Understanding Kohlberg's Moral Development Theory

Lawrence Kohlberg, one of the great psychologists of our time, proposed that people go through a set of stages when developing their views of morality. The theory has since been named Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development.

I teach at a nursing school in Nashville, TN and love to cover Kohlberg when teaching General Psychology or Lifespan Development. When teaching students Kohlberg, I have realized over the years that this can be a hard concept for some to grasp, requiring a little more creativity from the teacher in explaining aspects of the theory.

According to Kohlberg, there are 3 main levels of moral development, with 6 stages of development spread out with 2 stages falling under each level. These levels are best explained by considering one of Kohlberg's classic dilemmas.

I typically use the story of Heinz, as written by Kohlberg himself:

"Heinz Steals the Drug
In Europe, 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 make. 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 the husband have done that? (Kohlberg, 1963)."

I usually update the dollar signs to something a little more reasonable by today's standards, by saying the drug costs $100,000 make, the pharmacist is charging $1,000,000, and Heinz was only able to borrow $600,000. Still a little over half, and well above what it costs to make. To keep it relatively simple, I go through the meanings of the various stages, then ask them to discuss why Heinz should either steal the drug or not in terms of each stage of development.

Level 1 is Preconventional Moral Reasoning: Moral reasoning does not look ahead to societal implications or consequences, and focuses on what will happen to the individual making the decision.

Stage 1: Might vs. Right or Punishment/Obedience: Moral decisions are based on what actions will lead to unwanted consequences. Authority figures are obeyed in order to avoid being punished. Infants/toddlers fall into this category.

Someone in this stage would say "No, he shouldn't steal the drug, he'll be punished." They do not mention laws, just punishment.

Stage 2: Tit-for-Tat or Quid Pro Quo or You Scratch My Back, I'll Scratch Yours or Looking Out for Number One or Individualism, Instrumentalism, and Exchange or Instrumental Exchange: Moral behaviors are based on what the person will get back out of the deal. An action is taken in the hopes of getting something in return, with the main focus on the individual's needs. Young children/preschoolers fall into this category.

Someone in this stage would say "Yes, he should save her so she can take care of him" or something along those lines, focusing on what the wife will do for him if he saves her.

Level 2 is Conventional Moral Reasoning: Moral reasoning looks at the rules and regulations of society, including folkways, mores, values, and laws, and considers morality in terms of these.

Stage 3: Good Girl/Nice Boy or Conformity or Instrumental Conformity:

Moral behaviors are based on what will make the individual appear to be a good/nice person to others. Children around middle school fall into this category, which also ties into Erikson's psychosocial development period of Group Identity vs. Group Identity Diffusion.

Someone in this stage would say "No, he'll look like a criminal and people won't like him because he steals" or "Yes, he'll look like a hero and everyone will like him for saving her life."

Stage 4: Law and Order or Law of the Land or Judgment: Moral behaviors are based on the being a good citizen and obeying the law set by the society, but does not think about why those laws are present.

Someone in this stage would say "No, he shouldn't steal the drug because it's against the law."

Level 3 is Post-Conventional Moral Reasoning: Moral reasoning goes beyond looking at societal values and focuses on universal rights and their long-term consequences.

Stage 5: Social Contract or Social Conformity or Social Contract and Individual Rights: Moral behaviors and reasoning are based on obedience to the law due to laws being perceived as being for the betterment of society. The individual believes that if laws are broken, the social contract between that person and society no longer exists and society as a whole could break down.

Someone who's in this stage would say "No, he shouldn't steal the drug because then people would think it's okay to steal, would start breaking the law, and society as a whole would collapse." Or "Yes, he should steal the drug to save her life, but the law should be changed to ensure that this doesn't happen again and regulate the amount a pharmacist should charge."

Stage 6: Universal Ethics Principle or Universal Principals: Moral reasoning takes into account the universal rights of each individual (freedom, life, safety, etc.) and are based on the individual's opinions, not necessarily on the rules of society.

Someone at this level would ague that "the pharmacist put effort and money into making the drug, and deserves to make a bit of a profit so that he can take care of his family and live comfortably, but that the pharmacists right to profit does not supersede/outweigh the right to life, so Heinz should break in, steal the drug, and save his wife, but should leave the money he had raised, or the pharmacist should have arranged for him to make payments. Laws are there for a purpose, to hold society in order, so maybe Heinz should still serve some time in jail, but his wife's right to life comes first."

Kohlberg actually proposed two additional stages before he died. Stage 4 ½ suggested that methods of reasoning from both Stage 4 (Law & order) and Stage 5 (Social Contract), showing dissatisfaction with the concept of "laws'. Stage 7 was also proposed as containing reasoning elements that integrated Stage 6 concepts with religion. However, because only a handful of people ever coded into Stage 6, Kohlberg was unable to attain enough evidence to prove that Stage 7 existed.

Historically, since only a handful of people have ever coded into Stage 6, this is a difficult concept for students to understand. I had one nursing student who answered the question of what a Stage 6 person would respond to Heinz with by saying:

"Well, yes he should steal the drug, but he should give it to another pharmaceutical company who can analyze it and make more where other people with this cancer can buy the drug cheaply and be saved."

The student made no mention of Heinz's wife, but implied that sacrificing one person to save more would be the way to go. It was a very interesting take on Stage 6.

Jean Piaget, who developed the Stages of Cognitive Development theory studied by psychologists, also studied moral reasoning for a brief period of time and realized that children make marked shifts in their methods of reasoning about moral situations around 10-11 years of age, during the period they are learning to think abstractly.

Research has shown that modern society is allowing children with better educational opportunities, such as those in industrialized nations, to reach higher levels in Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development model. Perhaps these same increased opportunities are allowing students to reach higher stages of Kohlberg's theory as well.

References:

Barger, R.N. (2000). A summary of Lawrence Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development. University of Notre Dame. Retrieved 5/28/2009 from http://www.csudh.edu/dearhabermas/kohlberg01bk.htm.

Kohlberg, L. (1963). "Heinz Steals the Drug". Retrieved on 5/28/2009 from http://www1.appstate.edu/~kms/classes/psy2664/Heinz.htm.

Studies in Social & Moral Development and Education, "Moral Development & Moral Education: An Overview." Retrieved 5/28/2009 from http://tigger.uic.edu/~lnucci/MoralEd/overview.html.

W.C. Crain. (1985). Theories of Development. Prentice-Hall. pp. 118-136.