Kohlberg s stages of Moral Development (Your reasons for doing what s right )

Kohlberg's stages of Moral Development (Your reasons for doing what's ˜right )

Level I: The pre-contentional level

• Stage 1: to avoid punishment

• Stage 2: to serve your own needs

Level II: The contentional level

• Stage 3: to be a good person in your eyes and the eyes of others

• Stage 4: to fulfil duties to which you have agreed to keep the system running

Level III: The Post-contentional level

• Stage 5: to fulfil a social contract or do what has the highest degree of utility

• Stage 6: to follow a self- chosen universal ethical principles

Figure 7.2: Kohlberg's stages of moral development (your reasons for doing what's ˜right )

His theory suggests that we as individuals first learn to satisfy our own needs: at an early stage of our development as young children we do what's right to avoid punishment or simply to serve our own needs. For example, a child is told it's wrong to steal and quickly learns that he or she will be punished if caught. In this child's mind, stealing isn't inherently wrong ”he hasn't learned that yet, if he ever does. It only results in punishment; thus he avoids stealing to avoid punishment. At the next stage, he might do what's right only if there is something in it for him. Our prisons are populated by people who have never really progressed beyond this level of moral reasoning.

Kohlberg says that eventually, most, but not all, people move into a more conventional level where they are able to consider not only themselves , but also a widening circle of other people. This seems to be the stage at which most adults function. At this stage, you might do what's right because you want others to think of you as a good person or to fulfil duties that you have agreed upon to keep the system running. For example, if your organization has a code of ethics, whereas you might not truly believe in or care about one or more of the tenets, you behave in a manner that supports the code because you've agreed to do so by signing a contract.

People who reach the highest levels of development are those who are able to take a genuine interest in the welfare of others and develop a sense of morality that allows them to follow a self-chosen set of universal ethical principles. Kohlberg, however, doesn't believe that many adults ever truly reach this level of moral functioning.

(To satisfy those who are aware of the criticisms of Kohlberg's theory, I am well aware that it was based on research with Anglo-American teenaged boys and that subsequent applications of his research methods to girls had slightly different results. However, I think that there is still much we can learn from his theory, especially in examining our own motives for making ethical decisions.)

If we consider Julia's dilemma in this context, it seems clear that if she decides to follow through with her plan, she would be acting unethically. But, perhaps even more important from an ethical point of view, if she chooses not to follow through only because she feels she might get caught, she still isn't acting with integrity ”she's doing it for the wrong reason. Like a morally undeveloped young child, she is acting morally only to avoid punishment. What will happen the next time she's faced with a similar dilemma? If she thinks she can get away with it ”because no one is looking ”she may feel justified in acting immorally. As you might have figured out by now, this is in direct contrast to a kind of decision-making based on the principle of utility that eschews motives for outcomes . Clearly, however, in this case, one could only say that the potential good outcome would be strictly for Julia herself ”hardly the greatest good for the greatest number!

Next, we'll apply this knowledge of developmental stages of morality to a situation that every PR practitioner might find himself or herself in and might not even be aware of the issues.