Kohlberg & The Heinz Dilemma

Transcription

1 Kohlberg & The Heinz Dilemma

2 Who is Kohlberg? Kohlberg is one of the most groundbreaking researchers in the field of moral development. Although many criticize his work s focus on male subjects and the lack of connections between moral behavior and moral judgment, Kohlberg s Stages of Morality have turned out to be an invaluable tool with which to frame moral development (ÇAM, 2012). (

3 How Does One Determine His/Her Stage of Morality? Kohlberg developed a series of dilemmas to test an individual s morality. Each dilemma poses a hypothetical situation followed by a few questions. Subjects come to a conclusion on what they believe is the right choice given the situation. Provided in the following slides is the most famous of these dilemmas. Follow along and jot down your answers. Note: There are no wrong answers, so just answer honestly and to the best of your ability.

4 (Popova, 2012)

5 In Europe, a woman was near death from cancer. One drug might save her, a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The druggist was charging $2,000, ten times what the drug cost him to make. The sick woman s husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said, No. The husband got desperate and broke into the man s store to steal the drug for his wife. Should the husband have done that? Why? (Letch and Edwina, 2009)

6 Questions To Consider 1. Should Heinz steal the drug? Why or Why not? 2. What if Heinz does not love his wife? 3. What if it was a stranger that was dying and not his wife? Should he steal the medicine for a stranger? 4. What if it was a pet that was dying? 5. Should a person do everything to save another's life, and if so, why? 6. Is it against the law for Heinz to steal? Does that make it morally wrong? Why or Why not? 7. Why should people generally do everything in their power to avoid breaking the law? How does this relate to Heinz? (Letch and Edwina, 2009)

7 So what now? ( otally-confused.html) Now that you have your answers, it s time to take a look at Kohlberg s stages. I ll go through each stage, and as I explain try to see which stage of morality sounds most like the answers you gave.

8 3 Levels and 6 Stages Preconventional Morality Stage 1: Punishment and Avoidance Stage 2: Exchange of Favors Conventional Morality Stage 3: Good Boy/Girl Stage 4: Law and Order Postconventional Morality Stage 5: Social Contract Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principle (Ormrod, 2011)

9 What have you learned? Consider what you ve learned from this exercise. Were you pleased with your results? Did they make sense? If you answered no to either question, no reason to fret. After all, Kohlberg is only one of many theorists on moral development, and there are a lot of different ways to approach this particular topic. This is just one of the classic approaches to moral development you ll probably encounter as you continue in the field of education.

10 Applying this to students Now think about these stages in in regards to the classroom. Issues with student morality might entail: Bullying Cheating Perhaps even thievery Understanding the various motivations for each stage of morality may help you restore order.

11 Stage 1 At the punishment avoidance stage, establishing the consequences for misdemeanors is necessary. Stage 2 At the exchange of favors stage, offer rewards for good behavior. Stage 3 At the good boy/good girl stage, a simple reassurance that what they re doing is right will push them to continue the good behavior. Stage 4 At the law and order stage, simply establishing the rules is all that is needed to insure that they are followed. Stage 5 At the social contract stage, you ll need to sit the students down and make sure they understand why the rules are the way they are, and be prepared to be questioned. Stage 6 Chances are, you won t meet a student who has reached the stage of Universal ethical principal, but if you do then you re in luck, because this student won t really require any work on your part to do the right thing.

12 Work Cited (Also See Endnotes) ÇAM, Z., ÇAVDAR, D., SEYDOOĞULLARI, S., & ÇOK, F. (2012). Classical and Contemporary Approaches for Moral Development. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, Letch, N. and Edwina, R. (2009). Chapter 16: The Forensic Psychologist in the Courtroom. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from: ources/context_social_studies/f.%20hc%20context%20social%20studies %20Resource%20File/84.pdf Ormrod, J. (2011) Educational Psychology: Developing Learners. (7th Edition). Boston, MA: Pearson. Popova, M. (Artist). (2012). Heinz Dilemma [Drawing], Retrieved November 15, 2013, from: [Untitled cartoon of a confused man]. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from: [Untitled photograph of Kohlberg]. Retrieved November 15, 2013, from: