Kohlberg Moral Development Theory
Kohlberg Moral Development Theory
Kohlberg Moral Development Theory
By
Kendra Cherry
Reviewed by
Amy Morin, LCSW
Updated on April 12, 2021
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Table of Contents
What Is Moral Development?
How Kohlberg Developed His Theory
Stages of Moral Development
Criticism
How did the two theories differ? Piaget described a two-stage process of
moral development.3 Kohlberg extended Piaget's theory, proposing that
moral development is a continual process that occurs throughout the
lifespan. His theory outlines six stages of moral development within three
different levels.
One example was "Heinz Steals the Drug." In this scenario, a woman has
cancer and her doctors believe only one drug might save her. This drug had
been discovered by a local pharmacist and he was able to make it for $200
per dose and sell it for $2,000 per dose. The woman's husband, Heinz, could
only raise $1,000 to buy the drug.
Kohlberg was not interested so much in the answer to whether Heinz was
wrong or right but in the reasoning for each participant's decision. He then
classified their reasoning into the stages of his theory of moral
development.6
Stages of Moral Development
Kohlberg's theory is broken down into three primary levels. At each level of
moral development, there are two stages. Similar to how Piaget believed
that not all people reach the highest levels of cognitive development,
Kohlberg believed not everyone progresses to the highest stages of moral
development.
Criticisms
Kohlberg's theory played an important role in the development of moral
psychology. While the theory has been highly influential, aspects of the
theory have been critiqued for a number of reasons: