Standard issue moral judgment interview

From Psy3242


This method was developed by Lawrence Kohlberg in an effort to explain the development of moral reasoning. The moral judgment interview is a taped, semi-structured, 45-minute long interview, in which the interviewer assesses the level of moral development and reasoning. Participants are asked open-ended questions about a situation they are presented with. Scores are passed on the structure of the answers not on the content.

Note: This is a picture of right and wrong, not of the moral judgment interview.

Contents

Stages of Moral Development

Kohlberg's theory is broken up into three levels, each with two stages.


Pre-Conventional Level

  • Self-centered level – naively egotistic, the concepts of good and bad, right or wrong, are interpreted in terms of pleasant or unpleasant consequences
  • Avoiding punishment or obedience to authority
  • Judge the morality of an action/situation by its consequences
  • Common in children


Stage 1. Obedience and Punishment Orientation

  • Do what you are told to avoid punishment.
  • How can I avoid punishment?


Stage 2. Self-Interest Driven

  • Actions determined by what's in one's best interests
  • Let's make a deal mentality
  • You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours
  • What’s in it for me?


Conventional

  • Conformity level
  • Need to meet the expectations of the group norms and social conformity
  • Follow law and social order
  • Typical in adolescents and adults


Stage 3. Interpersonal Conformity

  • Being considerate, nice, kind, etc.
  • Do what you are told to avoid punishment
  • Including respect, gratitude, etc. into everyday relationships
  • Trying to be the good boy/girl


Stage 4. Law and Duty to the Social Order

  • Obligation to adhere to the laws
  • Society overrides personal needs
  • Law & Order Mentality


Post-Conventional

  • Principled level
  • Notice that individuals are separate from society
  • Thus, viewing one's perspective before the society's
  • Can be mistaken for Pre-Conventional


Stage 5. Social Contract Driven

  • Obligated by the arrangements that are agreed to by due process procedures
  • Individuals have different opinions and values
  • The greatest good for the greatest number of people


Stage 6. Universal Ethical Principles Driven

  • Morality is defined by how rational and impartial people would ideally organize cooperation
  • Laws are effective when rooted in justice for all
  • Social contracts are not essential for moral action
  • One acts because it is right
  • Kohlberg believed stage, but admitted it was hard are rare to achieve


Information for the stages from wikipedia.org and www.emeraldinsight.com/fig/0260210903001.png

I had the Iowa Gambling Task for this section. Men often perform better on the task than women, and my midterm paper discussed the problem and found that thinking about a moral judgement scenario actually activated the area of the brain needed for women to perform the same as men on the IGT. The dilemma had to be personal in nature. It is interesting how the tasks can somewhat combine. ~Hannah

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