Three Main Levels Of Moral Development: Lawrence Kohlberg: Moral Development

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Moral Development Lawrence Kohlberg theorized that morality has more to do with decisions than fixed behaviors. After studying several groups of people and their responses to certain moral problems, he was able to identify “three main levels of moral reasoning, with two substages within each level” (Passer & Smith, 2011). Prior to coming to West Point, my moral decisions were made along the lines of conventional moral reasoning, the second level, by conforming to the expectations of society. Within this level, I reasoned at stage three where morality is based on winning approval from parents, authority figures, and peers. During my first year of high school, I remember taking the AP World History exam and finding myself wanting to cheat on …show more content…

In particular, adaptive challenges that are successfully overcome foster the greatest development. Part of the reason I chose to go to the United States Military Academy was for the challenges that I would face every day compared to the relaxed environment of a public university. One adaptive challenge with which I struggle every day is improving my physical fitness. For some, this challenge is simply a technical problem: the problem itself is easy to identify and the solutions are readily available and easily applied. Some people know exactly how many repetitions of what exercise to do on certain days to develop strength and look better; perhaps the solution is running a set number of miles along a given route that has been found tried and true. Often they do not have to change several aspects of their lifestyle and they readily implement the known solutions with …show more content…

I went through much of high school at stage two where I was thinking mostly about my needs and myself. Part of my perfectionism was driven by the promise of being rewarded for excellence. My teachers always told me that quality work would be rewarded with an excellent education and career and a life of satisfaction. I desired all these things for myself and so I worked to serve my self-interest. Now, however, I am more motivated to work towards the efforts of the team. Gradually, I am learning to subordinate this intense desire to get ahead in life to helping others in an interpersonal way. For example, it is easier for me to stop working on math homework in order to help take out the trash at night now that I am transitioning into Kegan’s third stage. As a lieutenant, I hope to grow to the point where I am fully in the third stage and driven by my relationships, especially with my fellow soldiers. This way I can put their welfare before my own and concentrate on a greater good outside of what may be good for just me. With more adaptive challenges and exposure to holding environments, I hope to be ready to transition to the fourth stage where I can hold my professional relationships with others as object. In this way, I will be able to serve the Army better and grow as an individual and

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