each of which is divided further into two stages. The levels consist of: pre-conventional, conventional, and post-conventional. These can be loosely correlated with age. He theorized that moral growth begins at the beginning of life and continues until the day one dies. He believed that people proceed through each stage of moral development consecutively without skipping or going back to a previous stage. Level One, the Pre-Conventional level, is the level of moral reasoning based solely on a person’s own needs. The person is ego-centric and does not...
Words: 4041 - Pages: 17
...Lifespan Development and Personality Paper Adolescence, also known as teenage years is a time of dramatic change. Adolescence is a period in one’s life in which major physiological, cognitive, and behavioral changes take place. This phase of life marks a developmental period that follows childhood and comes before adulthood. Adolescence is closely associated with puberty, which is also considered as a developmental milestone, particularly in the western countries. Puberty refers to the period of adolescence when a person becomes capable of reproduction (Carpenter, S. & Huffman, K., 2010). In this paper, I will discuss the various factors that affect the physical, cognitive, social, moral, and personality development of adolescents. Adolescence is a time of rapid physical growth which is illustrated by the drastic growth spurt in the height, weight and skeletal muscles. The actual age may vary but generally occurs somewhere between the ages of 12 through 18. This is a critical stage where a child attempts to become independent, wants to establish their identity and there are noticeable changes in their moods and behavior. During this time in the adolescent’s life, the physical development factors are genetics and nutrition. If the child has genetics that hinder on his or her physical development the child will only develop as his DNA allows. If the child does not have proper nutrition, he or she could be underweight or overweight. This is such a crucial stage for advancement...
Words: 1340 - Pages: 6
...The dispute between Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan influenced the subject of moral development following Gilligan’s 1982 book, “In a Different Voice,” one of the first to question male-centered psychological research. The distinction between Kohlberg and Gilligan comes down to whether males and females define “morality” differently. Men focusing on justice concerns, according to Kohlberg, and females more focused on caring and relationship needs, according to Gilligan. Theories on how people grow morally became the center of attention of psychology when Jean Piaget first studied how people's reasoning and logical skills evolve throughout their lifetime. Kohlberg liked Piaget’s approach and his next step was to perform research studies in the 1960s, he used the concluding data to develop a model of six “universal” stages through which individuals develop morally. By the late 1970s, his representation of moral development was the dominant view. But females constantly achieved Stage 3 when tested with his model, while men constantly scored at Stages 4 and 5. Gilligan, an old- student of Kohlberg’s, observed that the research and data was based off of tests performed on boys only, and argued whether women were really “morally inferior,” as test scores suggested. So, putting together her own research, she created an alternative model. The dispute mainly focuses around Gilligan’s statement that female psychology and values, including how women come to define morality, contrast...
Words: 676 - Pages: 3
... moral and social can be broken down very simple, the meaning of moral is knowing right from wrong and social means relating to others. These are very simple explanations to two very simple words, that for the age groups of 6-8 and 13-15 become a very important part of their development as they grow up. I have read many different things about moral and social development while researching for this paper and I have found one website written by a Dr. C Boeree to be very interesting. He writes about the Kohlberg theory on moral development in children, Lawrence Kohlberg is a Psychologist who researched and interviewed many young children to explain the development of moral reasoning, he did this by presenting different moral dilemmas to children and then he interviewed them. The Boeree ( 2009) website uses Kohlberg’s Theory to talk about the stages of moral development in children, this theory is broken down into three different levels and these levels are broken down into six specific stages. The first level is for infants and very young children...
Words: 1212 - Pages: 5
...Whenever we look at a playground, we supposed to see some children play happily with their peers and some are not. Have you ever wonder what make their behavior are so different? Life span development studies of how people grow and change during all phase of their lives. In the book I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings written by Maya Angelou proves that development is multidimensional including biological, cognitive and socioemotional. Maya is three years old and her brother, Bailey, is four experienced broken family and were sent to Stamps, Arkansas with pieces of paper attached on their bodies “to whom may it concern”. They live with their paternal grandmother, Annie Henderson, whom soon they called Momma. Maya and Bailey who was born and grew up were abandoned without the love, care and nourishment in a good environment with their biological parents have had many struggles to face during childhood to early adolescence and affect their entire life. As the beginning of the book, Maya was unable to finish her poem “What are you looking at me for? I didn’t come to stay…” According to Erikson, Maya must be in initiative versus guilt stage because Maya feels that she is awkward and ugly with kinky hair and dark skin. She dreams to be a beautiful white child with the straight blonde hair and blue eyes, not because she didn’t like herself, but because was taught not to like her Blackness. The social norms with stenotype expectation influences Maya’s development and personality when...
Words: 2711 - Pages: 11
...1. Name and describe Kohlberg’s stages of moral reasoning. Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory was inspired by Piaget’s early work. Kohlberg used clinical interviewing of 10- to 16- year olds every 3- to 4- years for 20 years to develop his reasoning. We start with the Preconventional Level, where morality is externally controlled. Children are accepting of rules made by authorities and consider consequences for their actions. Behavior that receives punishment is considered bad, while good behavior results in rewards or positive feedback. Stage one and two of Kohlberge’s moral reasoning fall under this category. Stage One: The Punishment and Obedience Orientation: Intentions of other people are overlooked as children find it difficult to consider two points in a moral dilemma. They fear authority and focus on avoiding punishment rather than reasons they should behave properly. Stage Two:...
Words: 1483 - Pages: 6
...Freud Psychosexual Development In Freudian psychology, psychosexual development is a central element of the psychoanalytic sexual drive theory, that human beings, from birth, possess an instinctual libido (sexual energy) that develops in five stages. Each stage – the oral, the anal, thephallic, the latent, and the genital – is characterized by the erogenous zone that is the source of the libidinal drive. Sigmund Freud proposed that if the child experienced sexual frustration in relation to any psychosexual developmental stage, he or she would experience anxiety that would persist into adulthood as a neurosis, a functional mental disorder. Stages of Development Stage | Age Range | Erogenous zone | Consequences of psychologic fixation | Oral | Birth–1 year | Mouth | Orally aggressive: chewing gum and the ends of pencils, etc. Orally Passive: smoking, eating, kissing, oral sexual practices[4] Oral stage fixation might result in a passive, gullible, immature, manipulativepersonality. | Anal | 1–3 years | Bowel and bladderelimination | Anal retentive: Obsessively organized, or excessively neat Anal expulsive: reckless, careless, defiant, disorganized, coprophiliac | Phallic | 3–6 years | Genitalia | Oedipus complex (in boys and girls); according to Sigmund Freud.Electra complex (in girls); according to Carl Jung. | Latency | 6–puberty | Dormant sexual feelings | Sexual unfulfillment if fixation occurs in this stage. | Genital | Puberty–death | Sexual interests mature...
Words: 1316 - Pages: 6
...cognitive development, it would be impossible to avoid mentioning the work of psychologist Jean Piaget. After receiving his doctoral degree at age 22, Jean Piaget began a career that would have a profound impact on both psychology and education. Through his work with Alfred Binet, Piaget developed an interest in the intellectual development of children. Based upon his observations, he concluded that children are not less intelligent than adults, they simply think differently. Albert Einstein called Piaget's discovery "so simple only a genius could have thought of it."Piaget created a theory of cognitive development that described the basic stages that children go through as they mentally mature. He believed that children are like "little scientists," actively trying to make sense of the world rather than simply soaking up information passively. Schemas One of the key concepts in Piaget's theory is the use of schemas. According to Piaget,schemas are cognitive frameworks or concepts that help people organize and interpret information. As experiences happen, this new information is used to modify, add to or completely change previously existing schemas. For example, a young girl may have a schema about a type of animal, such as a cat. According to her schema, cat's are furry and have four legs. When she first encounters a dog, she might initially believe that the animal is a cat. Once the she learns that this is actually a dog, she will revise her schema for cats and create a new...
Words: 2022 - Pages: 9
...Abstract Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. agreed to invest $200 million in sauce and food maker Masan Consumer Corp., marking the largest investment to date in Vietnamby a private equity firm. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. agreed to invest $200 million in sauce and food maker Masan Consumer Corp., marking the largest investment to date in Vietnamby a private equity firm. New York-based KKR has been looking to back companies throughout Southeast Asia with exposure to the region's emerging affluent class and opened an officein Singapore last year to aid it in its search. More than 90% of Vietnamese households own a Masan Consumer product, such as fish sauce, instant noodles or instant coffee. The company's sales have increased from $31 million in 2007 to approaching $500 million forecast for last year. Its third-quarter profit rose 50% to about $36 million from a year earlier. KKR's $200 million investment is in addition to the $159 million it invested in Masan Consumer in April 2011. The firm will have two seats on the company's board. "Doubling our investment in less than two years demonstrates our strong conviction in Vietnam's growth story," said Ming Lu, who heads KKR's Southeast Asia operations. Masan Consumer Chief Executive Truong Cong Thang said KKR's investment will help the Vietnamese company diversify into other fast-expanding consumer goods categories. KKR's investment comes as Vietnam economy's climbed last year at its slowest pace in 13 years, while a rising...
Words: 498 - Pages: 2
...Case study Toys “R” Us JAPAN Case study Toys “R” Us JAPAN TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 3. Japan Background and facts: 4. Background: 4 Facts: 5 Toys “R” Us Background 7. The Beginning: 7 Market Expansion 8 More ways to shop Toys “R” Us 8 Evolving business 9 Toys “R” Us in Japan 9 Case analysis: 10 Attractive factors of Japan toy market: 10 Barriers to Entry: 10 Success Factors for Toy's "R" Us-Japan 11 TRU Strategy 13 Our opinion: 14 Recommendations: 15 Conclusion: 16 References:: 16 Introduction: Toys R Us is the large distributor in the US and it is one of the more successful foreign retailers in Japan after overcome hard barriers. This successful is a result of right decision-making and strategy in overseas expansion by global retailer’s and gradual changes after entry into foreign markets. Also the strategy in respect of standardization adaption before and after entry has great effect in this successful. Coming lines, shows some factors that attract TRU to join venture in Japan. Then, we will discuss group of barriers that TRU had overcome, and how it’s overcome these barriers. In the end, we will evaluate Toys “R” Us in Japan market. Japan Background and facts: Background: Government: Parliamentary with constitutional monarchy Prime Minister: Shinzō Abe (elected Dec 2012) Capital: Tokyo Population: 127,368,088 Population Growth Rate: -0.077% (2012 est.), World Rank: 198th Birth Rate: 8.39 births/1,000 population...
Words: 3158 - Pages: 13
...The Oxford Dictionary defines 'ethics' as "Moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity." Ethics are an important part of our daily lives, and our personal moral beliefs are responsible for several of our judgments and actions. I believe that there are times in every individual's life when (s)he has to choose the right alternative, distinguish between right and wrong and support what is appropriate for society as a whole, which is when the personal ethics system comes into the picture. My personal ethics consist of qualities that always help me pick the legitimate option in sticky situations. I am an honest person―the truth always matters to me more than anything else at any given moment. Since childhood, this quality has always directed me away from petty distractions that many children face at some time or the other―cheating in class examinations, and stealing, for instance. I have always stood up for what is right, and this has helped me become the person I am today. I also consider my hardworking and sincere nature to be one of my biggest strengths. I believe honesty and hard work are intricately linked, and this has always shown me the importance of dedication and sincerity for fulfilling my ambitions, which is why, I am not afraid to take up seemingly difficult tasks. I am not afraid to stand up for what I truly believe in, and being a rational person, I rarely let emotions take control of any situation, which is extremely necessary...
Words: 939 - Pages: 4
...Theories of Development and Application General Psychology, PSY101 Theories of Development and Application Understanding the theories of development is key in psychology. Everyone proceeds through specific areas of change and growth in key areas as they go through life. Whatever path is taken during life, understanding theories of development will assist us in motivating and guiding others, as well as understanding ourselves. The following theories of development will be applied to this author’s personal life experience: Jean Piaget’s Stage Theory of Cognitive Development, Developmental Stage Theory of Erik Erikson, Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development, and Developmental Milestone: Motor Development will all be briefly explained. This author will provide examples of ways thinking has shifted to indicate entering the Formal Operational Thought stage. One stage of Erik Erikson’s Developmental Stage Theory will be chosen and will be applied to this author’s personal life. One decision this author made that was based on Kohlberg’s three levels of moral development will be described. Finally, based on a child this author has known, the description of this child has progressed from rolling over, sitting, standing and walking. This is also known as the four developmental milestones. Jean Piaget’s Stage Theory of Cognitive Development Jean Piaget is a psychologist who “identified stages of mental development, called Schema, and established the fields of...
Words: 1775 - Pages: 8
