Moral Development and Importance of Moral Reasoning

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1.0 Introduction:

Lawrence Kohlberg was the follower of Piaget’s theory of Moral development in principle but wanted to make his own theory by expanding his theory and study on that particular topic. Kohlberg was a very bright student and he served as a professor in the Harvard University. He become popular when he issued his Moral Development Theory by conducting research on that topic at Harvard’s Center for Moral Education.

Kohlberg believed that people moral behaviors are based on their moral reasoning, and their moral reasoning changed in accordance to their behaviors and actions when they move from one stage to another. His theory comprised of three levels and six stages which provides the base for his theory.

1.1.0 Moral Development:

Moral development theory is a widely accepted theory that was presented by Lawrence Kohlberg, who was a psychologist, and made a great contribution in the field of moral reasoning.

Kohlberg’s Moral Development theory focuses on that how understanding of morality and human thinking and behavior changed from childhood to the adulthood. In his Moral Development theory Kohlberg defined morality as “how one should treat another with justice, fairness and respect”. And the understanding of morality of any individual is based upon his values, principles, and cognitive development of his childhood through adulthood. There are a lot of factors that influence an individual’s behavior like his family, peer group, role models, and culture and society from an individual belongs.

Moral Development theory has basically six stages under which human behaviors and his moral reasoning is measured. And these six stages can be divided into three levels with two stages in each level i.e Pre-Convention...

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...edu/andersmd/kohl/kidmoral.html>.

McLeod, Saul. 2013, Kohlberg, viewed 18 January 2014

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Moral Development, pg 1-12, viewed 18 January 2014

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Moral Development and Moral Reasoning, Business Ethics MGT610, pg 8 and 9, viewed 18 January 2014

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Moral Reasoning, Business Ethics MGT610, pg 10 and 11, viewed 18 January 2014

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Sohl, Stephanie. 2004, Kohlberg’s Theory and His Critics, ppt, viewed 19 January 2014

http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/ewaters/552-04/slide%20sets/steph_sohl/steph_sohl_kohlberg.pdf

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