Theories Of Moral Development

The cognitive development theory suggests that moral development is related to the development of rational reasoning. According to Jean Piaget, the development of moral reasoning involves a systematic progression through a sequence of phases, each characterised by a particular quality of thought (Jean Piaget 1932, 1965). Lawrence Kohlberg extended and developed Jean Piaget's work in cognition Colby and Kohlberg (1987), in a longitudinal study, interviewed 52 participants from a boy’s school every 3-4 years for 35 years. In the interviews, Kohlberg presented the participants with moral dilemmas and collaborative scenarios, recording their approaches for resolving the dilemmas. For example, in his Heinz dilemma, a man names Heinz has a terminally

In his experiments, individuals of the upper class and western background are more likely to reach higher stages compared to individuals from a working class or rural background (Miller, 1987). Some critics interpret this as an indication of bias in Kohlberg’ theory (Miller, 1987; Simpson 1974). Alternatively, an understanding that might be compatible with the theory is that the process of rational reasoning is unevenly dispersed across different cultures and economic backgrounds (Miller, 1987). That is, individuals of a higher class are more rationalised and morally developed than those of a lower class. However, because some individuals are more rationalised does not mean that they are more morally developed. Different cultures may develop morality differently and as such theories such as Kohlberg’s may not be applicable to other parts of the world. A second criticism deals with the potential gender bias component of the moral theory developed by Kohlberg. He established the theory using his empirical studies which were conducted by male researchers using only male participants. Consequently, women tend to remain in stage three, focusing on maintaining relationships, whereas men focus on abstract principles of law and justices (Gilligan

Therefore, the manifestation of morality in children occurs as a child’s cognitive strength and knowledge base begin to develop. Movement through the stages is related to the cognitive ability to construct a detached and impartial point of view from which one evaluates what is right and wrong, also known as the autonomous phase in Piaget’s phases of moral development. However, in Gilligan’s ethics of care, the morality of children or adults depends on how caring they are. Ultimately, as Gilligan and Kohlberg cannot agree on what morality is based on, there are conflicting theories which element is central to