KOHLBERG MORAL DEVELOPMENT HOW DO CHILDREN REASON ABOUT

KOHLBERG MORAL DEVELOPMENT (HOW DO CHILDREN REASON ABOUT WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG? ) STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT CAROL GILLIGAN DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOYS AND GIRLS

THE STORY OF HEINZ • A man named Heinz had a dying wife. The wife had an almost fatal disease. The local druggist owned a $20, 000 drug that could save her. • Heinz could not raise the money in time and he certainly didn’t have the cash to buy the drug. Heinz therefore made a decision and that night he broke into the drug store and stole some of the medication. • Moral Dilemma: • Law forbidding stealing • Desire to save wife • Kohlberg was not interested in the eventual “yes” or “no”, he was interested in how a person reasoned to arrive at “yes” or “no”

LEVEL 1: PRECONVENTIONAL LEVEL • Children up to age 9 • Obedience vs. Punishment • Stage 1: Base moral judgements on the consequences of behavior • Stage 2: Good behavior allows people to satisfy their needs and those of others. (Egoistic)

STAGE 1: OBEDIENCE AND PROSPECT OF PUNISHMENT MORAL REASONING SUPPORT STEALING THE DRUG • It isn’t wrong to take the drug. Heinz did try to pay for it and it’s not really worth $20, 000 MORAL REASONING TO OPPOSE STEALING THE DRUG • Taking things without paying is wrong because it is against the law. Heinz will get caught and go to jail.

STAGE 2: EGOISTIC, RIGHT IF IT SATISFIES NEEDS SUPPORT STEALING • His wife really needs it. He can always pay it back OPPOSE STEALING • If he gets caught and winds up in jail, it won’t do his wife any good.

LEVEL 2: CONVENTIONAL • Adolescents and adults • Right and wrong are judged by conformity to conventional (family, religion, society) standards. • Stage 3: “Good-boy orientation”, meets the needs and expectations of others. What the majority does. • Stage 4: Based on rules that maintain the social order. Showing respect for authority and doing one’s duty.

STAGE 3: “GOOD-BOY ORIENTATION” SUPPORT STEALING • Stealing is a crime, so it’s bad, but Heinz should take the drug to save his wife or else people will blame him for letting her die. OPPOSE STEALING • Stealing is a crime. Heinz shouldn’t take the drug because his family will be dishonored and they will blame him.

STAGE 4: LAW AND ORDER SUPPORT STEALING • Heinz must take the drug to do his duty to save his wife. Eventually he will have to pay for it. OPPOSE STEALING • If everyone took the law into their own hands, civilization would fall apart, so Heinz shouldn’t steal the drug.

LEVEL 3: POSTCONVENTIONAL • • • 20 -25% of adolescents • Stage 5: Recognized that laws stem from agreed-upon procedures and that the rule of law is in general good for society. Under exceptional circumstances the law cannot bind the individual. • Stage 6: Demands adherence to supposed universal ethical principles such as the sanctity of human life, individual dignity, justice and the GOLDEN RULE. If a law is unjust or contradicts the rights of the individual, it is wrong to obey it. Most people do not reach the Postconventional level Moral judgements are derived from personal values, not from conventional standards or authority figures.

STAGE 5: CONTRACTUAL; LEGALISTIC SUPPORT STEALING • Complicated because society has a right to maintain law and order, but Heinz has to take the drug to save his wife. OPPOSE STEALING • I can see why Heinz feels he has to take the drug, but laws exist for the benefit of society as a whole and can’t simply be cast aside.

STAGE 6: UNIVERSAL ETHICAL PRINCIPLES ORIENTATION SUPPORT STEALING • Law comes into conflict with the principle of the sanctity of human life. Heinz must take the drug because his wife’s life is more important than the law. OPPOSE STEALING • If Heinz truly believes that stealing the drug is worse than letting his wife die, he should not take it. People have to make sacrifices to do what is right.

EVALUATE KOHLBERG • Moral reasoning does follow a developmental sequence. • Formal Operations are a prerequisite for Postconventional reasoning • • Ability to understand abstract moral principles Ability to empathize with the attitudes and emotional responses of other people • People do not skip stages • Children prefer the higher stage of moral reasoning when more than one stage is modeled

WHAT ABOUT THE GIRLS? CAROL GILLIGAN EXPLAINS

MEN AND WOMEN PROCESS EVENTS DIFFERENTLY ETHICS OF “JUSTICE” OF MEN • Justice • Factual • Logical • Rule based • Matter of Fact • Black and white • Independence • Taking a commanding role ETHICS OF “CARE” OF WOMEN • Reason • Emotion • Impact on relationships • Compassion & Caring • Rationalizing facts • Making exceptions • Shades of grey • People oriented • Shying away from decision making

JAKE AND AMY • Jake (Kohlberg) • Amy (Gilligan) • Jake weighs the scales of justice • Amy says that stealing the drug like a math problem. He shows that life is worth more than property and concludes that it is Heinz’s duty to steal the drug (Stage 4 reasoning) and letting Heinz’s wife die are both wrong. Amy looks for alternatives, such as getting a loan, because it wouldn’t help Heinz’s wife if he went to jail.

3 LEVELS LIKE KOHLBERG • Pre-Conventional, Post-Conventional • NO STAGES WITHIN • Focuses on transition

STAGE 1: PRECONVENTIONAL • “Selfish Stage” – start with a selfish orientation where the goal is to survive • Transition from selfishness to responsibility for others

STAGE 2: CONVENTIONAL • Self-sacrifice is goodness • Feels it is wrong to act on their own interests instead, they value the interests of others

STAGE 3: POSTCONVENTIONAL • Principle of non-violence. Do not hurt others or self. • It is as wrong to ignore their own interests and the interests of others.

BOYS AND GIRLS • When boys have a dispute during play, they actively resolve it, which may include aggressive behavior. • When girls have a dispute, they quit playing in order to protect the relationship

MEN AND WOMEN • Men’s desire to limit interference vs. women’s desire to respond is consistent with men’s desire fore separation vs. women’s desire for connection. This fits the stereotype of men fearing commitment.

ANALYSIS OF GILLIGAN • Only a slight tendency for boys to favor Jake’s “justice” approach • Only a slight tendency for girls to favor Amy’s “caring” approach. • We cannot say that the justice orientation is used predominantly by boys, or the care orientation predominately by girls.