Kohlberg's Stages Research Articles

Ethical Reasoning in a Time of Revolution: A Study of Local Officials in Poland

Poland's transition from communism to democracy was marked by rhetoric that expressed democratic principles as the basis for organizing political life. Given the fundamentally moral message of the radical transformation throughout Eastern Europe, we would expect officials assuming office in these times to be strongly motivated by ethical principles as a basis for decision making. Arguably, office seekers would be idealists who believed that the principled rhetoric of the revolution could come to fruition in governmental actions. And this might be particularly true for elected officials who were obliged to organize beliefs based on principle into a political platform. Furthermore, we would expect the new decision makers in the initial stages to shun mindless deference to established rules, since their entire political context was marked by a rejection of established rules and the absence of a recent tradition that would provide a cultural framework for obedience to the law. In this context one might assume that only the former Communist Party officials who survived the transition in government would hold fast to the protection of the law as the basis for decision making in ambiguous moral situations. A focus group held with public administrators in Warsaw in the fall of 1990 reinforced these inferences. When we asked these officials to reflect on how they would handle an ethical dilemma in the workplace, we found that principled reasoning strongly outranked deference to law or rules as their preferred basis for decision making. This reinforced our assumption that if principled reasoning could ever guide public decision making, it would emerge strongly to guide those who assumed the mantle of public office in the new regime in Poland. With this set of expectations we undertook a study of the systems of moral reasoning which public officials in newly democratic Poland employed as they resolved ethical dilemmas in their work lives. Since most of our studies in the United States had focused on local officials, we held that focus in Poland. However, though our U.S. studies (Stewart and Sprinthall, 1994) included only appointed public administrators, the fluid political situation in Poland warranted including a comparison group of elected Polish local officials as well. The Background Though public administration literature is rich with analyses of codes (Chandler, 1983; Plant, 1994), climates (Bonczek, 1992; Bonczek and Menzel, 1994), and criminal sanctions (Doig, 1983; Doig, Phillips and Mason, 1984) as they relate to ethical decision making, research on individuals and their ethical choices in public office settings is not extensive. We do know much about how people generally reason in moral situations (Kohlberg, 1981; Rest, 1979, 1986) and that these reasoning patterns hold across cultures (Snarey, 1985). Working with Lawrence Kohlberg's stage model of moral maturity, we also know that there is a substantial degree of consistency between individual behavior and the moral judgment stage particularly at the more advanced levels (Blasi, 1980). Further, we know that the moral development research carried out in Poland since 1984 has confirmed the universal developmental trend toward principled reasoning determined by level of education and cognitive ability (Jasinska-Kania, 1988, 1989). In addition the research of Lind, Grocholweska, and Langer (1987) in Austria, West Germany, and Poland has further supported the cross-cultural validity of Kohlberg's moral development theory. However, only two empirical studies were relevant to a focus on public officials and their traits, beliefs, personal choices, and actions in relation to their ethical choices. Bowman (1990) has studied perceptions regarding ethics in society and government as well as overall organizational approaches to moral standards in a sample of 750 federal, state, and local officials who were members of ASPA in 1989. Stewart and Sprinthall have conducted studies of moral reasoning among North Carolina (1994) and Florida (1992) public administrators using an instrument built on the moral development theory of Lawrence Kohlberg. …

Sources of Influence in Moral Thought: the new Moral Authority Scale

Abstract Current interest in theorising about moral judgement has been dominated by Kohlberg's (1969, 1971) cognitive developmental view. This paper will argue that Kohlberg's and Rest's purely “formalistic” conceptualisations of moral judgement and associated measures may misrepresent the true nature of moral thought. Henry (1983a) and Trainer (1982) have identified certain logical inconsistencies in Kohlberg's reliance on the “form” of moral judgements, arguing for a reconceptualisation in terms of the “content” of moral judgement, a much neglected yet equally informative alternative. In light of this, the present study attempts to operationalise Henry's content distinction with respect to Kohlberg's stage approach. Psychometric properties of a new measure called the Moral Authority Scale (MAS) are reported. The MAS was administered twice to 93 late adolescents. Findings revealed that test‐retest and split‐half reliabilities of the MAS subscales were appropriately high. The convergent validity of the MA...

A Cross-Cultural Study of Moral Stage Structure in Hong Kong Chinese, English, and Americans

The hierarchical structure of Kohlberg's stages of moral judgment development was tested by conducting unidimensional unfolding on the stage scores generated by the rating responses to Rest's Defining Issues Test. The sample consisted of 620 Chinese subjects in Hong Kong, 100 English subjects in London, and 353 American subjects in the United States. The results supported the hierarchical structure, provided that a reduced Stage 4 score was constructed by deleting a few Stage 4 issue statements. Results also indicated that there were obvious cultural differences in perception of the Stage 4 issue statements. The Chinese tended to regard the Stage 4 statements as more similar to those of Stages 5 and 6, whereas the English and Americans tended to regard the Stage 4 statements as more similar to those of Stages 2 and 3. This finding is interpreted in terms of a cultural difference in the perspectives on social order, norm, and law.

THE IMPACT OF MORAL ETHOS ON HOW ETHICAL DILEMMAS ARE EXPERIENCED AND RESOLVED IN SIX HONG KONG COMPANIES

The moral ethos profiles (MEPs) of six Hong Kong companies were investigated via questionnaires and in‐depth qualitative interviews and analyzed according to the Kohlberg stages model. In five of the companies, the MEPs obtained via interviews were consistent with those obtained from the questionnaires. Interviews and questionnaires were also used to investigate how managers in these companies tackled ethical dilemmas (both real work‐based ones of their own and hypothetical ones). In the company with the consistently least virtuous MEP, managers used more lower‐stage ethical reasoning to tackle ethical dilemmas. There was, however, no difference between managers in companies with the most virtuous and moderately virtuous MEPs in terms of the stage‐level of ethical reasoning they used to tackle ethical dilemmas. The study helped to refine a moral ethos questionnaire.

A Cross-Sectional Study of Moral Development in the South African Context

This study has two aims, to examine aspects of Kohlberg's claims of universality within a unique research context and to explore differences in moral development between black and white South Africans. 81 participants from four different age groups were administered Form A of Kohlberg's moral judgement interviews. Analysis supported the age-relatedness of Kohlberg's stages of moral development and provided some support for the notion that the stages should be evident in various cultures. A significant difference in moral development between black and white groups in the 19- to 28-yr. age group was found. Further, black and white groups had different concerns when justifying moral choices. The results were discussed in the context of the South African system, which until recently has been one of institutionalised racial division.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN MORAL DEVELOPMENT AND ACQUISITION: A REVIEW OF KOHLBERG'S AND GILLIGAN'S MODELS OF JUSTICE AND CARE

Issues of moral development and moral action have been explored by psychologists by both empirical and nonempirical methods. Lawrence Kohlberg's moral stages have been of particular interest and scrutiny since his longitudinal study of boys was first published in 1969. Harvard's Carol Gilligan contests Kohlberg's findings in her 1982 book In A Different Voice, as well as other publications, claiming that girls' morality developed differently from boys' and that Kohlberg's stages were not universal as he asserted. The debate over gender differences in moral development has focused primarily on these two theories. Numerous studies and articles have been published deliberating about both Kohlberg's and Gilligan's theories with most concluding there is no significant difference in the way the sexes make moral decisions. This article reviews the current literature of both theories, providing a context in which to view morality, and offers suggestions for future research.

Dr. Kohlberg Goes to Washington: Using Congressional Debates to Teach Moral Development

In his theory of moral development, Kohlberg (1976) stressed that the reasoning behind a moral decision is more important in determining a person's stage of development than the decision itself. Students in introductory psychology and human development courses may have difficulty appreciating this distinction, as well as the differences among Kohlberg's stages. An activity is described in which arguments from congressional debates provide a real-world moral dilemma, to which students can apply Kohlberg's theory. Suggestions on how to use the arguments are presented, as well as possible discussion topics on the validity and usefulness of the theory.

Values affecting the criminal justice functionaries decision‐making

In sanctioning the criminal, there is little factual information about what factors affect the criminal justice functionaries’ different penal decisions. A theory with which the study started was that the criminal justice functionaries’ penal‐decisions were a function of their value‐orientations. Value‐orientations in this study were conceptualized to mean criminal justice functionaries’ moral judgment according to Kohlberg's moral stage theory and professionalism and bureaucratism defined by H. Wilensky. Therefore, the major thrust of this study was to ascertain whether significant relationships exist between criminal justice functionaries’ different penal‐decisions and their value‐orientations. The results of the data analyses indicated that a statistically significant association existed between the level of moral judgment and the criminal justice functionaries’ penal‐decisions at the .001 level. It was also found that in sanctioning the criminal, the functionaries’ penal‐orientations were not influenced by their identifications with professionalism and bureaucratism. Occupation variables were also shown to have a high statistical association in explaining the variance of functionaries’ penal‐orientation at the .05 level. The study findings indicated that the criminal justice functionaries’ value‐orientation (the level of moral judgment, professionalism, and bureaucratism) did not seem to be significant individually. However, when combined in a regression model that included demographic characteristics, the model accounted for 45 percent of variance in explaining the criminal justice functionaries’ penal‐orientation.

Business ethics: Restrictive or empowering?

There is a tendency in the business ethics literature to think of ethics in restrictive terms: what one should not do, and how to control this. Drawing on Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development, the paper focuses on, and draws attention to, another more positive aspect of ethics: the capacity of ethics to inspire and empower individuals, as well as groups. To understand and facilitate such empowerment, it is argued that it is necessary to move beyond Kohlberg's justice reasoning so as to appreciate the value and importance of feeling and care. Accordingly, we draw upon case study material to review the meaning of Kohlberg's higher stages — 5, 6 and 7 — to question the meaning of ethical ‘reasoning’. With such deeper understanding of particular ethical codes or practices, it is thought that members of organisations may come closer to thespirit, as opposed to the letter, of ethical conduct in organisations. This, we argue, is consistent with the degree of trust and integrity demanded by leaner, post-bureaucratic ways of organizing and conducting business as well as being personally beneficial to the people involved.

Moral reasoning about sexually transmitted diseases.

The purpose of this research was to investigate moral reasoning related to sexual behavior that could lead to the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Using hypothetical dilemmas about situations in which STDs can be transmitted, respondents were asked to explain why they believed the characters should or should not engage in risky behaviors. 40 college freshmen (M = 18.3 years) and 32 college seniors (M = 22.3 years) participated. Using Kohlberg's moral stage theory and Gilligan's moral orientation model, the interviews were scored for moral stage and moral orientation. Results indicated that the older age group had a significantly higher stage of moral reasoning than the younger age group when responding to dilemmas about STDs. There was a significant difference in moral stage between dilemmas, reflecting the possible effect of dilemma content on moral reasoning. The overall pattern of results shows nonsignificant gender differences in stage of moral reasoning and moral orientation. Clinical and theoretical implications of these findings for understanding the role of moral reasoning in sexual risky behavior are discussed.

A Motivational Model for Understanding Moral Action and Moral Development

The neglected topic of moral action and the explanations given for such actions, with their shortcomings, are discussed. To avoid these limitations a new model is offered which integrates personal and situational variables, wherein motivation for moral action is the result of the interaction among moral motives, expectations about costs/benefits, and expectations about outcomes for self-evaluation. The numerical values for these variables are defined and support for this model is given through a reanalysis of Kohlberg's stages and some data from other researchers.

Limits of morality: A sociological approach to higher moral stages

Grounded in the wider framework of Kohlberg's (1984) stage theory of moral development and Habermas' (1981; Habermas & Luhmann, 1971) theory of discourse, this article addresses the question: Is a moral stage 6 society possible? Toward answering this question, a sociological approach to moral stage 6 is employed that complements the usual psychological approach to moral development. The article posits that a moral stage 6 society is impossible. Therefore, lower-stage institutions cannot be abolished; they have to be controlled and supervised. This calls for a new and structurally different type of discourse, the metadiscourse. The article postulates that such metadiscourse has the property of moral stage 7 according to the general stage model (Commons & Richards, 1984a, 1984b). Finally, several strategies for controlling lower-stage institutions are considered, with bureaucracy serving as example of a lower-stage institution.

Moral reasoning, classroom behavior, and sociometric status among elementary school children.

Relations among moral reasoning, classroom behavior, and sociometric status were investigated in a sample of 133 2nd and 3rd graders. It was hypothesized that hedonistic and needs-oriented moral reasoning, 2 forms of L. Kohlberg's (1984) Stage 2 moral reasoning, would be differentially related to teachers' ratings of classroom behavior and to sociometric status. Among boys, hedonistic moral reasoning was associated with the lack of social competencies, acting-out behavior, and low social preference. In addition to influencing sociometric status indirectly through social behavior, moral reasoning was found to explain variance in sociometric status not accounted for by either acting-out or social competencies

Exploring the Relationship Between Personal Values and Moral Reasoning

Personal values and moral reasoning have been found to influence behavior. However, as presently developed, these theories do not provide a comprehensive understanding and explanation of an individual's decision-making process leading to behavior. This paper explores the four personal value orientations introduced by Milton Rokeach and the moral reasoning characteristics of Lawrence Kohlberg's stage theory of moral development. Relationships between personal value orientations and stages of moral reasoning are developed and hypothesized relationships are empirically tested. Theoretical and research implications are drawn from these relationships in order to better understand, explain, and possibly predict decision-making and reasoning processes.

Social Perspective Taking and Moral Judgment among College Students

The present study evaluated hypotheses that social perspective-taking experiences in university and employment settings are related to advanced moral judgment in late adolescence and adulthood. Measures of childhood and postchildhood role-taking opportunities as well as the Sociomoral Reflection Measure-Short Form were administered to 153 university first-year and senior undergraduates. Advanced moral judgment was defined as the transitionfrom interpersonal to societalmoraljudgmen4 as described in the Gibbs et al. adaptation of Kohlberg's Stages 3 and 4. Adolescent and adult social perspective-taking contexts were divided intofour categories: academic, campus peers, employment, and exposure to social diversity. Postchildhood, but not childhood, roletaking opportunities related to advanced moral judgment. Intellectualperspective taking in academic settings accounted for more of the moral judgment variance than did any other factor, although employment-related, campus peer, and socially diverse perspective taking also were significant.

Covariance Structure Analysis of a Test of Moral Orientation and Moral Judgment

Covariance structure analysis was used to confirm that the moral orientation and moral judgment subtests of the Moral Development Test (MDT) (Ma, 1987) captured the hierarchical stage structure of moral development predicted by Kohlberg's stage theory of moral development. Furthermore, the simplex ordering between the stage scores of the MDT subtests was shown to be invariant in adolescents and adults across two cultures-British and Hong Kong Chinese. In addition, the structural part of the simplex model for the moral judgment subtest was shown to be invariant across the two cultures. However, the hypothesis of invariance of the structural part of the simplex model across the two cultures for the moral orientation was rejected.

Early Adolescents' Values About Their Pets

The essays of adolescent boys and girls (N = 354) explaining their decisions to save a pet in the event of a fire were examined by content analysis for the adolescents' underlying value orientations. Hedonistic utility, a moral value characteristic of the second of Kohlberg's (1976) moral development stages, was the primary value underlying adolescents' choices.

A longitudinal study of moral reasoning.

Several issues concerning Gilligan's model of moral orientations and Kohlberg's models of moral stages and moral orientations were examined in a longitudinal study with 233 subjects (from 78 families) who ranged in age from 5 to 63 years. They participated in 2 identical interviews separated by a 2-year interval. In each interview, they discussed hypothetical dilemmas and a personally generated real-life dilemma, which were scored for both moral stage and moral orientation (both Gilligan's and Kohlberg's typologies). Results revealed few violations of the stage sequence over the longitudinal interval, supporting Kohlberg's moral stage model. Sex differences were almost completely absent for both Gilligan's and Kohlberg's moral orientations, although there were clear developmental trends. Hypothetical and real-life dilemmas elicited different moral orientations, especially in terms of Kohlberg's typology. The interrelations between the 2 models of moral orientations were generally weak, indicating that they are not synonymous.

Caring—In an interpretive voice

What is implied by offering an interpretive account in social science, rather than a statistical one? This question is pursued in the context of Carol Gilligan's reflections on her own work, on In A Different Voice and the account of care and gender it presents. In particular, consideration is given to the relation of statistical findings to theoretical inferences, and the interpretive problems faced in criticizing “patriarchal” views of moral development, such as Kohlberg's stage theory.

Moral Development in Christian Higher Education

Recent research concerning the mural development of evangelical college and seminary students utilizing Kohlberg's stage theory was examined. Biblical parallels to moral development theory were noted and briefly explored. Various explanations for evangelical students' lower than expected scores on moral development tests were considered including such factors as lack of reflection regarding the content of the faith as well as application of biblical principles, weaknesses in the evangelical educational process including the absence of cognitive disequilibrium, evangelical orientation toward biblical care and concern as well as toward justice, and the manner in which an institution's standards of conduct are communicated to students.