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Kohlberg’s theory is that people can go through 3 levels of moral reasoning throughout their life. Of these 3 levels each can be broken down into 2 identifiable stages. Therefore there are a total of 6 stages which Kohlberg believes we are able to go through in our life. Part of his theory however is that we “are able” to go through these stages but that not every person goes though all of them. Some people simply don’t progress to become self aware-principle centered beings while others do. His theory also stated that no stages or levels could be passed or skipped and that each had to be progressed through in the prescribed order. Finally, Kohlberg believed that this moral development could only be achieved through social interaction and that you had to learn from what you know at the current stage your at in order to move on.
| LEVEL | STAGE | SOCIAL ORIENTATION |
| Pre-conventional | 1 | Obedience and Punishment |
| 2 | Individualism, Instrumentalism and Exchange | |
| Conventional | 3 | Good boy/girl |
| 4 | Law and Order | |
| Post-conventional | 5 | Social Contract |
| 6 | Principled Conscience |
Although Kohlberg’s theory is widely accepted and respected there is also some opposition to it. Kohlberg came up with his theory through his own observations and studies. Because it is implausible to evaluate somebody throughout their entire life and base observations upon solid evidence and observations you must instead take observations from different people who are continually changing. The people’s moral reasoning may be assessed a certain way one day but a different way the next and it raises questions about Kohlberg’s theory. Does the way a person is evaluated for research have anything to do with how they will actually act? Is moral reasoning, described by his theory, the same as moral behavior? And, is the theory biased against women?
