Moral Development Part 2:

Today we will continue looking at Kohlberg’s stages of moral development.  Just a little more information on Kohlberg’s theory first though. Kohlberg tested his theory and on 72 boys from both middle and lower class families in Chicago. They were ages from 10-16. (Later on he sampled younger children as well) By the way do you see any problems with this sample? Anyways he also had other researchers test the same children and then compared notes with them. This is call interrater reliability. On this sample they found that the reliability was high. Meaning they agreed with each other on the scores given.

So onto the first level: Preconventional Morality. Stage 1 is called Obedience and Punishment Orientation. This stage is characterized by the person believing that powerful authorities have a fixed set of rules that must be followed without question. This stage corresponds with Piaget’s first level (we will talk about this in later posts).  At this stage the concern is with what the authorities permit and punish.

The second stage is also in the first level it is the Individualism and Exchange stage. This stage is characterized by people realizing that there is not just one right view. The person understands that different persons have different perspectives. In this stage the person believes that each individual is able to pursue his or her individual interests. In this stage what is right is whatever the individual perceives or wants to be right.

In both of these stages it is about punishment. However, perceive it differently. In stage 1 punishment is tied up in wrongness whereas in stage 2 it is more about the risk that a person wants to avoid.

If you see typos please forgive I was in a hurry J

Have a great day!!

Moral Development Part 1:

Lawrence Kohlberg theorized that moral development has six identifiable developmental stages.  Each stage makes it easier for a person to respond to moral dilemmas than the previous stage.  Kohlberg expanded upon Piaget’s theories and ideas.  There are criticisms of the theory based on its idea that justice being emphasized more than other moral values.  Even though with the criticism it reshaped psychology and the theory is well known and taught today.

This scale is not intended to be used to rank how moral someone’s behavior is but rather how a person justifies that behavior. The higher a person is on the moral scale their behavior should reflect this by being more responsible, consistent and predictable. There is a moral judgment interview created by Kohlberg which help an interviewer to determine where a person is on the scale. It is about 45 minutes long and are made up of fictional short stories that describe situations in which a person must make a moral decision. The answer to the stories is not as important as the why.

Here is a sample question:

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 produce. 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 Heinz have broken into the laboratory to steal the drug for his wife? Why or why not?

Once again it is not what but why here are some answers that show the different stages. Later we will discuss the stages in greater detail.

Stage one (obedience): Heinz should not steal the medicine because he would consequently be put in prison, which would mean he is a bad person. Or: Heinz should steal the medicine because it is only worth $200, not how much the druggist wanted for it. Heinz had even offered to pay for it and was not stealing anything else.

Stage two (self-interest): Heinz should steal the medicine because he will be much happier if he saves his wife, even if he will have to serve a prison sentence. Or: Heinz should not steal the medicine because prison is an awful place, and he would probably experience anguish over a jail cell more than his wife's death.

Stage three (conformity): Heinz should steal the medicine because his wife expects it; he wants to be a good husband. Or: Heinz should not steal the drug because stealing is bad and he is not a criminal; he tried to do everything he could without breaking the law, you cannot blame him.

Stage four (law-and-order): Heinz should not steal the medicine because the law prohibits stealing, making it illegal. Or: Heinz should steal the drug for his wife but also take the prescribed punishment for the crime as well as paying the druggist what he is owed. Criminals cannot just run around without regard for the law; actions have consequences.

Stage five (human rights): Heinz should steal the medicine because everyone has a right to choose life, regardless of the law. Or: Heinz should not steal the medicine because the scientist has a right to fair compensation. Even if his wife is sick, it does not make his actions right.

Stage six (universal human ethics): Heinz should steal the medicine, because saving a human life is a more fundamental value than the property rights of another person. Or: Heinz should not steal the medicine, because others may need the medicine just as badly, and their lives are equally significant.

Think about how these stages can be used with our characters and once again how they can move between the stages. What level are your characters in?

Information gathered from Wikipedia and verified from my own studies J

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs part 2:

Well it’s back to the grind stone for me. I had a wonderful vacation visiting family both in Arizona and in southern Utah. It is so nice to take a break from the usual stuff and to just relax and enjoy life. Hope everyone else had a great memorial weekend.

There are two more steps in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs they are Esteem and Self-actualization.

Esteem is when a person has confidence and feels that they have achieved something in life. The person feels respect for others and feels respected by others. This is a step that a person gains after feeling secure in the friends and loved ones around them.  Maslow says that this and the following level are not strict separations but are interrelated needs. These needs are also related to others and how we perceive others view us.

Self-actualization is the highest level a person can attain to. Many have said that very few people have reached this level. Some examples would be Mother Theresa, Buddha, and Jesus. This does not mean it is not possible that at times in our lives that we do not reach this level and then step down. In fact there are many times that we cycle through the stages in certain areas. This level is characterized by a person reaching their full potential and understanding that potential. This can be different for different people. For example one person may want to be the very best parent there is, another may want to be the very best writer possible or painter or athlete. This is an individual level. In order to achieve this level the other levels must also be mastered.

Following is a picture of the hierarchy:

Our characters have needs that must be met and as we shape them in our stories remember the different levels that they will be going through. Use the table to guide how your characters are growing throughout the book. If they start on the physiological stage by the end have they self-actualized or are they in the esteem stage.

Tomorrow we will be looking at another hierarchy. Have a great day!