Moral Development Pg

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development 1. Heinz Dilemma –a. In Europe, a woman was near death from cancer. One drug might save her, a form of radium that a pharmacist in the same town had recently discovered. The pharmacist was charging $20,000, ten times what the drug had cost him to make. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could get together only about half of what it should cost. He told the pharmacist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or to let him pay later. But the pharmacist said no. The husband got desperate and broke into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife. Should the husband have done that? Why?

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development 2. Using moral dilemmas, Kohlberg found –a. Reasons given for moral choices change systematically and consistently with age. –b. These stages are not tightly linked to a person’s chronological age –c. Not everyone (if any) reaches the highest level. Kohlberg is picture here getting ready for an Elton John look-alike contest

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development 3. Stages of Moral Development –a. Preconventional (typically before age 9) – i. Decisions are not based upon the rules of society ii. Decisions are selfish and are concerned with avoiding punishment or following rules when it is to your advantage

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development b. Conventional (ages 9-19) – i. People are concerned about other people ii. Decisions are based on following rules or conventions such as duty in marriage

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development –c. Post-conventional (sometime after adolescence) – i. Not everyone reaches this stage ii. Moral reasoning is based upon personal standards or principles of justice, equality, and respect for human life, not on the dictates of authority figures or society.

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development 4. Limitations – –a. Kohlberg only studied men ages i. Later other studies found his results accurate, cross-culturally –b. Some cultures answer the questions outside of the scoring range (collectivist cultures or cultures based on the caste system) –c. Women, when tested, focused on caring, not justice at the highest level