Please let me know what it is or where I can find the theory. Thanks

-- Jim Scott (jimjane68@earthlink.net), August 18, 2004

Answers

In most any social psychology textbook. It outlines a stagewise hierarchy of approaches to moral reasoning. It has been very influential, and very controversial. I think it is fair to say that its assumption of there being a *universal* order and outcome of moral stages was naive (and probably andro- and ethno-centric).

-- Christopher Green (christo@yorku.ca), August 18, 2004.

Developmental psychologists have also been very interested in Kohlberg's theory. For an interesting chapter on the theory, including a critical evaluation, I recommend William Crain's "Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications."

-- John D. Hogan (hoganjohn@aol.com), August 18, 2004.

Hi Jim, In general "univeral" models of development, and in particular the moral models of Kohlberg and his mentor Piaget, have difficulty capturing the variety of human experiences and the multiple factors influencing development (and may have some more specific problems). I think, however it would be a mistake to avoid looking for so- called "univeral" models, particularly if the researcher is only looking for the most common developmental pattern (or possible the most common 2 or 3 patterns). I think evolutionary psychology, based on their experience, often looks for one or a few common developmental patterns. Within a common pattern of developmnet there is still room for variation based on individual inheritence and experiences. There may also be common "forks" in moral development (e.g. based on whether being more moral than average pays off for the individual or not). I hope this helps. Paul

-- Paul Kleinginna (pkleinginna@georgiasouthern.edup), August 29, 2004.