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Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral DevelopmentStageAbilitiesSpecific StagesPreconventional Level(Morality is decided only by the power of outside authority)Approx. age: Under 6 yearsImpossible for the child to understand the complexities of right or wrongInstead, the child focuses on whether s/he is being punished or rewarded; Punished = bad; Praised = goodAt end, child realizes if people do something for you, you should do something for them--NOT b/c morals--still self-centeredDo not speak of members of society – see morality as something outside than themselves—something big people say they must doStage 1: Obedience & Punishment OrientationThe child believes powerful authorities hand down a fixed set of rules which s/he must indisputably do because; “It’s against the law” or “because you’ll get punished”Stage 2: Individualism & ExchangeThe child thinks there is not one right view which is given by the authorities; everything is relative; different individuals have different viewpoints; self-interests; fair exchange (or returning favors); “he was trying to rip him off”Conventional Level(Moral reasoning is based on the expectations of others regarding what is right or wrong)Approx. age: 7-11 years oldAt first, children are looking for approval of others. Steadily, idea of social order emerges (behave a certain way because society expects it)The INTENTIONS of person’s actions become a significant concern in whether the child judges actions as right or wrong--did the person mean to do it?LEGAL SYSTEM!!!Many people do NOT go beyond here!Stage 3: Good Interpersonal RelationshipsPeople should live up to the expectations of the family & society and behave in “good” ways (having good motives and feelings such as love, empathy, trust, and concern for others); “he was a good man who should do it to save her”; works best in 2-person relationships with family members or close friendsStage 4: Maintaining the Social OrderConcerned with society as a whole; emphasis on obeying laws, respecting authority, and performing one’s duties so the social order is maintained; the function of laws for society as a whole--an idea which far exceeds the mind of the younger childPostconventional Level(Personal ethics and human rights are dealt with)Approx. age: Over 11 years Do NOT necessarily make it here!!!Issues of personal ethics and human rights come to foregroundStage 5: Social Contract & Individual RightsStep back from their own culture and considering the rights and values that a society ought to uphold; best community contract is freely entered into to work toward the benefit of all; rational people would agree on 2 points--democratic procedures for changing an unfair law & for improving society; do not usually favor breaking laws; laws are social contractsStage 6: Universal PrinciplesThe principles of justice require us to treat the claims of all parties in the unbiased way, respecting the basic dignity of all; if one choice could not value all--then a decision would not be reached.Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development ProblemsDirections: Answer the following questions that deal with Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development Problems. Shipwreck Problem: After a shipwreck, 11 men are in a lifeboat, one wealthy and powerful, and ten are poor. You can save either the one rich man or the ten poor men. What would you do? Why?Attendance Problem: Every day at the end of class, your teacher asks you to deliver the attendance slip to the attendance office. One day a good friend sees you before you reach the attendance office and begs you to take his name off the sheet. He says he can’t tell you the reason why he cut class, but that it was important. Would YOU scratch his name off? Why?3) Heinz Problem: “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?” (Crain, 1985 from Kohlberg, 1963, p. 19).Now that you have answer the questions, I want you to go back to them and identify which stage it goes with (Preconvention, Conventional, or Postconventional) and if possible the specific stage (1-6). Once you have identify the stage, tell me why it goes in that stage. ................
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