Unit 2; Core Studies; Kohlberg
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- Created on: 09-03-17 13:14
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- Kohlberg
- Background: Piaget's cognitive account: morality becomes less black & white with age
- Aim: show research supports his stage theory of moral development
- Sample: done elsewhere but main study: 75 american boys aged 10-16 at start, 22-28 at end
- IV: age of participant DV: answer to moral dilemma & reasoning
- Procedure
- presented each boy with hypothetical moral dilemma every 3 years for 12 year period
- e.g. should a man steal because his wife is dying
- Answers & reasoning linked to 25 basic moral concepts
- Repeated in Malaysia, UK, Taiwan, Turkey, Canada, Mexico
- presented each boy with hypothetical moral dilemma every 3 years for 12 year period
- Results
- Lvl 1 Stg 1: Obedience & Punishment orientation; act immorally if no authority
- Lvl 1 Stg 2: Self interest orientation; does what brings them benefits
- Lvl 2 Stg 3: Conformity to expectations, seek approval
- Lvl 2 Stg 4: Authority & social order orientation; duty to do right behaviour
- Lvl 3 Stg 5: social contract orientation; law can be changed, use personal values
- Lvl 3 Stg 6: universal ethical principles, value is central to human
- Conclusions
- stages come one at a time & in the same order; invariant developmental sequence
- can't skip a stage
- nature of sequence isn't affected by culture
- each stage builds on the last
- Reliability & validity
- IR: same dilemmas given to each boy, shows not time bound
- ER: large sample, no 'one-offs'
- IV: social desirability, upbringing could have an effect
- EV: only used boys, people act differently to how they think they would
- Ethics: all held
- Ethnocentrism: assumes everyone develops like US boys, BUT repeated in other countries
- Summary
- Developmental Area: move through moral stages as we grow
- Moral development: identifies how moral thinking changes with age
- Links To Debates
- Nature vs Nurture: morality is innate vs upbringing has effect
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