1. Moral Development
Learning Goal 9.3: Describe the development of moral reasoning using Kohlberg's stages.

2. Changes in What Seems Right
Lawrence Kohlberg (1963)
Posed a moral dilemma to children of various ages:
A woman is dying of a rare form of cancer. Her pharmacist carries a drug that doctors think might save her; this drug is expensive to manufacture, and the pharmacist is selling the drug for 10 times the manufacturing cost. The woman’s family cannot afford the drug; her husband pleads with the pharmacist to lower the price, but the pharmacist claims the right to charge what he wants. Desperate, the husband breaks into the pharmacy and steals the drug for his wife.
Identified patterns in the responses to categorize three stages of moral reasoning; these stages are NOT linear and do not necessarily change predictably with age
You can either assign groups to contemplate either the Heinz or brother’s dilemma, or you can have everyone work on the same dilemma. Either way, have students work in their groups to brainstorm as many arguments as they can for either side. Then have students share. As they share and you record their responses on the board, group their responses according to Kohlberg’s stages, but don’t label them as such – just make three columns, and record each new idea in the appropriate column. Afterwards, have students consider the three groups and identify patterns.

3. Kohlberg, Stage 1: Preconventional
Right and wrong are determined by punishments, rewards, and needs
Example: “The husband was wrong because he’ll be put in jail”
Example: “The husband was right because he’ll get to keep his wife”

4. Kohlberg, Stage 2: Conventional
Right and wrong are determined by social norms, authority/order, and sense of duty
Example: “The husband was wrong because stealing is against the law”
Example: “The husband was right because most people will do anything for family”

5. Kohlberg, Stage 3: Postconventional
Right and wrong are determined by universal ethical principles, rights, and obligations
Example: “The husband was wrong because we must respect the property of others, even of greedy people”
Example: “The husband was justified because everyone has a right to live”

6. Criticisms of Kohlberg’s Theory
Vary with culture (studied in Taiwan, Papua New Guinea, Israel)
Carol Gilligan (1982) – gender differences in moral reasoning would tend to place most women at a lower level of Kohlberg’s scale
Moral reasoning is different from moral behavior