Skip to content

Ask an Academic

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us
Crowd of people

The development of conscience – Kohlberg’s stages

September 23, 2019 by AskanAcademic.com

Question

How does our conscience change over time?

Answer

One way of examining the nature of a person’s conscience is to consider the conditions under which that person is liable to have feelings of guilt as a result of their actions.

In his studies of the moral development of children, Lawrence Kohlberg identified three main levels of moral development (which are then broken down further into six stages): ‘pre-conventional’, ‘conventional’ and ‘post-conventional’. The child moves through these stages as they develop morally, and their conscience reflects this development.

The pre-conventional level is characterised by the child’s impulse to avoid punishment for their actions. As a result, they are likely to judge actions as wrong which defy their parents’ wishes (whatever they may be), and their conscience will react to such actual or potential breaches by triggering feelings of guilt. At this stage, it is quite possible for a child to behave in ways which are wrong from society’s perspective without their conscience intervening, depending on their interactions with authority figures.

The conventional level is characterised by the person’s impulse to conform to social norms and rules. Actions are therefore judged as wrong which, for example, are illegal or break from wider social expectations. As a result, the person’s conscience may now react negatively to actions which are sometimes considered to be acceptable in context (such as lying to prevent hurt feelings) but which breach some general social norm (lying is bad).

The post-conventional level is characterised by the consideration of more abstract and nuanced moral principles. At this point, it is possible for the person to apply context and intention in their moral evaluation of actions. For example, it is now possible for a person at this level to lie to prevent hurting somebody’s feelings without them experiencing the feelings of guilt that are usually associated with lying.

References

Post navigation

Previous Post:

Outline the causes of the Reign of Terror in France in 1793/94.

Next Post:

Advantages and disadvantages of team learning.

Search Q&As

Categories

  • Art Media and Literature (74)
  • Business and Management (256)
  • Computing and ICT (14)
  • Construction and Engineering (35)
  • Education (90)
  • Environmental Sciences (2)
  • Finance and Economics (91)
  • Health (64)
  • Languages (12)
  • Law (88)
  • Mathematics and Statistics (2)
  • Medical Sciences (19)
  • Politics and International Relations (83)
  • Research Methodology (1)
  • Science (49)
  • Social Sciences (101)

Archives

Who We Are

Askanacademic.com is owned and operated by All Answers Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration No: 4964706. VAT Registration No: 842417633. Data Controller No: Z1821391.

Registered office:
Venture House
Cross Street
Arnold
Nottingham
NG5 7PJ

Main Navigation

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us

Legals

  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy

Popular Categories

  • Business and Management
  • Law
  • Finance and Economics
  • Health
An an Academic Logo
© 2023 Ask an Academic | WordPress Theme by Superb Themes
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Reject
Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT