Knowra Lawrence Kohlberg Lawrence Kohlberg Lawrence Kohlberg (1927–1987) was an American psychologist who proposed a stage theory of moral development, describing how people reason about moral dilemmas.
Moral development : The development of capacities for moral judgment, emotion, and behavior across a person’s life. Kohlberg’s theory is a prominent account of how moral reasoning changes with age.
Preconventional morality : A level of moral reasoning centered on punishment, personal consequences, and individual interests. It forms the earliest level in Kohlberg’s proposed sequence.
Carol Gilligan : An American psychologist and ethicist known for criticizing male-centered assumptions in moral development research. Gilligan argued that Kohlberg’s framework undervalued care-oriented moral reasoning.
Just community approach : An educational approach that builds moral development through democratic participation in a school community. Kohlberg applied his developmental ideas to school governance and collective decision-making.
Jean Piaget : A Swiss psychologist whose studies of children shaped influential theories of cognitive development. Piaget’s account of children’s moral judgment helped inspire Kohlberg’s stage-based approach.
Conventional morality : A level of moral reasoning centered on social expectations, relationships, and maintaining rules or institutions. Kohlberg placed conformity and social order between self-interest and principled reasoning.
James Rest : An American psychologist who developed a model of moral judgment and ethical action building on moral-development research. Rest revised Kohlbergian assessment and broadened the account of ethical behavior.
Moral education : The teaching and cultivation of moral understanding, judgment, and conduct. Kohlberg’s stages informed proposals for fostering more advanced moral reasoning in schools.
Moral reasoning : The process of deciding what is morally right or wrong and giving reasons for that judgment. Kohlberg classified development by the reasoning behind judgments, not simply by choices.
Postconventional morality : A level of moral reasoning that evaluates laws and norms through rights, social agreements, or ethical principles. It names the most advanced level in Kohlberg’s model.
Show all 20