Kohlberg's Theory Of Morality

A moral being is an individual who possess the ability to distinguish between right and wrong behaviour. The moral values held by societies around the world differ due to cultural differences having an influence on what is considered moral or immoral. Morality has, in general, been a widely debated concept in psychology but this essay will primarily focus on its emergence in children. An influential researcher in this area is Kohlberg, whose work on moral reasoning has provided evidence to challenge the assertion that children are born as moral beings; instead, Kohlberg claims that a child’s morality develops in a set of successive stages through which children progress throughout their whole life. However, conflicting research suggests that most children develop a sense of empathy, sympathy, as well as a tendency to act in a pro-social manner, much earlier than is implied in Kohlberg’s theory. Since these particular traits can be viewed as foundations for moral judgement, it can be argued that a child’s morality does indeed develop earlier than is suggested by much of the research in this area.

Having conducted a longitudinal study on boys of various ages, Kohlberg first devised his 6-stage theory of moral reasoning in 1981. The child begins in the first stage, in which actions are judged purely in accordance with the forthcoming consequences, and intent behind the action is not considered at all. At the highest stage of moral development, stage 6, the individual will