A child who says it is wrong to steal because she might get caught, would be in Kohlberg stage:

A child who says it is wrong to steal because she might get caught, would be in Kohlberg stage: Correct Answer Punishment and obedience (stage-1)

Lawrence Kohlberg, an American psychologist, has propounded the 'Theory of Moral Development'. He has made a systematic study of moral development in his theory that is categorized into 3 levels and 6 stages.  

Key Points

In the above-mentioned phenomenon, the child falls under the Punishment and obedience orientation stage that is the 'pre-moral' stage of moral development. In this stage: 

  • child shows no internalization of moral values.
  • moral reasoning of the child is controlled externally.
  • child's morality is influenced by rewards and punishment.

Hence, it could be concluded that a child who says it is wrong to steal because she might get caught, would be in Kohlberg's Punishment and obedience (stage-1).

Important Points 

Refer to the table to be familiar with all the levels of Kohlberg's theory.

Level 1:

Pre-moral stage/Pre-conventional Morality

Stage 1: The Obedience & Punishment Orientation - behaviour driven by avoiding punishment

Stage 2: Naive Hedonistic and Instrumental Orientation - behaviour driven by self-interest and rewards

Level 2:

Conventional Morality

Stage 3: Good Boy - Nice Girl Orientation - behaviour driven by social approval

Stage 4: The Law & Order Orientation: behaviour driven by obeying authority and conforming to social order

Level:

Post-conventional Morality

Stage 5: The Social Contract Orientation: behaviour driven by a balance of social order and individual rights

Stage 6: The Universal Ethical Principle Orientation: behaviour driven by internal moral principle.

Related Questions

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Standing Committee for Environment and Conservation, International Buddhist Confederation (IBC). She was in New Delhi to participate in the IBCs governing
council meeting, December 10-11, 2017. “We started an awareness campaign in the year 2005-2006 with H H The Dalai Lama when we learnt that tiger skins were
being traded in China and Tibet. At that time, I was not a Buddhist; I wrote to the Dalai Lama asking him to say that this is harmful and he wrote back to say, “We
will stop this.” He used very strong words during the Kalachakra in 2006, when he said, If he sees people wearing fur and skins, he doesnt feel like living. This sent
huge shock waves in the Himalayan community. Within six months, in Lhasa, people ripped the fur trim of their tubba, the traditional Tibetan dress. The messenger was ideal and the audience was receptive,” says Maas who is a conservationist. She has studied the battered foxs behavioral ecology in Serengeti,Africa. She heads the endangered species conservation at the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) International Foundation for Nature, Berlin. “I metSamdhong Rinpoche, The Karmapa, HH the Dalai Lama and Geshe Lhakdor and I thought, if by being a Buddhist, you become like this, I am going for it, “says Maas, who led the IBC initiative for including the Buddhist perspective to the global discourse on climate change by presenting the statement, The Time to Act is Now: aBuddhist Declaration on Climate Change, at COP21 in Paris. “It was for the first time in the history of Buddhism that leaders of different sanghas came together to take a stand on anything! The statement lists a couple ofimportant things: the first is that we amass things that we dont need; there is overpopulation; we need to live with contentment and deal with each other and theenvironment with love and compassion,” elaborates Maas. She is an ardent advocate of a vegan diet because “consuming meat and milk globally contributes more toclimate change than all "transport in the world.” Turning vegetarian or vegan usually requires complete change of perspective before one gives up eating their favorite food. What are the Buddhist ways to bringabout this kind of change at the individual level? “To change our behavior, Buddhism is an ideal vehicle; it made me a more contented person,” says Maas, who grewup in Germany, as a sausage chomping, meat-loving individual. She says, “If I can change, so can anybody”. Why is Ms. Barbara an ardent follower of vegan diet?
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Standing Committee for Environment and Conservation, International Buddhist Confederation (IBC). She was in New Delhi to participate in the IBCs governing
council meeting, December 10-11, 2017. “We started an awareness campaign in the year 2005-2006 with H H The Dalai Lama when we learnt that tiger skins were
being traded in China and Tibet. At that time, I was not a Buddhist; I wrote to the Dalai Lama asking him to say that this is harmful and he wrote back to say, “We
will stop this.” He used very strong words during the Kalachakra in 2006, when he said, If he sees people wearing fur and skins, he doesnt feel like living. This sent
huge shock waves in the Himalayan community. Within six months, in Lhasa, people ripped the fur trim of their tubba, the traditional Tibetan dress. The messenger was ideal and the audience was receptive,” says Maas who is a conservationist. She has studied the battered foxs behavioral ecology in Serengeti,Africa. She heads the endangered species conservation at the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) International Foundation for Nature, Berlin. “I metSamdhong Rinpoche, The Karmapa, HH the Dalai Lama and Geshe Lhakdor and I thought, if by being a Buddhist, you become like this, I am going for it, “says Maas, who led the IBC initiative for including the Buddhist perspective to the global discourse on climate change by presenting the statement, The Time to Act is Now: aBuddhist Declaration on Climate Change, at COP21 in Paris. “It was for the first time in the history of Buddhism that leaders of different sanghas came together to take a stand on anything! The statement lists a couple ofimportant things: the first is that we amass things that we dont need; there is overpopulation; we need to live with contentment and deal with each other and theenvironment with love and compassion,” elaborates Maas. She is an ardent advocate of a vegan diet because “consuming meat and milk globally contributes more toclimate change than all "transport in the world.” Turning vegetarian or vegan usually requires complete change of perspective before one gives up eating their favorite food. What are the Buddhist ways to bringabout this kind of change at the individual level? “To change our behavior, Buddhism is an ideal vehicle; it made me a more contented person,” says Maas, who grewup in Germany, as a sausage chomping, meat-loving individual. She says, “If I can change, so can anybody”. What did HH Dalai Lama said to his followers which came as a blow to them?
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Standing Committee for Environment and Conservation, International Buddhist Confederation (IBC). She was in New Delhi to participate in the IBCs governing
council meeting, December 10-11, 2017. “We started an awareness campaign in the year 2005-2006 with H H The Dalai Lama when we learnt that tiger skins were
being traded in China and Tibet. At that time, I was not a Buddhist; I wrote to the Dalai Lama asking him to say that this is harmful and he wrote back to say, “We
will stop this.” He used very strong words during the Kalachakra in 2006, when he said, If he sees people wearing fur and skins, he doesnt feel like living. This sent
huge shock waves in the Himalayan community. Within six months, in Lhasa, people ripped the fur trim of their tubba, the traditional Tibetan dress. The messenger was ideal and the audience was receptive,” says Maas who is a conservationist. She has studied the battered foxs behavioral ecology in Serengeti,Africa. She heads the endangered species conservation at the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) International Foundation for Nature, Berlin. “I metSamdhong Rinpoche, The Karmapa, HH the Dalai Lama and Geshe Lhakdor and I thought, if by being a Buddhist, you become like this, I am going for it, “says Maas, who led the IBC initiative for including the Buddhist perspective to the global discourse on climate change by presenting the statement, The Time to Act is Now: aBuddhist Declaration on Climate Change, at COP21 in Paris. “It was for the first time in the history of Buddhism that leaders of different sanghas came together to take a stand on anything! The statement lists a couple ofimportant things: the first is that we amass things that we dont need; there is overpopulation; we need to live with contentment and deal with each other and theenvironment with love and compassion,” elaborates Maas. She is an ardent advocate of a vegan diet because “consuming meat and milk globally contributes more toclimate change than all "transport in the world.” Turning vegetarian or vegan usually requires complete change of perspective before one gives up eating their favorite food. What are the Buddhist ways to bringabout this kind of change at the individual level? “To change our behavior, Buddhism is an ideal vehicle; it made me a more contented person,” says Maas, who grewup in Germany, as a sausage chomping, meat-loving individual. She says, “If I can change, so can anybody”. According to the passage, what do you infer from ''The messenger was ideal and the audience was receptive''?
A passage is given with five questions following it. Read the passage carefully and select the best answer to each question out of the given fouralternatives. Teaching about compassion and empathy in schools can help deal with problems of climate change and environmental degradation,” says Barbara Maas, secretary,
Standing Committee for Environment and Conservation, International Buddhist Confederation (IBC). She was in New Delhi to participate in the IBCs governing
council meeting, December 10-11, 2017. “We started an awareness campaign in the year 2005-2006 with H H The Dalai Lama when we learnt that tiger skins were
being traded in China and Tibet. At that time, I was not a Buddhist; I wrote to the Dalai Lama asking him to say that this is harmful and he wrote back to say, “We
will stop this.” He used very strong words during the Kalachakra in 2006, when he said, If he sees people wearing fur and skins, he doesnt feel like living. This sent
huge shock waves in the Himalayan community. Within six months, in Lhasa, people ripped the fur trim of their tubba, the traditional Tibetan dress. The messenger was ideal and the audience was receptive,” says Maas who is a conservationist. She has studied the battered foxs behavioral ecology in Serengeti,Africa. She heads the endangered species conservation at the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) International Foundation for Nature, Berlin. “I metSamdhong Rinpoche, The Karmapa, HH the Dalai Lama and Geshe Lhakdor and I thought, if by being a Buddhist, you become like this, I am going for it, “says Maas, who led the IBC initiative for including the Buddhist perspective to the global discourse on climate change by presenting the statement, The Time to Act is Now: aBuddhist Declaration on Climate Change, at COP21 in Paris. “It was for the first time in the history of Buddhism that leaders of different sanghas came together to take a stand on anything! The statement lists a couple ofimportant things: the first is that we amass things that we dont need; there is overpopulation; we need to live with contentment and deal with each other and theenvironment with love and compassion,” elaborates Maas. She is an ardent advocate of a vegan diet because “consuming meat and milk globally contributes more toclimate change than all "transport in the world.” Turning vegetarian or vegan usually requires complete change of perspective before one gives up eating their favorite food. What are the Buddhist ways to bringabout this kind of change at the individual level? “To change our behavior, Buddhism is an ideal vehicle; it made me a more contented person,” says Maas, who grewup in Germany, as a sausage chomping, meat-loving individual. She says, “If I can change, so can anybody”. Why did Ms. Barbara Mass say “If I can change, so can anybody”?
A child argues that Heinz shouldn’t steal the drug (medicine that can save his wife) because he will be caught and sent to jail if he does so. According to Kohlberg, which stage of moral understanding does the child fall under?