Moral Development

MoralityOur understanding of the difference between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.

Freud argued that the Id and Ego drive our motivation, but

our Superego sometimes steps in and causes us to

change our behavior.

In other words, we are sometimes motivated by a

desire to be good more than we are motivated to seek

pleasure.

Some people believe in absolute morality: the idea that moral rules

apply to all people in all situations at all times in history. They might argue that killing another person is always

wrong in every situation.

Some people believe in relative morality: the idea that moral rules are

relative to our personal or cultural environments. They might argue that

each individual society or era of history determines what is morally

right and wrong.

MoralityHow is morality related to motivation?

I’ll say it again:

We are sometimes motivated by a desire to be good human

beings more than we are motivated to seek pleasure.

MoralityHow can morality cause us to change our

actions?

1. First, we get motivated to do

something. Example: An employee is motivated to become the CEO of his company one day to

make lots of money.

2. Second, our moral beliefs intervene, sometimes causing us to change our behaviors. Example: The

employee finds out that his company must outsource child

labor in poor foreign countries to make a profit. If the boss of the

company must hurt poor children to make a profit, does he really

want to be the boss? Does he even want to work there anymore?

A poor man named Heinz has a wife who is dying, and needs a newly developed drug that will cure her. The drug is very expensive, so every day, Heinz crowd funds to raise the money. However, he fails to earn enough to pay for the medicine. The company CEO refuses to give the drug away for free, and changes lots of money for it because he says “research and development is expensive and the company needs to make a profit.” One day, Heinz decides to break

into the hospital pharmacy and steal the drug.

Write a letter to the man (5 sentences minimum) explaining why his choice was either RIGHT or

WRONG, and explain WHY.

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987) was a psychologist who created a theory of moral development: it describes how one’s sense of right and wrong

changes with age.

How do we develop a sense of justice? How do we learn to make moral judgements?

“Kohlberg Dilemmas”In order to study moral development, Kohlberg

created situations (like the Heinz story) which he called “dilemmas,” and read them to people of all ages. He took their responses and categorized them into three levels of morality (6 stages total: two in each

level) based on certain characteristics that he noticed.

Three Levels of Morality

Breaking the rules is always bad.

(or)Acting in self-

interest because my individual needs are the greatest good.

Follow the rules because if you

don’t, others will think badly of you.

(or)The rules are in

place for the benefit of all:

breaking the rules leads to chaos.

Rules are created by humans, and humans aren’t

perfect; thus, rules are not always

good ones.(or)

I believe in a higher moral standard

than that which is dictated by society.

Level OneLevel Two

Level Three

Stage 1: Obedience & Punishment

Sense of morality is based on avoiding external

punishments. Thus, an action is perceived as wrong only if

the person is punished. People in this stage are

overly trusting of authority figures (such as parents, governments, holy texts),

and will often say something is right or wrong “because

authority figure says so.”

Level 1: Preconventional Morality

Stealing is bad because the law says so. You

will get in trouble if you steal!

Stage 2: Self-Interest

Sense of morality is based on whatever

the individual believes is in their best

interest (but in a narrow way which does not consider one's reputation or

relationships to groups of people).

Level 1: Preconventional Morality

Stealing is ok if it allows you to get what you want.

Level One: “The law is always right”

or“Acting in self-interest”

( Video )

Stage 3: Accord & Conformity

Sense of morality is based on social

standards and how one will be

perceived by others. Being approved of and respected by

others is considered important because it is self-beneficial.

Level 2: Conventional Morality

Stealing is a bad idea because if people find out,

they will think you’re untrustworthy, or a criminal.

Stage 4: Social Order-Maintaining

Sense of morality is based on the fact that following laws provides us with a

stable, safe, and functioning society. If one person breaks

a law, everyone could potentially break it, creating

danger and chaos. Thus, following laws and the orders of an outside

authority is beneficial for everyone.

Level 2: Conventional Morality

Stealing is bad because if everyone were

allowed to steal, no one’s property would be safe. There would be no

social order.

Level Two: “Act in a way that other people will approve of”

or“The law benefits and

protects society”

Stage 5: Social Contract Understanding

Sense of morality is based on an understanding that each

society creates it own values, laws, rights, and moral

standards. Laws are understood to be social contracts between

the governors and the governed: people are capable of making bad laws, and any laws that do not promote general welfare should be removed or

changed.

Level 3: Postconventional Morality

If the rules cause an injustice to happen, perhaps the rules

need to be changed, or perhaps you should

defy the rules.

Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles

Sense of morality is based on an understanding that

goodness is not defined by any particular society or set of laws, but good and moral

behavior is something universal which transcends human

society. People should not act based on laws, punishments,

self-interest, or societal interest, but should only act

based on what is just and right.

Level 3: Postconventional Morality

Kohlberg actually found very few people

in the world who operate at “stage 6” morality. He decided that stage 6 is not

very realistic.

Level Three: “The law is not always moral”

or“There is a universal

definition of good beyond what an individual society

defines it to be”

Moral Level In Favor of Stealing Against Stealing

Level 1: Preconventional Morality (Interests of the individual are considered in terms of rewards and punishments)

“It was right to steal, because he might have been blamed for the death of his wife.”

“It was wrong to steal, because he might be caught and sent to jail. If he doesn't get caught, he might spend his whole life in fear thinking of how the police could catch him at any minute”.

Level 2: Conventional Morality (Interests of the individual are considered in terms of how others perceive them and how they act as good members of society)

“It was right to steal, because if his wife had died he would never be able to face other people again. He will be thought of as a bad husband and a bad person.”

“It was wrong to steal because he will feel bad about how he brought dishonor on himself and his family by not following the laws. Everyone must follow laws in order to keep society orderly.”

Level 3: Postconventional Morality (Individuals follow moral standards that are greater than those of any particular society)

“It was right to steal, because life is more important than property. What is truly wrong in this situation is that society does not agree: the law favors property over life.”

“It was wrong to steal because he will always condemn himself for not living up to his own standards of honesty.”

Heinz Dilemma Part 2:Kohlberg asked these follow up questions to his

participants after reading them the story:

1. Was it right for Heinz to steal?2. Would your answer change if

the dying woman was a stranger?

3. If poor people are dying, should the greedy CEO be sued and brought to court for overpricing his product?

Problems with Kohlberg’s Theory:

Does moral behavior actually match moral thoughts? People have pointed out that Kohlberg’s scenario is hypothetical: the way people answer the question may not be how they would act in real life.

Are there distinct stages to moral development, or do different situations result in different types of moral choices? Some adults may make a level three decision in one scenario, but fall back to a level one decision in another.

Is justice the most important moral principle? Some argue that compassion is more important.

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Review:

Breaking the rules is always bad.

(or)Acting in self-

interest because my individual needs are the greatest good.

Follow the rules because if you

don’t, others will think badly of you.

(or)The rules are in

place for the benefit of all:

breaking the rules leads to chaos.

Rules are created by humans, and humans aren’t

perfect; thus, rules are not always

good ones.(or)

I believe in a higher moral standard

than that which is dictated by society.

Level OneLevel Two

Level Three