Knowra Kohlberg's stages of moral development Kohlberg's stages of moral development A theory proposing that moral reasoning develops through six stages grouped into preconventional, conventional, and postconventional levels. Its stages describe increasingly complex ways of justifying judgments, not fixed measures of moral behavior.
Preconventional morality : A level of moral reasoning centered on personal consequences, including punishment, reward, and exchange. Its first two stages explain how reasoning can begin with avoiding punishment and pursuing benefit.
Heinz dilemma : A moral dilemma in which a man considers stealing medicine to save his dying wife. Kohlberg used responses to this dilemma to examine the reasoning behind moral choices.
Jean Piaget : A Swiss psychologist whose research on children shaped major theories of cognitive and moral development. Kohlberg extended Piaget's account of children's moral judgment into a broader stage sequence.
Carol Gilligan : An American ethicist and psychologist known for criticizing male-centered assumptions in developmental psychology. Gilligan argued Kohlberg's framework undervalued care and relationships in moral reasoning.
Moral education : Educational practices intended to develop moral understanding, judgment, or conduct. Kohlberg's account inspired teaching approaches that use discussion of moral dilemmas.
Conventional morality : A level of moral reasoning centered on social expectations, relationships, laws, and maintaining social order. Its stages shift judgment from personal consequences toward approval and respect for rules.
Moral dilemma : A situation in which competing moral obligations or values make a choice difficult. Hypothetical dilemmas provide the situations used to elicit reasoning in Kohlberg's approach.
The Moral Judgment of the Child : Jean Piaget's 1932 book examining children's understanding of rules, justice, and moral responsibility. It supplied an early developmental framework that Kohlberg adapted and expanded.
Ethics of care : An ethical approach that emphasizes relationships, care, dependency, and responsibilities to particular people. It foregrounds moral concerns that Kohlberg's justice-centered stages can underrepresent.
Just Community approach : A school-based moral education model involving students in democratic discussion and shared rule-making. Kohlberg developed this approach to connect moral reasoning with participation in a community.
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