“Stage” Theory of Cognitive and Moral Development
In the overall field of Developmental Psychology some theorists and researchers are working on topics related to how people progress from ways of being as a child into ways of being as an adult. Several prominent theories posit that development happens sequentially and in a particular order. For instance, we move from absolute dependence on others as an infant through gaining independence as we grow up, to realizing our interdependence with others as an adult. These progressions from one way of operating or conceiving of things into another are seen as “stages” of development. The stages are sequential and regular overall in their progression and certain “rules” can be said to apply to this development.
We are going to look briefly at two Stage Theorists this week. Piaget was a Swiss researcher in the field of Cognitive Development who established theories about how a person’s cognitive (thinking and reasoning) function develops over the course of childhood and into adulthood. Kohlberg, who worked at Harvard, famously developed a prevailing theory about how the sense of morality (knowledge of right, wrong and justice) develops over the course of childhood and into adulthood. There are strong correlations between these two theorists, which is why we are looking at them together.
We are going to look briefly at two Stage Theorists this week. Piaget was a Swiss researcher in the field of Cognitive Development who established theories about how a person’s cognitive (thinking and reasoning) function develops over the course of childhood and into adulthood. Kohlberg, who worked at Harvard, famously developed a prevailing theory about how the sense of morality (knowledge of right, wrong and justice) develops over the course of childhood and into adulthood. There are strong correlations between these two theorists, which is why we are looking at them together.
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
by Psychology Notes HQ · January 20, 2016
Although Kohlberg’s stages of moral development aren’t direct parallels of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, Kohlberg was inspired by Piaget’s work. By examining these two theories of development side by side, it is possible to get a sense of how our concepts of the world around us (our descriptive concepts) influence our sense of what we ought to do in that world (our normative concepts).
According to Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development, there are 6 stages of moral development, separated into 3 levels:
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Let’s take a look at these four Piaget’s stages.
Sensorimotor StageChildren at the sensorimotor stage are explorers. They want to see, hear, taste, and touch everything around them. They generally don’t appear to be thinking about what they do – no obvious rationale underlies their motives.
Children at this stage are reveling in sensory experience and enjoying their rapidly-improving abilities to move around and take in new experiences. They use language to catalog objects in their environment (e.g. “doggie!”, “horsey”) and make demands of their caregivers.
Sensory stimuli are paired up with voluntary motor responses, and sensory/body coordination is established. Syntax and grammar have not yet been developed, and relations between concepts are vaguely understood at best.
During the late sensorimotor stage of cognitive development, children begin to learn the concept of “object permanence”. In other words, they learn that objects still exist even if they cannot see them.
Preoperational StageAround age two, children enter the preoperational stage where they learn how to think abstractly, understand symbolic concepts, and use language in more sophisticated ways. During this stage of cognitive development, children become insatiably curious and begin to ask questions about everything they see. They can imagine people or objects that do not exist (such as a lizard with wings) more readily than younger children, and they like to make up their own games.
According to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, children at this stage understand object permanence, but they still don’t get the concept of conservation. They don’t understand that changing a substance’s appearance doesn’t change its properties or quantity.
In one experiment, Piaget poured the exact same amount of water into two identical glasses and asked children whether the glasses contained the same amount of water. The children said that both glasses contained the same amount of water. Piaget then poured the water in one glass into a tall, narrow beaker and repeated the question. This time, the children said there was more water in the cylinder because it was taller.
Concrete Operational StageBy the time they are 7 years old, children can understand much more complex abstract concepts, such as time, space, and quantity. They can apply these concepts to concrete situations, but they have trouble thinking about them independently of those situations.
As Jean Piaget pointed out in his theory of cognitive development, the children’s ideas about time and space are sometimes inconsistent at this stage, but a basic logic is present that governs their cognitive operations. Children can learn rules fairly easily, but they may have trouble understanding the logical implications of those rules in unusual situations.
Formal Operations StageStarting at around 11 years old, children become capable of more abstract, hypothetical, and theoretical reasoning. They can apply rules to a variety of situations, and engage in counterfactual “if-then” reasoning. “Counterfactual” refers to the fact that the “if” is known to be untrue. For example “if dogs were reptiles, they would have cold blood.” Children at the formal operations stage can accept this as valid reasoning, even though the premise is obviously false.
At this stage of cognitive development, formal logic becomes possible and verbal explanations of concepts are usually sufficient without demonstration. Strategy-based games become more enjoyable, whereas rote games like “chutes-and-ladders” become repetitive.
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development has been the subject of some criticism over the years, particularly from cross-cultural psychologists who question whether Piaget’s stages are unique to Western children. However, it has fared considerably better than Freud’s. Piaget’s stages of cognitive development have been the basis for a number of other famous psychological ideas, including Kohlberg’s theory of moral development.
Piaget’s view on moral development in childrenIn Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, he looks at how intelligence emerges from childhood to adulthood. His study also includes a look at how morality manifests in a child’s thoughts and behavior, and the other factors that influence the development of concepts such as justice, welfare, and rights
After interviewing children with the Clinical Interview Method, he found out that young children looked up to figures of authority, and used them as models of what is right and wrong. As a child’s intelligence and knowledge base develops, he becomes more autonomous and begins to evaluate ideas based on his own principles of morality
Kohlberg’s stages of moral development in childrenAccording to Kohlberg, moral development begins with a child’s rather selfish desire to avoid and prevent punishment, to belong to the society, and to be consistent with what the public views as moral. Congruent to Piaget’s findings, Kohlberg agrees that a child needs to have developed cognitive strength in order to establish an equal level of the awareness of morality.
Kohlberg’s stages of moral development include:
Level 1: Preconventional Morality
Level 2: Conventional Morality
Level 3: Postconventional Morality
by Psychology Notes HQ · January 20, 2016
Although Kohlberg’s stages of moral development aren’t direct parallels of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development, Kohlberg was inspired by Piaget’s work. By examining these two theories of development side by side, it is possible to get a sense of how our concepts of the world around us (our descriptive concepts) influence our sense of what we ought to do in that world (our normative concepts).
According to Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development, there are 6 stages of moral development, separated into 3 levels:
- Pre-conventional
- Conventional
- Post-conventional
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
Let’s take a look at these four Piaget’s stages.
Sensorimotor StageChildren at the sensorimotor stage are explorers. They want to see, hear, taste, and touch everything around them. They generally don’t appear to be thinking about what they do – no obvious rationale underlies their motives.
Children at this stage are reveling in sensory experience and enjoying their rapidly-improving abilities to move around and take in new experiences. They use language to catalog objects in their environment (e.g. “doggie!”, “horsey”) and make demands of their caregivers.
Sensory stimuli are paired up with voluntary motor responses, and sensory/body coordination is established. Syntax and grammar have not yet been developed, and relations between concepts are vaguely understood at best.
During the late sensorimotor stage of cognitive development, children begin to learn the concept of “object permanence”. In other words, they learn that objects still exist even if they cannot see them.
Preoperational StageAround age two, children enter the preoperational stage where they learn how to think abstractly, understand symbolic concepts, and use language in more sophisticated ways. During this stage of cognitive development, children become insatiably curious and begin to ask questions about everything they see. They can imagine people or objects that do not exist (such as a lizard with wings) more readily than younger children, and they like to make up their own games.
According to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, children at this stage understand object permanence, but they still don’t get the concept of conservation. They don’t understand that changing a substance’s appearance doesn’t change its properties or quantity.
In one experiment, Piaget poured the exact same amount of water into two identical glasses and asked children whether the glasses contained the same amount of water. The children said that both glasses contained the same amount of water. Piaget then poured the water in one glass into a tall, narrow beaker and repeated the question. This time, the children said there was more water in the cylinder because it was taller.
Concrete Operational StageBy the time they are 7 years old, children can understand much more complex abstract concepts, such as time, space, and quantity. They can apply these concepts to concrete situations, but they have trouble thinking about them independently of those situations.
As Jean Piaget pointed out in his theory of cognitive development, the children’s ideas about time and space are sometimes inconsistent at this stage, but a basic logic is present that governs their cognitive operations. Children can learn rules fairly easily, but they may have trouble understanding the logical implications of those rules in unusual situations.
Formal Operations StageStarting at around 11 years old, children become capable of more abstract, hypothetical, and theoretical reasoning. They can apply rules to a variety of situations, and engage in counterfactual “if-then” reasoning. “Counterfactual” refers to the fact that the “if” is known to be untrue. For example “if dogs were reptiles, they would have cold blood.” Children at the formal operations stage can accept this as valid reasoning, even though the premise is obviously false.
At this stage of cognitive development, formal logic becomes possible and verbal explanations of concepts are usually sufficient without demonstration. Strategy-based games become more enjoyable, whereas rote games like “chutes-and-ladders” become repetitive.
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development has been the subject of some criticism over the years, particularly from cross-cultural psychologists who question whether Piaget’s stages are unique to Western children. However, it has fared considerably better than Freud’s. Piaget’s stages of cognitive development have been the basis for a number of other famous psychological ideas, including Kohlberg’s theory of moral development.
Piaget’s view on moral development in childrenIn Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, he looks at how intelligence emerges from childhood to adulthood. His study also includes a look at how morality manifests in a child’s thoughts and behavior, and the other factors that influence the development of concepts such as justice, welfare, and rights
After interviewing children with the Clinical Interview Method, he found out that young children looked up to figures of authority, and used them as models of what is right and wrong. As a child’s intelligence and knowledge base develops, he becomes more autonomous and begins to evaluate ideas based on his own principles of morality
Kohlberg’s stages of moral development in childrenAccording to Kohlberg, moral development begins with a child’s rather selfish desire to avoid and prevent punishment, to belong to the society, and to be consistent with what the public views as moral. Congruent to Piaget’s findings, Kohlberg agrees that a child needs to have developed cognitive strength in order to establish an equal level of the awareness of morality.
Kohlberg’s stages of moral development include:
Level 1: Preconventional Morality
- Punishment Orientation and Obedience
- By doing what the others say, they can avoid punishment
- They begin to see different sides to an issue vs. fully obeying what they are told
Level 2: Conventional Morality
- Good Interpersonal Relationships
- The individual recognizes that being a good person brings him closer to others
- Maintaining Social Order
- The individual now sees that he needs to act good in order for the society to accept him
Level 3: Postconventional Morality
- Individual Rights and Social Contract
- The individual now has a concept of basic rights and the right to democracy – that everyone has a say in an issue
- Universal Principles
- The individual is able to define principles that is most just and fair
Further thoughts on Kohlberg from another source...
KOHLBERG'S STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Lawrence Kohlberg was a moral philosopher and student of child development. He was director of Harvard's Center for Moral Education. His special area of interest is the moral development of children - how they develop a sense of right, wrong, and justice.
Kohlberg observed that growing children advance through definite stages of moral development in a manner similar to their progression through Piaget's well-known stages of cognitive development. His observations and testing of children and adults, led him to theorize that human beings progress consecutively from one stage to the next in an invariant sequence, not skipping any stage or going back to any previous stage. These are stages of thought processing, implying qualitatively different modes of thinking and of problem solving at each stage.
These conclusions have been verified in cross-cultural studies done in Turkey, Taiwan, Yucatan, Honduras, India, United States, Canada, Britain, and Israel.
THE FOLLOWING ARE OBSERVATIONS THAT WERE MADE BY KOHLBERG FURTHER EXPLAINING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN STAGES.
1. STAGE DEVELOPMENT IS INVARIANT AND SEQUENTIAL.
One must progress through the stages in order, and one cannot get to a higher stage without passing through the stage immediately preceding it. Higher stages incorporate the thinking and experience of all lower stages of reasoning into current levels of reasoning but transcends them for higher levels. (e.g, Stage Four reasoning will understand the reasoning of Stages 1-3 but will reason at a higher level) A belief that a leap into moral maturity is possible is in sharp contrast to the facts of developmental research. Moral development is growth, and like all growth, takes place according to a pre-determined sequence. To expect someone to grow into high moral maturity overnight would be like expecting someone to walk before he crawls.
2. IN STAGE DEVELOPMENT, SUBJECTS CANNOT COMPREHEND MORAL REASONING AT A STAGE MORE THAN ONE STAGE BEYOND THEIR OWN.
If Johnny is oriented to see good almost exclusively as that which brings him satisfaction, how will he understand a concept of good in which the "good" may bring him no tangible pleasure at all. The moral maxim "It is better to give than to receive" reflects a high level of development. The child who honestly asks you why it is better to give than to receive, does so because he does not and cannot understand such thinking. To him, "better" means better for him. And how can it be better for him to give, than to get. Thus, higher stages can comprehend lower stages of reasoning though they find it less compelling. But lower stages cannot comprehend higher stages of reasoning.
3. IN STAGE DEVELOPMENT INDIVIDUALS ARE COGNITIVELY ATTRACTED TO REASONING ONE LEVEL ABOVE THEIR OWN PRESENT PREDOMINANT LEVEL.
The person has questions and problems the solutions for which are less satisfying at his present level. Since reasoning at one stage higher is intelligible and since it makes more sense and resolves more difficulties, it is more attractive. For example, two brothers both want the last piece of pie. The bigger, stronger brother will probably get it. The little brother suggests they share it. He is thinking at level two, rather than at level one. The solution for him is more attractive: getting some rather than none. An adult who functions at level one consistently will end up in prison or dead.
4. IN STAGE DEVELOPMENT, MOVEMENT THROUGH THE STAGES IS EFFECTED WHEN COGNITIVE DISEQUILIBRIUM IS CREATED, THAT IS, WHEN A PERSON'S COGNITIVE OUTLOOK IS NOT ADEQUATE TO COPE WITH A GIVEN MORAL DILEMMA.
The person who is growing, will look for more and more adequate ways of solving problems. If he has no problems, no dilemmas, he is not likely to look for solutions. He will not grow morally. (The Hero, prior to his calling, lives in comfortable stagnation. Small towns are notorious for their low level "provincial" reasoning). In the apple pie example. The big brother, who can just take the pie and get away with it, is less likely to look for a better solution than the younger brother who will get none and probably a beating in the struggle. Life crises often present opportunities for moral development. These include loss of one's job, moving to another location, death of a significant other, unforeseen tragedies and disasters.
5. IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE FOR A HUMAN BEING TO BE PHYSICALLY MATURE BUT NOT
MORALLY MATURE
Development of moral reasoning is not automatic. It does not simply occur in tandem with chronological aging. If a child is spoiled, never having to accommodate for others needs, if he is raised in an environment where level two thinking by others gets the job done, he may never generate enough questions to propel him to a higher level of moral reasoning. People who live in small towns or enclaves within larger cities and never encounter those outside their tribal boundaries are unlikely to have cause to develop morally. One key factor in development of moral reasoning is the regularity with which one encounters moral dilemmas, even if only hypothetically. Kohlberg found that the vast majority of adults never develop past conventional moral reasoning, the bulk of them coming to rest in either Stage 3 Tribal or Stage 4 Social Conventional stages. This is partly because the reinforcement mechanisms of the "common sense" of everyday life provided little reason or opportunity to confront moral dilemmas and thus one's own moral reasoning.
CRITICISMS OF KOHLBERG'S THEORY:
A. Carol Gilligan, In a Different Voice
- Women are socialized differently from men.
- Concerns for the other (nurturing, serving behaviors connected to socially dictated
female roles) prevent women from developing moral reasoning per
Kohlberg's model
- Gilligan proposes three level of female development
A. FOCUS ON SELF TO EXCLUSION OF OTHER
B. FOCUS ON OTHER TO EXCLUSION, DETRIMENT OF SELF
C. FOCUS ON ALL WHICH INCLUDES SELF
- BUT, these levels seem to parallel Kohlberg's pre-conventional, conventional and post-
conventional levels
- Gilligan also produced little data to support her critique of Kohlberg, her former mentor at
Harvard
B. Charles Bailey, UCF
- Kohlberg's model is biased against conservative worldviews, values in favor of liberal
worldviews
- But Kohlberg's model does not consider content of reasoning, only process
- Some conservatives reason at post-conventional levels, some radicals at pre-
conventional levels
- BUT, ongoing studies of Kohlberg's model by James Rest at University of Minnesota
have documented both the regularity of more liberal worldviews found in higher
levels of moral development as well as the potential for conservative content to be
argued at post-conventional levels
Source: University of Central Florida
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~ncoverst/Kohlberg's%20Stages%20of%20Moral%20Development.htm
Lawrence Kohlberg was a moral philosopher and student of child development. He was director of Harvard's Center for Moral Education. His special area of interest is the moral development of children - how they develop a sense of right, wrong, and justice.
Kohlberg observed that growing children advance through definite stages of moral development in a manner similar to their progression through Piaget's well-known stages of cognitive development. His observations and testing of children and adults, led him to theorize that human beings progress consecutively from one stage to the next in an invariant sequence, not skipping any stage or going back to any previous stage. These are stages of thought processing, implying qualitatively different modes of thinking and of problem solving at each stage.
These conclusions have been verified in cross-cultural studies done in Turkey, Taiwan, Yucatan, Honduras, India, United States, Canada, Britain, and Israel.
THE FOLLOWING ARE OBSERVATIONS THAT WERE MADE BY KOHLBERG FURTHER EXPLAINING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN STAGES.
1. STAGE DEVELOPMENT IS INVARIANT AND SEQUENTIAL.
One must progress through the stages in order, and one cannot get to a higher stage without passing through the stage immediately preceding it. Higher stages incorporate the thinking and experience of all lower stages of reasoning into current levels of reasoning but transcends them for higher levels. (e.g, Stage Four reasoning will understand the reasoning of Stages 1-3 but will reason at a higher level) A belief that a leap into moral maturity is possible is in sharp contrast to the facts of developmental research. Moral development is growth, and like all growth, takes place according to a pre-determined sequence. To expect someone to grow into high moral maturity overnight would be like expecting someone to walk before he crawls.
2. IN STAGE DEVELOPMENT, SUBJECTS CANNOT COMPREHEND MORAL REASONING AT A STAGE MORE THAN ONE STAGE BEYOND THEIR OWN.
If Johnny is oriented to see good almost exclusively as that which brings him satisfaction, how will he understand a concept of good in which the "good" may bring him no tangible pleasure at all. The moral maxim "It is better to give than to receive" reflects a high level of development. The child who honestly asks you why it is better to give than to receive, does so because he does not and cannot understand such thinking. To him, "better" means better for him. And how can it be better for him to give, than to get. Thus, higher stages can comprehend lower stages of reasoning though they find it less compelling. But lower stages cannot comprehend higher stages of reasoning.
3. IN STAGE DEVELOPMENT INDIVIDUALS ARE COGNITIVELY ATTRACTED TO REASONING ONE LEVEL ABOVE THEIR OWN PRESENT PREDOMINANT LEVEL.
The person has questions and problems the solutions for which are less satisfying at his present level. Since reasoning at one stage higher is intelligible and since it makes more sense and resolves more difficulties, it is more attractive. For example, two brothers both want the last piece of pie. The bigger, stronger brother will probably get it. The little brother suggests they share it. He is thinking at level two, rather than at level one. The solution for him is more attractive: getting some rather than none. An adult who functions at level one consistently will end up in prison or dead.
4. IN STAGE DEVELOPMENT, MOVEMENT THROUGH THE STAGES IS EFFECTED WHEN COGNITIVE DISEQUILIBRIUM IS CREATED, THAT IS, WHEN A PERSON'S COGNITIVE OUTLOOK IS NOT ADEQUATE TO COPE WITH A GIVEN MORAL DILEMMA.
The person who is growing, will look for more and more adequate ways of solving problems. If he has no problems, no dilemmas, he is not likely to look for solutions. He will not grow morally. (The Hero, prior to his calling, lives in comfortable stagnation. Small towns are notorious for their low level "provincial" reasoning). In the apple pie example. The big brother, who can just take the pie and get away with it, is less likely to look for a better solution than the younger brother who will get none and probably a beating in the struggle. Life crises often present opportunities for moral development. These include loss of one's job, moving to another location, death of a significant other, unforeseen tragedies and disasters.
5. IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE FOR A HUMAN BEING TO BE PHYSICALLY MATURE BUT NOT
MORALLY MATURE
Development of moral reasoning is not automatic. It does not simply occur in tandem with chronological aging. If a child is spoiled, never having to accommodate for others needs, if he is raised in an environment where level two thinking by others gets the job done, he may never generate enough questions to propel him to a higher level of moral reasoning. People who live in small towns or enclaves within larger cities and never encounter those outside their tribal boundaries are unlikely to have cause to develop morally. One key factor in development of moral reasoning is the regularity with which one encounters moral dilemmas, even if only hypothetically. Kohlberg found that the vast majority of adults never develop past conventional moral reasoning, the bulk of them coming to rest in either Stage 3 Tribal or Stage 4 Social Conventional stages. This is partly because the reinforcement mechanisms of the "common sense" of everyday life provided little reason or opportunity to confront moral dilemmas and thus one's own moral reasoning.
CRITICISMS OF KOHLBERG'S THEORY:
A. Carol Gilligan, In a Different Voice
- Women are socialized differently from men.
- Concerns for the other (nurturing, serving behaviors connected to socially dictated
female roles) prevent women from developing moral reasoning per
Kohlberg's model
- Gilligan proposes three level of female development
A. FOCUS ON SELF TO EXCLUSION OF OTHER
B. FOCUS ON OTHER TO EXCLUSION, DETRIMENT OF SELF
C. FOCUS ON ALL WHICH INCLUDES SELF
- BUT, these levels seem to parallel Kohlberg's pre-conventional, conventional and post-
conventional levels
- Gilligan also produced little data to support her critique of Kohlberg, her former mentor at
Harvard
B. Charles Bailey, UCF
- Kohlberg's model is biased against conservative worldviews, values in favor of liberal
worldviews
- But Kohlberg's model does not consider content of reasoning, only process
- Some conservatives reason at post-conventional levels, some radicals at pre-
conventional levels
- BUT, ongoing studies of Kohlberg's model by James Rest at University of Minnesota
have documented both the regularity of more liberal worldviews found in higher
levels of moral development as well as the potential for conservative content to be
argued at post-conventional levels
Source: University of Central Florida