Kohlberg, Lawrence (1927–1987)

Lawrence Kohlberg, a psychologist and a professor at Harvard University, investigated the individual's moral reasoning, which led to the creation of his theory of moral development. Born in Bronxville, New York, Kohlberg began his career as a developmental psychologist in the early 1970s before moving to the field of moral education where he fashioned his wellknown stages of moral development, which traced an individual's progression of moral reasoning across identifiable, universal moral perspectives. Kohlberg died under suspicious circumstances, probably suicide, after contracting a parasitic infection, which caused him to suffer for 16 years.

Kohlberg's work was influenced primarily by Jean Piaget, a cognitive developmentalist. Based on a longterm study conducted at Harvard's Center for Moral Education, Kohlberg recorded responses provided by his male subjects, beginning at age 7 through adulthood, to hypothetical dilemmas that required the subject to make a moral choice. However, Kohlberg was not concerned primarily with the subject's moral choice but with the moral reasoning provided in support of that choice. Based on his results, Kohlberg concluded that an individual progresses sequentially through six identifiable, universal stages of moral reasoning, which could be more generally classified into three levels.

At the Preconventional Level (Stages 1 and 2), an individual understands “right” and “wrong” in terms of the personal consequences involved, such as punishment, rewards, or an exchange of favors, or focuses on the imposition of physical power by authority. Avoidance of punishment and unquestioning deference to power are highly valued at this level. Reasoning at the Conventional Level (Stages 3 and 4) emphasizes performing good or right roles, maintaining traditional or acceptable order as determined by a group or society, or meeting others' expectations. Adherence to the Golden Rule or following the Ten Commandments is characteristic of this reasoning level. In the Postconventional Level (Stages 5 and 6), the individual defines moral values and principles apart from established moral authority and relies on self-chosen principles, from a set of universally acceptable principles, to guide reasoning.

Carol Gilligan, Kohlberg's student and later colleague, raised objections to Kohlberg's work, which used all male subjects. Gilligan argued that Kohlberg's model espoused a “theory of justice,” a predominantly masculine cognitive process based on adherence to ethical principles. Gilligan advocated a “theory of care,” which is often found among females and emphasizes the maintenance of relationships. Kohlberg and his associates responded to their major critics by addressing issues of stage sequencing, subjectivity in the moral reasoning scoring method, gender bias, or the lack of cross-cultural universality. In each of these responses, empirical support was offered in support for Kohlberg's theory and stages of moral reasoning, resulting in the continued use of his theory by developmental psychologists years later.