Kohlberg's View on Moral Development - Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development

Kohlberg studied people from his own country and developed a theory to explain how moral thinking (right and wrong) changes as people grow. He proposed different stages of moral development and later revised his theory when new research evidence was found.

Stage 1: Pre‑conventional level – Punishment and obedience orientation

• Morality is judged by the consequences of the action.
• An act is “wrong” if it leads to punishment, and “right” if it avoids punishment.

Stage 2: Naive‑hedonistic orientation

• Morality is judged by what satisfies one’s own needs and sometimes the needs of others.
• The person thinks mainly about personal benefit or simple give‑and‑take.

Stage 3: “Good boy–good girl” orientation

• Morality is judged by how well a person follows social rules and norms with people they know.
• The aim is to be seen as a “good” son, daughter, friend, or student by close others.

Stage 4: Social order monitoring orientation 

• Morality is judged by rules and laws that apply to everyone, not just to people we personally know.
• The focus is on maintaining social order by following laws and rules.

Stage 5: Legalistic orientation

• Morality is judged by human rights, which can be higher and more important than existing laws.
• If a law goes against basic human rights, it may be questioned or changed.

Stage 6: Universal ethical principle orientation

• Morality is seen as something universal and similar in all cultures.
• People judge actions by universal ethical principles, not only by local laws.

Stage 7: Morality judged in terms of self‑chosen ethical principles

• Morality is judged according to ethical principles chosen by the individual.
• The person relies on personal views and self‑chosen ethics when deciding what is right or wrong.

• Moral maturity (by Kohlberg’s system) generally increases with age.
• Long‑term studies show that more people reach higher moral levels as they grow older.
• Older people were seen spending more time in puja and moral/religious discussions.
• These findings led Kohlberg to later remove Stage 6 from his theory.
• Moral reasoning becomes more complex with age and is affected by education, parenting, child‑rearing, and culture.

• Stage 1: Right and wrong are based on punishment—avoid getting into trouble.
• Stage 2: Actions are right if they benefit self or others—simple give and take.
• Stage 3: Be “good” to please close people like parents or friends.
• Stage 4: Follow rules and laws to keep society in order.
• Stage 5: Focus on human rights—laws can be changed if unfair.
• Stage 6 (later removed): Decisions based on universal ethical values.
• Stage 7: Morality comes from personal ethical beliefs.