Three Levels of Morality by Kohlberg
Lawrence Kohlberg stressed that moral development primarily involves moral reasoning and occurs in stages. A key concept in understanding progression through the levels and stages is that their morality becomes more internal or mature. That is, their reasons for their moral decisions or values begin to go beyond the external or superficial reasons they gave when they were younger.
Level 1: Preconventional reasoning
The lowest level of reasoning in Kohlberg’s theory is preconventional reasoning, which consists of two stages: punishment and obedience orientation (stage 1) at this stage, moral thinking is often tied to punishment. For example, children and adolescents obey adults because adults tell them to obey and individualism, instrumental purpose, and exchange is the stage, when individuals pursue their own interests but also let others do the same. Thus, what is right involves an equal exchange. People are nice to others so that others will be nice to them in return.
Kohlberg’s Level 2: Conventional Reasoning
The second, or intermediate, level in Kohlberg’s theory of moral development is conventional reasoning .Individuals at this level abide by certain standards (internal), but they are the standards of others (external), such as parents or the laws of society. Conventional reasoning consists of two stages: mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships, and interpersonal conformity (stage 3) at this stage, individual’s value trust, caring, and loyalty to others as a basis of moral judgments. and social systems morality (stage 4) at this stage, moral judgments is based on understanding the social order, law, justice, and duty.
Level 3: Postconventional Reasoning
The third and highest level in Kohlberg’s theory is postconventional reasoning .At this level, morality is more internal. The postconventional level of morality consists of two stages: social contract or utility where individuals reason that values, rights, and principles undergird or transcend the law. A person evaluates the validity of actual laws and examines social systems in terms of the degree to which they preserve and protect fundamental human rights and values and individual rights the person has developed a moral standard based on universal human rights. When faced with a conflict between law and conscience, the person will follow conscience, even though the decision might involve personal risk.
