Investigating Behaviour Developmental Psychology: Kohlberg (1968) The Child as Moral Philosopher Investigating Behaviour

Starter Is there a difference between right and wrong? Is right and wrong the same for everyone? Where does your understanding of right and wrong come from? Are you born with it? Did you learn it?

Context Babies have no concept of right and wrong Morality develops as we grow up, but does not happen all at once

Context E.g. Hitting Hitting is wrong because I will be punished Hitting is wrong because it causes pain Hitting is wrong because it is bad for society

Context Morality is a spectrum Kohlberg investigated morality. He was unsatisfied with behaviourist and psychodynamic theories How would a behaviourist/ psychoanalyst explain morality?

Context Kohlberg was influenced by the work of Piaget that saw development as going through stages Kohlberg based his definition of morality on Socratic notions of justice.

Aims To investigate the development of moral reasoning in children to create a series of stages that could be applied to all children. Longitudinal Interviews

Methodology Number and make up of participants? (pg 168) Research method: A longitudinal study using interviews Data collected: qualitative or quantitative?

Procedures Each child given 10 hypothetical moral dilemmas. Discuss these issues Then asked a series of specific open ended questions Semi structured interview Responses analysed Children then assessed every three years Also conducted the same study on other cultures to compare

Procedures On the sheet “Kohlberg Dilemmas” are examples of four of the dilemmas used by Kohlberg. With a partner, conduct a short interview. Present them with one of the dilemmas, and record their responses. What do you think this says about their moral understanding? Evaluation What are your first thoughts on this research technique? Did you have any issues when you were conducting your interview? How did you find being a participant? Can you see any potential issues?

Example of an Ethical Dilemma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5czp9S4 u26M

Findings Moral development can be split into three stages: Preconventionl, Conventional and Postconventional. Each of these stages could likewise be separated into two sub stages, giving a total of 6 stages.

Findings “…stages come one at a time and always in the same order. All movement is forward in sequence, and does not skip steps. Children may move through the stages at varying speeds, of course, and may be found half in and half out of a particular stage. An individual may stop at any given stage, but if he continues to move, he must move in accordance with these steps.  

Findings Stages are fixed and must be passed through in order E.g. all children at stage 3 have been through stage 2. Stage 6 unsure. 5 and 6 may be alternates

Findings Preconventional Stage 1: Obedience and punishment Morality based on consequences. No understanding of reasoning or society’s conventions Stage 1: Obedience and punishment Actions only considered wrong if punished Children ignore motivation behind an action E.g. A child may say that stealing a classmate’s chocolate bar is wrong because the teacher would punish them.

Findings Stage 2: Instrumental purpose “What’s in it for me?” Morality governed by self interest E.g. A child may do chores only if they receive pocket money to do so, rather than to help their family.

Findings Conventional Stage 3: Good boy-good girl orientation Morality is determined by society’s views and expectations Society’s rules and norms accepted without question Stage 3: Good boy-good girl orientation Seeking approval by following conventions and norms Child wants to be a “good girl” or “good boy” E.g: A child behaves in a lesson because to misbehave is against society’s norms, and would be met with disapproval from both the teacher, their family and their peers.

Findings Stage 4: law and order orientation Emphasis on orders and conventions Understood as vital for a functioning society rather than a need for approval A belief that all people have the duty to uphold laws E.g. Theft is seen as wrong as if one person steals, perhaps everyone would, and this would be bad for society

Findings Postconventional Stage 5: The Social Contract orientation An understanding that individuals are separate from society Morality is judged by abstract concepts, and that rules can be changed Stage 5: The Social Contract orientation Morality is seen as relative and flexible Laws are social constructs, not rigid laws E.g. Campaigning for equal marriage rights for homosexual people while gay marriage was illegal

Findings Stage 6: Universal principles orientation Morality based on abstract ideals and ethical principles If there is a conflict between morals and the law, the law should be disobeyed The individual acts because it is right, and not because it avoids punishment, is in their best interest, expected, legal, or previously agreed upon E.g. The type of civil disobedience shown by Ghandi in opposition to unjust laws

Findings Look at the data from the example interview you did with your classmate. What stage of moral development do you think they are at? What about yourself?

Findings Cross Cultural findings Stages are universal Differences in how quickly children progress through the stages Middle class children in all cultures progressed quicker than lower class children Religion had no effect

Conclusions Stages are universal Differences in speed of progression Each stage builds upon the stage before, but becomes more equilibrated Children are able to understand moral reasoning up to and including the stage that they are in, but not more than one stage above their own. And importantly they prefer the next stage.

Conclusions Children move forward in their moral reasoning when confronted by the views of a child one stage along. In an argument between a stage 3 and a stage 4 child, the child in the third stage tends to move towards or into stage 4, while the stage 4 child understands but does not accept the arguments of the stage 3 child. Moral discussions could therefore be used to help children develop their moral reasoning.

Evaluating the methodology What are your first thoughts on this research technique? Did you have any issues when you were conducting your interview? How did you find being a participant? Can you see any potential issues?

Evaluation Using the handout on self-report techniques and the information on page 169, assess the strengths and weaknesses of this study. Summarise in the table below. Specific things to think about Method Reliability Validity (internal and external) Sampling Ethical issues.