Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

This assignment examines Kohlberg's theory of moral development by analyzing the responses of a child (10 years old) and an adolescent (17 years old) to two hypothetical scenarios. The child demonstrates characteristics of conventional morality, adhering to rules and avoiding punishment, while the adolescent exhibits signs of post-conventional morality, considering societal values and individual justice. The assignment concludes that Kohlberg's theory provides a valuable framework for understanding moral development but acknowledges its limitations in capturing the complexities of human behavior.

Running Head: PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Question 2 part 1
Part A child (10 years, female):
Me- Should Ria help her friend?
C10- She should not help her friend.
Me- Why?
C10- cause, she will get in trouble
Me- If you do not prompt answers to your best friend or brother during exam, they may
fail. So what would you do?
C10- I will not prompt. My parents said “do not help others in cheating” or else you will
be in trouble.
Me- If Ria refuses to help her friend will she become bad girl?
C10- No
Part B Adolescent (17 years, male):
Me- Should Ryan take the drink from his friend?
A17- Yes. As he will not be driving
Me- is it okay to drink just to make friends?
A17- I think so

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Me- Why?
A17- Or else he will be left out.
Me- Would you like to taste alochol?
A17- I am confused. As my parents say “drinking leads to adverse consequences once
you are addicted”.
Me- Ryan may get addicted? Will you prohibit him?
A17- Taking frequently may cause addiction. Yes. I will say him what my parents told
me.
Question 2 part 2
Short essay
Based on the Kohlberg’s theory, it can be concluded that C10 is in the level of
conventional morality. The child is in phase of the punishment-obedience orientation of the
preconventioanl morality stage and good girl/boy orientation of the conventional morality stage
(Cherry 2014). The child does not want to cheat, as it will lead to adverse consequences. The
child does not perceive that if helping own best friend in exam for once may help her save a year.
Since the need of the friend is serious, the act would be morally correct until it becomes a habit.
C10 wants to be a good child admired by parents and afraid of punishments or adverse
consequences. The child is less likely to move to the higher stage as she thinks that by refusing
to help someone will not make a person bad. It means given a serious need the child is

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determined to follow the rules. However, after reaching the later adolescence stage C10 may
move to higher stages of moral development
On the other hand, A17 seems to be in the social contract orientation. It tis the stage of
level named post conventional morality (Cherry 2014). In this stage, a person looks at values and
perceptions of other people before taking a decision on the morality of the action. It is evident
from A17’s dialogue where he thinks that Ryan should take a drink to fit himself in crowd. On
the other hand, the adolescent considers the parent’s instruction in regards to drinking. A17 is
confused about drinking thinking about its consequences. It clearly indicates that A17 prefers to
violate the laws giving preference to personal justice. It means A17 is highly likely to reach the
final stage universal ethical principles orientation.
Kohlberg’s theory does not take into account the differences between men and women.
The decisions made by females can be mostly attributed to the third stage. During moral
dilemma, a woman explains her decision based on caring and personal relationships. On the
contrary men judge the actions based on justice and equity. Therefore, the decisions they make
are mainly attributed to fifth or sixth stage (Cherr, 2014). The same has been found in the
interview. The girl’s decision belongs to stage three and for the boy, stage five. However, it can
be argued that there is an overlap between stages in the theory . Other moral values are neglected
like caring (Kurtines 2014).
It can be concluded from this experience that Kohlberg’s theory was substantially helpful
in deducing the levels of moral development of the interviewees, keeping aside the demerits of
theory. However, it may not work in every case as people may behave in one way and it may not
align with the score on the scale (Araki 2014).

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Annexure
Scenario for child- Rita is the 10 years old girl and her best friend Ana ask her to promt
answers in exam hall. Rita is in dilemma if she should allow her best friend to cheat or not.
Scenario for Adolescent- Ryan is 16 year old boy and is offered a drink by his friend.
Ryan does not want to partake. However, he is afraid that he will be isolated if he do not drink or
smoke like others. He thinks of drinking as he will not be driving the car.

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References
Araki, N., 2014. AN APPLICATION OF KOHLBERG’S THEORY OF MORAL DILEMMA
DISCUSSION TO THE JAPANESE CLASSROOMAND ITS EFFECT ON MORAL
DEVELOPMENT OF JAPANESE STUDENTS. Handbook of Moral and Character Education,
p.308.
Cherry, K., 2014. Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. About. com Psychology.
Kurtines, W.M., 2014. Handbook of moral behavior and development: Volume 1: Theory.
Psychology Press.