Introduction

            As one of the most distinguished psychologist in the world, Lawrence Kohlberg paved a pioneering path through psychology that crafted an entirely new field within the actual study of psychology. The work of Kohlberg, adapted by Jean Paget and his moral development theory explained how children develop moral reasoning and how it continues to alter over time, as the children grow older. This portrait of Lawrence Kohlberg will discover his history as a psychologist, a synthesis on his theory, and lastly his impact on education.  

History of Lawrence Kohlberg

            Lawrence Kohlberg was born on October 25, 1927 in New York. He was notorious for his work in psychology. Kohlberg, with the influence of Jean Piaget developed the theory of moral development. He attended the University of Chicago where his passion cultivated. “He identified his area of interest in moral development despite the fact that it was a rare subject to study and research in that era. His area of interested created a new field of psychology known as moral development” (Psychologist, 2015). While just a bachelor student at the University of Chicago Kohlberg created his theory.

            Starting off as an assistant professor with Yale University, Kohlberg quickly shined in his field. After three years at Yale he returned to the University of Chicago as an assistant in the psychology department. Excelling further, after one year he become and associate professor teaching social psychology and education. The theory of moral development used to write his thesis is based on the evolution or moral reasoning. Through his findings he was able to “develop six stages of moral development that addressed to the varying levels of ethical behavior in the society” (Psychologist, 2015). Psychology grew in its academic field and the work of Kohlberg fostered growth for generations to follow. Lawrence Kohlberg passed away on January 19, 1987.  

 

Synthesis on the Theory of Moral Development

          Jean Piaget was Kohlberg’s inspiration and influence. Piaget was a developmental psychologist; he studied many areas of psychology but specifically cognitive development. Piaget developed two initial stages of moral development. Kohlberg later developed that theory and created six stages, more accurate and specific creating a new definition to moral development. Kohlberg also created a device known as the “Heinz dilemma”. This device was used in Kohlberg’s studies to identify which of the six stages an individual was at in their life. Kohlberg conducted his studies via interview with children. “By studying the answers from children of different ages to these questions Kohlberg hoped to discover the ways in which moral reasoning changed as people grew older. The sample comprised 72 Chicago boys aged 10–16 years, 58 of whom were followed up at three-yearly intervals for 20 years (Psychologist, 2015). The Heinz dilemma is as follows:

Heinz Steals the Drug

   "In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctor’s thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make. He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2000 for a small dose of the drug.
   The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $ 1,000 which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said: "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it." So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man's store to steal the drug-for his wife. Should the husband have done that?" (Kohlberg, 1971).

   (The reasoning for the use of this dilemma was to see if participants would give reasoning behind their answer, rather than a yes or no answer.)

Kohlberg’s theory is consisted of three levels; each of the levels contains two sub-stages.

   Level one is the pre-conventional level. Here children respond to cultural rules and correct labels of what is right and what is wrong. Stage one (obedience and punishment) is where children assume authority-like figures set a set of rules that they must be followed. According to the Heinz Dilemma, children would mostly likely say, “stealing is bad”. Stage two (individualism and exchange) is where children realize that the authorities rules are not the only point of view. They understand that everyone has their own view and wants to pursue life based on their own self-interest. Remarks based on the Heinz Dilemma include statements on what is right for ones self-interest. For example, for the doctor it was right to raise the price so he could make money. For Heinz on the other hand it was right to steal the drug for the benefit of sparing his wife’s life.

   The second level of Kohlberg’s theory is the conventional level.” At this level, the individual perceives the maintenance of the expectations of his family, group, or nation as valuable in its own right, regardless of immediate and obvious consequences” (Kohlberg, 1971). Stage three (interpersonal relationships) is where people not only children anymore, believe we as a society should have compassion for one another. Here participants relate and understand why Heinz stole and why the doctor raised his price. Stage four (maintaining social order) is when people are concerned with society as a whole. People want others to follow and abide by the rules. According to the Heinz Dilemma answers justify why it is societally wrong for him to steal the drug. In doing so he is not keeping society functioning in an orderly or properly fashion. If stealing occurred societally, then humanity would be chaos.

   The third and final level of moral development is Postconventional morality. “The individual makes a clear effort to define moral values and principles that have validity and application apart from the authority of the groups of persons holding them and apart from the individual's own identification with the group” (Kohlberg, 1971). Stage five (social contract and individual rights) is where people define what a good society is to them. Here participants understand that there isn’t one straight answer to how a society should be. They also compare human rights to the law. From the Heinz Dilemma people are often fond of breaking the law because they justify life as being more important than property. This stage is where interesting responses arise. Stage six (universal principals) is where “people follow these internalized principles of justice, even if they conflict with laws and rules” (Cherry, 2015). After a few years Kohlberg discarded this stage because he realized it wasn’t much use to him. Like any other theory there are criticism’s that raise question to his thinking and theory, however there is no doubt that his theory answered countless questions and brought an abundant amount of knowledge about moral development. (It is important to note that not everyone will reach each stage and stages occur in order).

 

Impact on Education

   There is no doubt that Lawrence Kohlberg has a lasting contribution to developmental psychology. “An entirely new field within psychology was created as a direct result of Kohlberg's theory, and according to Haggbloom et al.'s study of the most eminent psychologists of the 20th century, Kohlberg was the 16th most frequently cited psychologist in introductory psychology textbooks throughout the century, as well as the 30th most eminent overall” (Wikipedia, 2015). His work was able to answer countless questions and many direct questions on how children develop morality over time. “His contribution to the field of psychology took him in the league of the most renowned psychologists that the 20thcentury has produced. That league comprised of 30 most prominent psychologists of the 20th century. The works of Lawrence Kohlberg were responded and supported by the greatest scholars of his time such as James Rest and Elliot Turiel through their valuable contributions. (Psychologist, 2015). Kohlberg’s theory is still utilized within the psychology field today, as it forever should be. His theory not only brought forth knowledge and growth but an understanding to how we as children develop morally into adults. Furthermore, his work should nurture and develop minds to accelerate for generations to come.

     Concluding this theorist portrait I found this activity to be extremely beneficial to education and to myself. Not only have I gained knowledge for moral development but also I was able to attain a small amount of a much larger world of psychology in which we partake.

 

References

Cherry, K. (2015). Kohlberg's Theort of Moral Development. Retrieved from About

Education: http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/ko

hlberg.htm

 

Kohlberg, L. (1971). Stages of Moral Development. Retrieved from PSU.edu:

http://info.psu.edu.sa/psu/maths/Stages%20of%20Moral%20Development%20According%20to%20Kohlberg.pdf

 

McLeod, S. (2011). Kohlberg. Retrieved from Simply Psycology:

http://www.simplypsychology.org/kohlberg.html

 

Psychologist, F. (2015). Lawrence Kohlberg. Retrieved from Famous Psychologists :

http://www.famouspsychologists.org/lawrence-kohlberg/

 

Wikipedia. (2015). Lawrence Kohlberg. Retrieved from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kohlberg