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. |