Situational variation in level of moral judgment.

Abstract

Summary. Reports of research on Kohlberg's stages of moral judgment have assumed that level is general across situations and that a single major factor underlies responses. A partial replication of Kohlberg's research indicated significant variation from situation to situation in the responses of 40 12‐year‐old boys and 23 university students to the moral judgment interview. A factor analysis indicated two factors underlying responses to the interview: an empathic or role‐taking factor and one involving concepts of social rules and structures. The results emphasise the need for more detailed descriptions ofmoral development and more detailed scoring systems.