Summary: Moral Development
Two important names in the moral development field are Piaget and Kohlberg. Starting with Piaget, he developed a theory in moral reasoning. Heteronomous moral reasoning is based on objective consequences to actions. For example, if a child breaks one thing as opposed to seven or eight things, they know they will not get in as much trouble. The children in this stage of reasoning focus on what happened rather than why it happened. Secondly, there is autonomous moral reasoning. Children in this stage tend to be older and they focus on why something happened rather than what did happen. They know that if they accidentally knocked over ten cups because they did not see them they will get in less trouble than if they intentionally threw a cup on the ground to watch it shatter.
Moving on to Kohlberg, he developed six stages of moral development. Here is a video that will explain his theory more in detail —- Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development Video
Kohlberg put the six stages in three different levels. Starting with level one, there is the first stage: Punishment and Obedience. In this stage children believe that parents and authority are the ones who decide what is moral and they know they will get punished if they do wrong. Stage two is Instrumental Purpose and Exchange. Children base what is moral on their needs and can learn other peoples views but not understand and cooperate with them. They know that moral behaviors make them a good person and they may get rewarded. Stage three is Mutual Interpersonal Expectations, Relationships and Conformity. During this stage children can coordinate with groups and know concrete operations. They know that moral behaviors are what a good person would do and if they act morally they will be a good person. Stage four is Social System and Conscious Maintenance. In this stage, one believes that the laws of the land determine what is moral, they believe that if they follow the laws they will be a moral person. Stage four and a half is the transition phase. Someone in this stage considers many perspectives at once and believe that everyone has their own individual values and viewpoints. They believe that each person follows what they know to be moral. Next is stage five, this is the stage where and individual considers group, outsider, and formal operations. They believe that laws are social contracts that can change depending on if they are feasible to human rights and that the laws can be challenged to promote social justice. Finally in stage six, one has come to the understanding that they can define what is right or wrong depending on their own principles. They believe that everyone deserves a chance to be equal and have their own set of moral principles. (Audley-Piotrowski 2017)
Moral Development and My Development
I was raised going to church and the bible being where we learned our rules. When I was three I played violin for my baptist church and was put in Sunday school classes. I used to love learning verses but thinking on it today, I feel as if I only loved that because I knew I would get a reward. I enjoyed learning how Kohlberg’s theory of moral development impacted my life. I am now at the final stage, stage six, and I can fully understand what it means and how I was during the other stages. I have my own self-ethical principles upon what I base my life, and I believe there should be equality for all. I used to not think that, I used to believe exactly what my parents told me, because the authority was always right. Learning about my own moral development helped me realize that other people may not be in the same stage and some could not ever be. It has allowed me to have better acceptance of people.
Moral Development and My Work
Although I found this tough to relate to my future career, I realized there is a way to relate moral development to everything involving a child. If I am working with a child who can not take others thoughts or ideas into perspective I will be able to tell that he or she is still in stage two. By knowing what stage a child is in can help you relate to their thoughts and feelings. It can also be beneficial with problem solving, I may choose a way to solve a problem differently for child that is in stage four than I would a child who is in stage three.
Picture Reference: Myself
AK's Final Project EDPR 