Kohlberg's theory of moral development

Kohlberg's theory of moral development </P> <p> Kohlberg's theory of moral development L. Kohlberg is a contemporary American Development psychologist, he devoted himself to the development of children's moral judgment and put forward the theory of "moral development stage. The moral development stage recognizes that the rule is based on the thinking structure of moral judgment of children of different ages to divide the development stages of children's moral concepts, emphasize that the moral development of children is closely related to the changes in age and cognitive structure. Kohlberg's theory of moral development is influenced by J. piyajie, a Swiss children's psychologist, and is known as the successor of peyajie in the field of moral development. Based on a large number of experimental analyses, his research has aroused great repercussions in Western psychology circles, especially in the US and former Federal Germany. </P> <p> I. Main content of the theory of moral development </P> <p> Kohlberg discusses moral development from the perspective of development psychology, he stressed that moral development is part of cognitive development, stressed that moral judgment is related to logical thinking ability, and stressed that the social environment has a huge stimulating effect on moral development. </P> <p> the main research method adopted by Kohlberg is the ethical dilemma. He has compiled nine moral dilemmas and problems. For example, one common story is the story of Heinz stealing medicine: A woman in Europe suffers from cancer and is dying. The doctor believes that only one medicine can save her, I .e., a new radix ingot developed by a pharmacist in the city. The cost of preparing this medicine is 200 yuan, but the price is 2000 yuan. The husband of the sick woman, Heinz, borrowed money everywhere, but eventually only paid 1000 yuan. Heinz begged the pharmacist to say that his wife was about to die, could he sell the medicine to him at a cheaper cost, or could he accept credit. But it was rejected by a pharmacist and said, "I developed this medicine to make money ". Heinz had no other way, so he broke the door and went to the pharmacist's warehouse to steal the medicine. Q: Should this husband do this? Why? Using this dilemma, kolberger studied 75 10 ~ 16 years old. Repeat once every three years until 22 ~ 28 years old. He asked them to judge right and wrong after being listened to the story, then asked them a series of questions to answer, and then divided the moral judgment based on their answers to determine the level of development. At the same time, according to a series of answers, a variety of scales of different levels were prepared to determine the levels of moral development of other children. From the context of the tested statement, Kohlberg has 30 universal moral attributes, such as justice, rights, obligations, moral responsibilities, moral motives and consequences. Each attribute can be divided into six levels, totaling 180 Items. Then, the moral concepts of children in the conversation are attributed to 180 items, then, the morality of the children in the conversation is assigned to a small item in the 180 classification table as a score. The aspect ratio of children's scores in a certain stage in all their expressions is the level of children's moral judgment at this stage. It is said that its reliability is as high as 0.68 ~ 0.84. This method is an important means for researchers to study the development of moral judgment. In this study, we found that there is a gradual development process of human moral judgment, which is divided into a series of different stages. According to Kohlberg, there are three levels of human moral judgment. Each level has two stages, with six stages in total. </P> <p> 1. Level of pre-customs. On this level, children already have social rules and moral requirements on non-good and evil, but they judge right and wrong based on the results of their actions and their own interests. This level has two phases: phase 1, the targeted phase of punishment and obedience. At this stage, the children think that all the players of authoritative figures are good, and those criticized by them are bad. Their moral judgment is based on the punishment or obedience to power. They make decisions on their own level to avoid punishment and unconditionally obey the authority, without considering the moral principles behind punishment or authority. Phase 2: the targeted phase of instrumental relativity. At this stage, children first consider whether the guidelines meet their own needs, sometimes include the needs of others, and take into account the relationship between people, however, interpersonal relationships are often seen as transaction relationships. It is good for you, but it is not good for you. Good or bad depends on your own interests. </P> <p> 2. Customs level. On this level, children have the desire to satisfy society and are more concerned about the needs of others. The two stages of this level are: Stage 3, the Orientation Stage of interpersonal relationship or the orientation of good children. In this stage, children think that a person's behavior is correct or not. It mainly depends on whether he is liked by others, whether he is helpful to or praised by others. Stage 4: moral orientation for maintaining authority or order. At this stage, children are aware of the general social order, emphasizing the obedience to the law, so that social order can be maintained. Children observe unchanged rules and respect for authority, and require others to abide by them. </P> <p> 3. Post-Customs level. On this level, people strive to make their own interpretations of legitimate and appropriate moral values and moral principles, and ignore how authoritative people support these principles and fulfill their chosen moral principles. The two stages of this level are: Phase 5, the targeted stage of social contract. In the previous stage, individuals strictly maintain law and order and strictly abide by laws and social order. At this stage, individuals have a more flexible view of the law, recognizing that laws and social customs are only a social contract and can be changed, rather than fixed. In general, this stage does not violate the wishes and happiness of most people, but does not agree to use a single rule to measure a person's behavior. The moral judgment is flexible, and the right and evil of various behaviors can be viewed legally and morally. Phase 6: The targeting phase of general moral principles. At this stage, individuals have certain abstract, more specific concepts that go beyond certain rigid legal provisions. When judging moral behaviors, we should not only consider the applicable moral principles of the law, but also the unwritten general moral principles. Moral judgment has gone beyond certain rules and regulations, so it is more important to consider the nature of morality than the specific principles. </P> <p> II. basic viewpoint of Moral Education </P> <p> kolberger attaches great importance to applying the research results to education, thus forming his own viewpoint of Moral Education: </P> <p> 1. The primary task of moral education is to improve children's moral judgment ability and cultivate their ability to distinguish between right and wrong. Applying cognition-development perspective to moral education is a prominent point of köberger's moral development theory. He regards children's moral development as part of cognitive development. Children's moral maturity process is the development process of moral understanding. The sign of children's moral maturity lies in his ability to make correct moral judgments and form his own moral principles. Instead of being able to obey the moral judgment of adults around him. In his opinion, the maturity of Children's morality is first moral judgment, and then the maturity of Moral Behavior consistent with moral judgment. The child's moral maturity level is most obvious in his moral judgment. Therefore, Kohlberg believes that a person's moral judgment level is basically consistent with his moral behavior. Moral education should focus on improving moral judgment. </P> <p> 2. Children's moral development has stages. Kohlberg believes that children should be informed of their development stages at any time when conducting moral education for children. According to the characteristics of children's moral development stages, they should be motivated to promote their development. His research shows that children's moral development must go through various stages, but not all children can reach the highest stage. Although it cannot span all stages of development, children always prefer to surpass their existing level and reach a higher level of moral judgment. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a model for children in the next stage to facilitate the development of children's moral level. </P> <p> 3. schools, families, and society must create good conditions for extensive moral education activities, provide social ethics issues that are slightly higher than the children's development level for discussion, to inspire them to achieve a higher level of moral level, so that their thinking model develops to a higher level. </P> <p> III. Significance and evaluation </P> <p> a series of research on the issue of moral development by Kohlberg extends the theory of peyajie's study on children's moral judgment, in development psychology, an important model of moral development stage is formed, which makes moral phenomena more objective and scientific proof, and helps to apply the theory of moral development to school moral education. His research has had a wide impact on the psychology and education sectors in Europe and America. Kohlberg's theory of moral development inspires moral education in schools, despite some limitations. People generally affirm his theory of moral development stages, and believe that his research provides a theoretical basis for moral education in schools. He spoke highly of the "moral dilemma" and used this method to develop children's moral judgment ability and distinguish between good and evil. It has positive significance. He believes that his criticism of the methods of traditional moral education, such as rigid indoctrination, forced execution, blind obedience, and mechanical repetition, is undoubtedly correct. He must also pay attention to the influence of the social environment on children's morality. It should be pointed out that kolberger emphasizes the important role of children's moral judgment ability and is an inevitable reflection of his cognition-Development Theory in moral education. Only moral judgment ability is emphasized, while ignoring moral emotion, moral will, and moral behavior play an incomplete role in the formation and development of moral quality. Children's moral qualities should not only have moral understanding, but also have rich moral feelings, strong moral will and good moral behavior, and make them a habit. However, Kohlberg's views on the relationship between moral understanding and behavior also have one-sidedness. He overemphasized the role of children's moral judgment ability, while ignoring the training of moral behavior. In school life, we can see that children's speech is different, sometimes not due to lack of correct moral understanding and moral judgment ability. Sometimes, when children do not realize their moral principles, they must unify their knowledge and behavior. In addition, Kohlberg does not pay attention to the important role of habits in children's moral development, which is also one-sided.