Moral Development in
graders
Tom Kaiser & LeeAnna Pyle
th
th
4 -8
Lawrence Kohlberg Biographical information
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Lived from 1927-1987.
Born and Raised in Bronxville, New York.
Merchant marine in World War II.
Also worked as a sailor and helped smuggle Jewish refugees into Palestine
Enrolled at University of Chicago where he earned his undergraduate degree in
one year and later completed his doctoral degree in psychology in 1958.
He was influenced heavily by Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget.
Taught as a professor at Yale, U of Chicago, and Harvard.
Probably committed suicide in 1987 in the Boston Harbor
Final years marked by depression and painful parasitic infection.
Valjean Dilemma
• Valjean Dilemma: In a country in Europe, a poor man named Valjean could
find no work, nor could his sister and brother. Without money, he stole
food and medicine that they needed. He was captured and sentenced to
prison for six years. After a couple of years, he escaped from the prison and
went to live in another part of the country under a new name. He saved
money and slowly built up a big factory. He gave his workers the highest
wages and used most of his profits to build a hospital for people who
couldn’t afford good medical care. Twenty years had passed when a tailor
(someone who makes clothes) recognized the factory owner as being
Valjean, the escaped convict whom the police had been looking for back in
his hometown.
Kohlberg’s six stages (influenced by Piaget)
• Preconventional Morality  Level 1
• -Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment Orientation.
• Children see morality as something external to themselves- something the big people they must do. The
Child assumes that powerful authorities hand down a fixed set of rules that he/she must unquestionably
obey.
• The child is concerned with how he/she can avoid punishment.
• Example Responses: “it’s against the law”
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“It’s bad to steal”
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“It’s against the commandments”
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“You’ll get punished”
Kohlberg Preconventional Morality:
Stage 2  Individualism and Exchange
• The second stage acts as a self interest orientation. Children are
asking themselves “what’s in it for me”
• In the second stage, punishment is simply a risk that one wants to
avoid.
• Children speak for themselves rather than as members of society
• Example Responses: “It was unfair to send Valjean to jail”
“Valjean may have thought it was alright for him
to steal because of his problems”
Level 2 Conventional Morality
Stage 3: Good interpersonal relationships.
• This stage examines interpersonal accord and conformity.
• People should live up to the expectations of the family and
community and behave in ‘good ways’
• Good behavior means having good motives and interpersonal feelings
such as trust, love, empathy, and concern for others.
• Examples: “Valjean’s actions can be condoned because he was
helping his family”
• “The tailor should not report Valjean because he is helping the
community”
Level II Conventional Morality
Stage 4: Maintaining Social Order
• This stage is an authority and social-order maintaining orientation.
• Law and order morality.
• The emphasis is on obeying laws, respecting authority, and
performing one’s duties so the social order is maintained.
• Examples: “Stealing the food and medicine was wrong even though it
was understandable”
• “The tailor should report Valjean because he broke the law”
Level III: Postconventional Morality
Stage Five: Social Contract and Individual Rights
• Social contract orientation
• People think about society in a very theoretical way, stepping back
from their own society and considering the rights and values a society
ought to uphold
• Examples: “Laws are social contracts that people agree to uphold”
• “Valjean has a right to stay free because he is helping others”
Level III: Postconventional Morality
Stage six: Universal ethical principles
• People at this stage believe in defining the principles by which we
achieve justice
• Jesus Stage
• Very few people reason at this stage
• This level would occur if the child defined principles by which
agreements would be most just.
Kohlberg’s stages
Other important works from Kohlberg
• Kohlberg also contributed to psychology through important
publications such as his Essays on Moral Development (1981), The
Philosophy of Moral Development (1981), and The Psychology of
Moral Development (1984)
• Kohlberg’s six stages of moral development is by far his most notable
contribution to the field of psychology
Kohlberg Definitions
• Morality- recognition of the distinction between good and evil or between right and wrong; respect for and obedience to
the rules of right conduct; the mental disposition or characteristic of behaving in a manner intended to produce morally
good results.
• Moral development- the process through which children develop proper attitudes and behaviors toward other people in
society, based on social and cultural norms, rules, and laws.
• Moral dilemmas- stories that present conflicting ideas about two moral values. There is usually not a concrete or "right"
answer because it is based on the individual person's perception.
• Levels of Development- three various groups including pre-conventional morality, conventional morality, and postconventional morality; they are made up of the six stages of moral development.
• Stages of development- six stages which make up the levels of development; in level 1 are the stages of obedience and
punishment orientation and secondly individualism and exchange, in level two are good interpersonal relationships and
then maintaining the social order, lastly in level three is stage 5 which is social conduct and individual rights and the six
stage universal principles.
• Structured wholes- stages are not just isolated responses but are general patterns of thought that consistently show up
across many different kinds of issues
• Cross-sectional data- interviewing children at various ages; findings are inconclusive
• Longitudinal studies- same children are studied over time
• Hierarchic Integration- people do not lose the insights gained at earlier stages but integrate them into new, broader
frameworks
Carol Gilligan Theory
• Student of Kohlberg’s and also worked with him as associate and
coauthor
• Challenged Kohlberg’s work as biased against girls and women.
• She pointed out that Kohlberg only interviewed boys and argued that
the stages reflect a decidedly male orientation.
• For males, advanced moral thought revolves around rules, rights, and
abstract principles. i.e. stage 4
• For women, Gilligan says that morality centers not on rights and rules
but on interpersonal relationships and the ethics of compassion and
care. i.e. stage 3
Valjean Dilemma Revisited
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Valjean Dilemma: In a country in Europe, a poor man named Valjean could find no work, nor could his sister and brother. Without
money, he stole food and medicine that they needed. He was captured and sentenced to prison for six years. After a couple of
years, he escaped from the prison and went to live in another part of the country under a new name. He saved money and slowly
built up a big factory. He gave his workers the highest wages and used most of his profits to build a hospital for people who
couldn’t afford good medical care. Twenty years had passed when a tailor (someone who makes clothes) recognized
the factory owner as being Valjean, the escaped convict whom the police had been looking for back in his hometown.
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The researchers will ask the students the following questions:
a. Should the tailor report Valjean to the police? Why or Why not?
not?
b. Was it alright for Valjean to steal food and medicine since he was doing it for a good cause? Why or Why
c. Should people who break the law for a good cause be punished?
d. Should Valjean be sent back to jail even though he is helping the poor with his hospital?
e. Does a citizen have a duty to report an escaped criminal? Does the tailor have a right not to tell?
situation?
f. What is the most responsible thing for the tailor to do? What would you do if you were in the tailor’s
Subjects of our experiment
• Holy Family of Nazareth School in Irving.
• 48 potential participants and 45 agreed to participate (3 4th grade
boys declined participation)
• 8 4th graders  7 females and 1 male
• 16 5th graders 10 females and 6 males
• 6 6th graders  3 females and 3 males
• 3 7th graders  2 females and 1 males
• 12 8th graders  8 females and 4 males.
Experimental procedure
• We went to Holy Family School on March 24th in the early morning
• We distributed Kohlberg dilemma questionnaires (Valjean dilemma)
to 4th-8th graders by going classroom to classroom and allowing them
time to fill it out. Questionnaire was written not oral.
• We visited 5 classrooms total
• It took us approximately 90 minutes to complete the experiment
• It took about 15-20 minutes per class and the younger kids (especially
the 4th graders) tended to take longer than the older kids.
Hypothesis for experiment  3 main research questions
• 1. Do children today fall into the same moral development stages as the children questioned by
Kohlberg when asked to respond to a specific dilemma?
• 2. Do females tend to fall into a lower stage of moral development than males when both are
asked the same question?
• 3. Are children schooled in a faith-based environment more likely to score higher on the moral
development spectrum than the participants of Kohlberg’s study?
• 1. We hypothesize that children today would fall into similar stages as children interviewed by Kohlberg, but
we also believe that there would be more children that fall into stage three, the stage of good interpersonal
relationships. (Because we questioned Girls)
• 2. We hypothesize that females will be more likely to fall into stage three than males, but the difference
between the two genders will not be very significant. (Because of Gilligan’s theory)
• 3. We hypothesize that the difference between the two groups will be negligible, and children reared in a
faith based environment will score similarly as the children questioned by Kohlberg. (Kohlberg Stage theory
is cross- cultural)
Kohlberg definition
Example Responses
Prediction
Stage 1
Preconventional
Morality Obedience &
punishment orientation
“it’s against the law”
Children see morality as something
external to themselves-something the big “It’s bad to steal”
“It’s against the commandments”
people say they must do.
We hypothesize that we will not get that
many responses at this level because most
children in grades 4th-8th can reason at a
more advanced level.
Stage 2
Individualism &
Exchange
Punishment is simply a risk that one wants “Valjean may have thought it was ok for
to avoid. Children speak as isolated
him to steal because of his problems”
individuals rather than as members of
“It was unfair to send Valjean to jail”
society
We expect some responses at this level,
especially among the younger children.
(e.g. the 4th graders)
Stage 3
Conventional
Morality  Good interpersonal
relationships
People should live up to the expectations of
“Valjean’s actions can be condoned
the family & community and behave in ‘good’ because he was helping his family”
ways. Good behavior means having good
“The tailor should not report Valjean
motives & interpersonal fellings such as love, because he is helping the community”
trust, empathy, & concern for others.
We expect many responses at this level,
particularly among the female children
Stage 4
Maintaining
Social Order
The emphasis is on obeying laws, respecting
authority, and performing one’s duties so the
social order is maintained.
We expect many responses at this level,
particularly among the male children.
Stage 5
Postconventional
Morality  Social contract &
individual rights
People think about society in a very
“Laws are social contracts that people
theoretical way, stepping back from their own agree to uphold”
society and considering the rights & values a “Valjean has a right to stay free because
society ought to uphold.
he is helping others”
We expect very few (or none at all)
stage five responses because of the
theoretical nature of this stage.
Stage 6
Universal Principles
People at this stage believe in defining the
principles by which we achieve justice. Very few
people reason at this stage.
We do not expect to get any
responses from elementary
school children at this level.
Grading Rubric
“You’ll get punished”
Stealing the food & medicine was wrong
even though it was understandable
“The tailor should report Valjean because
he broke the law”
“
This level would occur if the child defined
the principles by which agreements would
be most just.
Grade
Results
Females:
- Stage 1:
- Stage 2:
- Stage 3:
- Stage 4:
Males:
-Stage
-Stage
-Stage
-Stage
1:
2:
3:
4:
11; 37%
7; 23%
6; 20%
6; 20%
3;
2;
8;
2;
20%
13%
54%
13%
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
4th
3
1
3
1
5th
7
5
1
3
6th
3
0
3
0
7th
0
1
2
0
8th
1
2
5
4
Of females
Of males
No Boys or Girls scored in stage 5 or stage 6
Trends and Results
She was wrong
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• According to our study, Gilligan was wrong  54% of males in stage 3 while
only 20% of females
• 20% of females in stage four while only 13% of males, therefore Gilligan’s
claim that males are more likely to score higher is untrue.
• No one scored in stage five or stage six
• Children in older grades tended to score in higher stages than children in
younger grades.
• Children in older grades had more detailed and in-depth responses.
• Our hypothesis that females were more likely to fall in stage 3 was
completely wrong.
• Our other two hypothesizes were mostly correct.
Specific Responses
• Stage 1 responses: 5th grader female and 5th grade male  Was it alright for Valjean to steal food and medicine --> “It was
not okay because stealing is one of the ten commandments” (female) , “no he stole it” (male)
• Stage 2 responses: 8th grade female and fourth grade female  Was it alright for Valjean to steal food and medicine 
“yes because he needed it” (4th grader) , “you have to do what you have to do if you need something” (8th grader)
• Stage 3 responses: 8th grade male and 8th grade female: Should the tailor report Valjean to the police? ”No because
Valjean is giving people jobs and medical care. He is helping the poor and not stealing things.” (male) “Valjean didn’t have
a job and was tryng to support his family. The tailor shouldn’t report him because he was doing it for a good cause”
(female)
• Stage 4 responses: 5th grade male and fifth grade female: Should people who break the law for a good cause be punished?
“People who break the law should be punished even if it is for a good cause” (Female) “Of course a law is a law. They
should be punished because there is such things as laws” (male)
• No responses in fifth stage or sixth stage.
HYPOTHESIS DISPROVED
Gilligan was wrong because she did not take into account the loyalty
that men have for their families. The boys consistently cited a need to
support their family. (54% of boys fell in stage 3)
The girls were more likely to say something along the lines of ‘stealing
was wrong’ (37% of girls did this stage 1) or talk extensively about
the law (20% of females fell in stage 4 compared to only 13% of boys)
GILLIGAN DIDN’T KNOW WHAT SHE WAS TALKING ABOUT!!!!!!!!!!
HYPOTHESIS PUPPIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Limitations to the Study and what we would
have done better
• Some potential participants refused to do so. 17% of the boys refused to participate!
• Did the kids understand the dilemma? Many kids contradicted themselves  e.g. Male fifth grader: “Should people who
break the law for a good cause be punished- ‘yes’  “Should Valjean be sent back to jail even though he is helping the
poor with his hospital” –’no’
• The kids may have been rushed or disinterested. Many one word answers among the younger kids which are not very
helpful.
• The experiment was limited by the small sample size and the homogenous nature of the participant population.
• The experiment could have been limited by the misinterpretation of the kid’s responses. Sloppy handwriting and confusing
responses 
• What we could have done better in the experiment:
• Collected consent forms
• Worded the questionnaire better
• Given the Children more time
• Surveyed a larger sample size.
Kohlberg on nature nurture line
• Nature
Nurture
• |------------------------------------|---|-------------------------------------------|• Rousseau
Kohlberg Vygotsky
Locke
• Kohlberg is slightly more on the nature side because he believed that moral development was more genetic than a product of the
environment. Kohlberg’s stage theory was cross cultural, meaning that it was the same across all cultures. Therefore, the environment that
one grows up in does not affect their level of moral reasoning.
Works Cited
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Crain, William C. Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall, 1980
Crain, William. "Kohlberg's Moral Stages." Kohlberg's Moral Stages. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar.
2015.
Kohlberg, Lawrence. Essays on Moral Development. San Francisco U.a.: Harper & Row, 1984.
• Kohlberg, Lawrence. The Psychology of Moral Development: The Nature and Validity of Moral
• Stages. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1984.
• Kohlberg, Lawrence, Charles Levine, and Alexandra Hewer. Moral Stages: A Current
• Formulation and a Response to Critics: Basel: Karger, 1983.
• Kohlberg, Lawrence. The development of modes of moral thinking and choice in the years 10 to
• 16. University of Chicago. 1958.