CHCFC504A- Kholberg's stage 1 pre-conventional morality

[Cazza]

my question reads: provide an example of Kholberg's Stage 1 Pre-Conventional Morality - Levels 1 or 2. This could be in the form of a scenario.

i don't understand what this means. can someone help me please

[Cazza]

this is the only thing i can find but it hasnt really helped me:

Level 1. Preconventional Morality

Stage 1. Obedience and Punishment Orientation. Kohlberg's stage 1 is similar to Piaget's first stage of moral thought. The child assumes that powerful authorities hand down a fixed set of rules which he or she must unquestioningly obey. To the Heinz dilemma, the child typically says that Heinz was wrong to steal the drug because "It's against the law," or "It's bad to steal," as if this were all there were to it. When asked to elaborate, the child usually responds in terms of the consequences involved, explaining that stealing is bad "because you'll get punished" (Kohlberg, 1958b).

Although the vast majority of children at stage 1 oppose Heinz’s theft, it is still possible for a child to support the action and still employ stage 1 reasoning. For example, a child might say, "Heinz can steal it because he asked first and it's not like he stole something big; he won't get punished" (see Rest, 1973). Even though the child agrees with Heinz’s action, the reasoning is still stage 1; the concern is with what authorities permit and punish.

Kohlberg calls stage 1 thinking "preconventional" because children do not yet speak as members of society. Instead, they see morality as something external to themselves, as that which the big people say they must do.

[Lorina]

Hi Cazza,

Found the following information from Wikipedia:

The pre-conventional level of moral reasoning is especially common in children, although adults can also exhibit this level of reasoning. Reasoners at this level judge the morality of an action by its direct consequences. The pre-conventional level consists of the first and second stages of moral development, and is solely concerned with the self in an egocentric manner. A child with preconventional morality has not yet adopted or internalized society's conventions regarding what is right or wrong, but instead focuses largely on external consequences that certain actions may bring.

In Stage one (obedience and punishment driven), individuals focus on the direct consequences of their actions on themselves. For example, an action is perceived as morally wrong because the perpetrator is punished. "The last time I did that I got spanked so I will not do it again." The worse the punishment for the act is, the more "bad" the act is perceived to be. This can give rise to an inference that even innocent victims are guilty in proportion to their suffering. It is "egocentric", lacking recognition that others' points of view are different from one's own. There is "deference to superior power or prestige"

Sourced from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_K ... nventional

By the sounds of it, a child knows what punishment they will likely to get because they have received the punishment before and therefore it is morally wrong because they already understand the consequence. For e.g. "if I throw my toys, they will get taken away", "if I hit my sister I will be put in time out" etc...

Hope This Helps!

Cheers ,
L.A

[Cazza]

thanks it helps a little bit, i now just have to work out my scenario.