Theories of

Moral
Development
 What is
Moral
Development?
Moral Development
- is an aspect of a
persons overall
development that
follows over the
course of a lifetime.
Piagets Theory
of
Moral Development
 Jean Piaget (1965) was the
first psychologist to suggest a
theory of moral development.
According to Piaget:
- development emerges from action,
and people construct and
reconstruct their knowledge of the
world as a result of interactions with
the environment.
- Piaget suggested that people pass
through three qualitatively different
stages of moral reasoning.
 Piagets First Stage
Moral Realism In this stage children tend to
have a clear sense of right and wrong, although
they believe that there is typically only one right
answer to every situation. They tend to trust
adults at this stage and do not question an
adults moral judgments. At this stage, children
tend to believe in moral absolutes and tend to
only see a situation from their limited
perspective.
 Piagets Second Stage
Morality of Reciprocity In this stage, children
begin to understand that rules and regulations
are formed through negotiation. Children learn
that rules can be changed and they see the
world through the eyes of other people. They
are able to comprehend that there may be more
than one right answer. They believe that
punishment should act as restitution for
immoral acts. They begin to use logic and
hypotheses at this stage.
 Piagets Third Stage
Mature Adult Thinking In this stage,
many different moral issues are
addressed through practical decision
making. People at this stage, the
ethics of cooperation and the
complexity of moral issues are better
understood.
Kohlbergs Theory
Of
Moral Development
 Pre-conventional
Morality
At this level the child is
responsive to cultural rules
and labels of good and bad.
He interprets right or wrong
in terms of either the
physical consequences of
Stage 1: Punishment- Obedience
Orientation
Related to Skinners
Operational Conditioning, this
stage includes the use of
punishment so that the person
refrains from doing the action
and continues to obey the rules.
For example, we follow the law
Stage 2: Instrumental Relativist
Orientation
In this stage, the person is said to
judge the morality of an action
based on how it satisfies the
individual needs of the doer. For
instance, a person steals money
from another person because he
needs that money to buy food for
 Conventional Morality
In this level the moral
thinking and behavior of
the individual are
determined by the
standards of the family,
Stage 3: Good Boy-Nice Girl
Orientation
In this stage, a person judges
an action based on the societal
roles and social expectations
before him. This is also known as
the interpersonal relationships
phase. For example, a child gives
away her lunch to a street
Stage 4: Law and Order
Orientation
This stage includes respecting the
authorities and following the rules,
as well as doing a persons duty.
The society is the main
consideration of a person at this
stage. For instance, a policeman
refuses the money offered to him
 Post- conventional
Morality
In this level the individual is
not guided by pressures from
the society or by selfish needs,
but is guided by strong
principles and convictions alone.
They live by general principles
and they have a strong desire to
Stage 5 : Social Contract
Orientation
In this stage, the person is
look at various opinions and
values of different people
before coming up with the
decision on the morality of
Stage 6 : Universal Ethical
Principles Orientation
The final stage of moral
reasoning, this orientation is
when a person considers
universally accepted ethical
principles. The judgment may
become innate and may even
violate the laws and rules as the
Gilligans Theory
Of
Moral Development
 Carol Gilligan's theory
She was a research asst : of
Kohlberg.
Her criticism was presented
in the book in a different
voice: psychological theory
and womens development
 Carol Gilligans
Theory of Moral Development
Level 1. Pre Conventional
Orientation of individual
survival
Level 2. Conventional
Goodness as sacrifice
Level 3. Post Conventional
 Level 1. Pre Conventional

In the first level moral

reasoning is based entirely
around what is best for ones
self. [selfish stage]
Goal is individual survival.
 Level 2. Conventional
A girl or woman in the second
stage make decisions based on a
sense of goodness as well as self
sacrifice.
Women will not hurt others
and will sacrifice their own
 Level 3. Post Conventional
In the third and most sophisticated
stage of feminine moral reasoning
women valued truth as well as self
sacrifice.
In this stage women are able to
reason through consequences and
the impact that ones action has on
others.
Thus Gilligan stresses the
Eisenberg's Theory
Of
Moral Development
 Nancy Eisenberg developed
her theory of moral
development as a rebuttal to
Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of
moral development. She
believed children are able to
use all of the stages of moral
development they have
Self-centered Reasoning
The first level children reach
is self-centered reasoning,
where the child is
concentrating on what is the
benefit to himself for doing
something. Most preschoolers
and younger elementary-
Needs-oriented Reasoning
In needs-oriented reasoning,
the child is motivated by what
she sees her needs as being. A
small percentage of
preschoolers may think this
way, but mostly this level is
seen in elementary-age
Stereotyped and/or Approval-
oriented Reasoning
Stereotyped and/or approval-
oriented reasoning is
associated with a few
elementary-age children and
with some adolescents. This
level involves the child's
Empathetic Reasoning
When a child reaches the
empathetic reasoning level,
she learns to recognize how
her behaviors affect the people
around her and it affects her.
Though a few elementary-age
children reach this level, it is
Partly Internalized Principles
By the time people reach
adulthood, they begin to use
partly internalized principles
to determine what to do.
These are personal values a
person holds, though he may
not have considered his values
Strongly Internalized
Principles
Most people will never reach
the strongly internalized
principles level. This is the
level where most of a person's
motivations come from
wanting to live up to her own
THANKYOU FOR
LISTENING!
JASMINE