Moral Development

Moral development describes the strata through which human beings progress in their understanding and their reasoning of whether actions are right or wrong. As we age, our understanding of moral behavior and the reasons for acting morally increase in depth and complexity in a predictable manner. At some point in early to middle adulthood, that growth slows or stops for most individuals. Most people then operate on a primary level of moral development but might advance or regress to another level situationally. Lawrence Kohlberg (1927–1987) was an eminent American psychologist who studied moral development and explicated predictable levels of moral development. Kohlberg's levels are excellent classification devices, but are understood as theoretical models, or simplifications, of a complex interplay of many variables that describe moral conscience and deliberation. Kohlberg's work helps us comprehend ethics in both theory and practice, and its application to public relations.

Kohlberg's empirical studies on moral development spanned decades and examined the moral decision making of young children through older adults. His research incorporated factors such as socialization and cultural norms, but it concentrated on identifying the moral reasoning that accounted for individuals’ choices. His research resulted in three major levels of moral development, each subdivided into two developmental stages. The first level of moral development is preconventional, the second level is conventional, and the third level is postconventional or autonomous.