Moral Development Research

Abstract

From the moral development scale scoring manual, Kohlberg’s published works, and the research of his collaborators and others, an analysis was made of the evidence supporting the hierarchy of moral reasoning (from the lowest stage of blind acceptance of powerful authority to the application of abstract principles of justice and equality) and the claims put forth for the cross-cultural universality of the cognitive-developmental theory. Findings suggest that the definitions of stages and the assumptions underlying them, including the view that the scheme is universally applicable, are ethnocentric and culturally-biased. Conceptual and methodological problems of cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural research are discussed.

Psychology and Justice

“…For example, Saxe (1982) demonstrated that the introduction of trade stores in a society prompted greater abstraction in the numeration system for related behaviors. Some have even argued that Kohlberg's higher stages simply reflect the abstract language of higher education in Western societies (e.g., terms such as justice, equality, reciprocity) and that use of the higher stage reasoning is a direct result of exposure to that abstract language (Simpson, 1974).…”

Sex Differences in Moral Reasoning: Response to Walker's (1984) Conclusion That There Are None

“…Kohlberg defends his system against the longstanding allegation of cultural elitism and ideological bias (e.g., Baumrind, 1978;Reid, 1984;Sampson, 1981;Schweder, 1982;Simpson, 1974;Sullivan, 1977) by attempting to distinguish between the intrinsic worth of persons and the value placed on their actions or judgments. Kohlberg defends his system against the longstanding allegation of cultural elitism and ideological bias (e.g., Baumrind, 1978;Reid, 1984;Sampson, 1981;Schweder, 1982;Simpson, 1974;Sullivan, 1977) by attempting to distinguish between the intrinsic worth of persons and the value placed on their actions or judgments.…”

“…... Justice "operations" of reciprocity and equality in interaction parallel logical operations or relations of equality and reciprocity in the non-moral cognitive domain. Indeed, as Emler (1983) suggests, Kohlberg's higher stages may constitute secular humanist values couched in the abstract language of individual rights, reciprocity, distributive justice, and equity (Simpson, 1974). But Kohlberg's preference for reasoning about the logical priority of a principle such as life over an alternative principle such as property rights represents the peculiar bias of Western industrialized society (Reid, 1984;Sampson, 1981), particularly, of its male members.…”

Are Women More Ethical? Recent Findings on the Effects of Gender Upon Moral Development

“…questions the existence of stages 5 and 6 altogether,Power (1994) suggests that stage 6 may not be a psychological stage but a philosophical position (as did Kohlberg's later work), whileHabermas (1979) argues for the addition of a seventh stage Simpson (1974),Sullivan (1977),. andSnell (1996) argue that Kohlberg's theory is based on Western ideology and is culturally biased, with higher moral development levels observed for Western cultures.…”