Week 2 Discussion Ethics in Organizations

Theories of Moral Development

Moral development theory explains the emotional development of a person's behavior as it is in�uenced by the environment. Many theories have been proposed in this area, but the Justice Model of Moral Development, created by Kohlberg (1981), is one of the most important.

Research on moral development theory has had its ups and downs since the late 1800s. Prior to World War I, theorists believed that the morality of a person was based on the premise that a person should be inherently good.

This concept lost favor during the war as new schools of thought emerged and the horrors of what humans can in�ict upon one another were observed. After the war, the idea of moral development based on the inherent good nature of a person became favored yet again. This concept went to the forefront of the disciplines of philosophy and psychology and eventually made its way into sociology, where its use was expanded into research and theories about humankind.

Kohlberg believed that most moral development occurs through social interaction. Individuals develop as a result of cognitive con�icts emerging through those interactions. Cognitive con�icts are the consequences people feel when they are unable to mentally understand or rationalize an action or behavior within their current stage of moral development. Working to resolve the con�ict helps move the person to the next stage.

Reference: Kohlberg, L. (1981). The philosophy of moral development: Moral stages and the idea of justice. New York, NY: Harper & Row.

Kohlberg’s stages of moral development include:

Pre-conventional 1- Punishment and obedience: Fearing punishment.

2- Egoist: Satisfying one’s own needs.

Conventional 3- Good boy/nice girl: Earning other’s approval and conforming to peer group norms.

4- Society maintaining: Respecting authority and maintaining social rules.

Post conventional 5- Social contract or legalistic: Obeying social consensus and majority rule.

6- Conscience and universal principles: Autonomously embracing universal rules.

Reference: Kohlberg, L. (1981). The philosophy of moral development: Moral stages and the idea of justice. New York, NY: Harper & Row.