Lawrence Kohlberg discusses the moral development of humans in explaining the process of development of human life. He bases his developmental data on both philosophical ideals and behavioral psychology. Whereas Piaget referred to a number of distinct stages to explain the process of development, Kohlberg considered development to be entirely a coherent process of coordination.
Kohlberg recognized that during infancy the individual or child undergoes some cognitive development and as a result of this development he can distinguish between the material environment and the social environment. The main characteristic of the human environment is that there is interaction. And this interaction is the basis of moral development.
Individuals can distinguish between external behavior, the purpose of that behavior, and the internal effects of that behavior. These three capacities of man according to Kohlberg help in his moral development.
Explanation of the development process
He mentions three elements as the main elements of moral development of individual life –
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
According to Kohlberg “ cognitive stages provide necessary but not sufficient criteria for moral development”
A person’s sense of ethics is based on his cognitive development, but cognitive development is not the only condition for moral development, there are other factors behind it.
COGNITIVE CONFLICT
When two different beliefs emerge in a person, cognitive conflict is created, and sometimes the conflict between what a person believes and his environment can also create a cognitive conflict between him.
For example, a person may have two beliefs – one should not smoke cigarettes and one should always follow the righteous path. But in certain circumstances they may conflict.
According to psychologist Kohlberg, the moral life of a person develops through this cognitive conflict and the effort to get rid of it.
ROLE TAKING ABILITY
Role-taking is the ability to judge others in a particular situation by comparing one’s own beliefs with those of others and enhancing moral judgment. A person who has the ability to assume this role, to appreciate the opinions of others, has the greatest potential for moral development.
The moral development of the individual is the result of the interrelationship between these three elements discussed above.
Michael Green has shown the above points with the help of the table below.
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
Kohlberg divided his moral development into several levels. In terms of this level division, he basically followed Onion’s theory of cognitive development. He divided the process of individual development into three stages and in determining these stages he specifically considered the influence of social norms on the individual which are discussed below.
Level I : PRE CONVENTIONAL MORALITY(4-10 years)
Stage 1 – Heteronomous Morality
Stage 2 – Individualist Morality
Level II : CONVENTIONAL MORALITY (10-13 Years)
Stage 3-Interpersonal expectation morality
Stage 4 – Morality of social system and conscience
Level III : POST CONVENTIONAL MORALITY ( 13 – Adulthood )
Stage 5–Morality of social contract
Stage 6 – Morality of universal ethics
Level I : PRE CONVENTIONAL MORALITY(4-10 years)
Stage 1 – Heteronomous Morality
A child at this level judges right and wrong by punishment and reward. Behavior that he is punished for is bad and behavior that he is rewarded for is good. That is, the sense of right and wrong is not controlled by his own will at this level, he is controlled by authority.
Stage 2 – Individualist Morality
According to Kohlberg, the child’s behavior at this level is controlled by his will. At this level, children follow the instructions of their parents and adults and also obey various rules. At this level, children do what is necessary to behave in order to satisfy needs, resulting in conflicts of values between individuals.
Level II : CONVENTIONAL MORALITY (10-13 Years)
Stage 3-Interpersonal expectation morality
At this level the child’s behavior is controlled by expectations i.e. the moral behavior of the child is determined by the expectations of his group.
At this level, the child expects support from others, like hearing that he is very good at studies or that he is a good boy or a good girl.
Stage 4 – Morality of social system and conscience
At the level of socially controlled ethics, the child’s moral behavior is determined by social norms. Children think it is moral to behave according to society’s interests and norms. The children now follow the rules and regulations of society and take decisions about things being written wrong with a view to avoiding censure by the elders, authorities or the social system.
Level III : POST CONVENTIONAL MORALITY ( 13 – Adulthood )
Stage 5–Morality of social contract
At the level the child’s behavior is regulated by the responsibility towards the society. They accept the social values because they realize through life experience that the welfare of all the society will be benefited by it. Also, in moral behavior or in making moral decisions, they resort to logic, they behave morally in the context of social laws.
Stage 6 – Morality of universal ethics
Kohlberg decisions of the individual are now based upon his conscience and the belief in universal principles of respect, justice and equality.
Kohlberg said about this stage “moral right in this stage involves the rational validity of moral principles and a sense of personal commitment to them.”
Finally, this fact acknowledges that children’s moral development is not imposed, just as Piaget treated children as scientists in his cognitive development and Kohlberg treated children as philosophers. It is also accepted in this theory that the development of the child’s moral life is mainly dependent on his cognitive development. Previously, it was thought that the moral ideals of people depended on their immediate development, but this theory is the first to say that human morals depend on logic and intellectual development. Modern educators believe that moral development does not occur through imitation or information acquisition. Moral development is the result of any content that can be rationalized and activates the child’s thinking process.
Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is shown here in the form of a chart
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
- The classroom environment is such that students can resolve their emotional conflicts through open discussion, during which the child’s ability to make moral judgments will be developed by accepting and rejecting different opinions.
- The teacher will apply moral teaching strategies considering different situations in his classroom. If a bad situation arises due to any reason, the teacher will take immediate action and will also see to it that no student is mentally disturbed.
- The teacher will present any topic through logic so that the child’s thinking process is activated.
- Teachers can include exercises that invite students to consider their own moral experiences, values, and beliefs. Students might be prompted to reflect on their own moral thinking and the variables that impact their actions through journaling, ethical dilemmas, and case studies.
- Lessons or subjects should not be the exclusive focus of moral education. It can be incorporated into the curriculum in a number of subjects, such as science, math, literature, and history. Using interdisciplinary approaches, educators can assist students draw links between academic material and ethical dilemmas encountered in the real world.
CRITICISM
- Kohlberg did not discuss the role of parents in moral development.
- Kohlberg based his theory of moral development on experiments on boys only and did not consider girls. But in reality, there is a considerable difference between the moral sense of boys and girls.
- A significant critique of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development is that they were mostly derived on study done on American men, which may not fully capture the range of moral beliefs and viewpoints found in different countries and genders. Critics contend that people from non-Western cultures or diverse socioeconomic backgrounds may not find the idea useful or relevant.
- Kohlberg’s approach mostly ignores the part that emotions play in moral decision-making in favor of concentrating on the cognitive components of moral reasoning, such as principles, rules, and logic.
- Kohlberg’s theory has its critics who claim that it ignores individual differences in moral development, including socioeconomic status, personality qualities, and cognitive capacities.
