Lawrence Kohlberg’s

Theory of Moral Development

In a European country, a woman is near death from
a special kind of cancer. The one drug that the
doctors think might save her is a medicine that a
medical researcher has recently discovered. The
drug is expensive to make, and the researcher is
charging ten times the cost, or $5,000, for a small
dose. The sick woman’s husband, Henry, approaches
everyone he knows in hopes of borrowing money,
but he can get together only about $2,500. He tells
the researcher that his wife is dying and asks him to
lower the price of the drug or let him pay later. The
researcher says, “No, I discovered the drug, and I’m
going to make money from it.” Henry is desperate
and considers stealing the drug for his wife.
What would you tell Henry to do?
Level 1 Preconventional Morality

At this level, the concrete interests of

the individual are considered in terms of
rewards and punishments.
Level 1 In Favor of Stealing the Drug

“If you let your wife die, you will get in

trouble. You’ll be blamed for not
spending the money to save her, and
there’ll be an investigation of you and
the druggist for your wife’s death.”
Level 1 Against Stealing the Drug
“You shouldn’t steal the drug because
you’ll be caught and sent to jail if you
do. If you do get away, your conscience
will bother you thinking how the police
will catch up with you any minute.”
Level 2 Conventional Morality
At this level, people approach moral
problems as members of society. They
are interested in pleasing others by
acting as good members of society.
Level 2 In Favor of Stealing the Drug

“If you let your wife die, you’ll never be

able to look anybody in the face again.”
Level 2 Against Stealing the Drug

“After you steal the drug, you’ll feel

bad thinking how you’ve brought
dishonor on your family and yourself;
you won’t be able to face anyone
again.”
Level 3 Postconventional Morality

At this level, people use moral

principles which are seen as broader
than those of any particular society.
Level 3 In Favor of Stealing the Drug

“If you don’t steal the drug and if you

let your wife die, you’ll always condemn
yourself for it afterward. You won’t be
blamed and you’ll have lived up to the
outside rule of the law, but you won’t
have lived up to your own conscience
and standards of honesty.”
Level 3 Against Stealing the Drug

“If you steal the drug, you won’t be

blamed by other people, but you’ll
condemn yourself because you won’t
have lived up to your own conscience
and standards of honesty.”
Evaluation of Kohlberg’s Theory
Strength: This theory has had a substantial influence on our
understanding of moral development.
Weaknesses: (1) It pertains to moral judgments, not moral
behavior. Knowing right from wrong does
not mean that we will always act in
accordance with our judgments.
(2) This theory applies primarily to Western
society and its moral code; cross cultural
research conducted in cultures with
different moral systems suggests that
Kohlberg’s theory is not necessarily
applicable.