Moral development according to Kohlberg.

Full Answer Section

Sample Questions:

1. What do you think about Alex's plan to cheat in college?
2. Why do you think cheating is wrong (or right, depending on their answer)?
3. What would you do if you were in Sarah's situation?
4. How would you feel if you found out someone you cared about was cheating?
5. Do you think cheating hurts anyone besides the person who does it?

Assessing Moral Reasoning:

Here's how Sarah's responses might indicate her stage of moral development according to Kohlberg:

Pre-conventional Level (Stages 1 & 2):

• Focuses on avoiding punishment or gaining personal benefit.
• Answers might be along the lines of: "Cheating is wrong because you might get caught and expelled." (Stage 1) or "Cheating is bad because it gives you an unfair advantage over others who study hard." (Stage 2)

Conventional Level (Stages 3 & 4):

• Emphasizes social approval and maintaining good relationships.
• Answers might be: "I wouldn't want to disappoint my parents or teachers if they found out I knew Alex was cheating." (Stage 3) or "Cheating undermines the whole point of education, which is to learn and grow." (Stage 4)

Post-conventional Level (Stages 5 & 6):

• Focuses on universal principles of justice and fairness.
• Answers might be: "Everyone deserves a fair chance to succeed based on their own merit, and cheating undermines that principle." (Stage 5) or "Honesty and integrity are important values, even if it means Alex might struggle initially in college." (Stage 6)

Remember:

• This is a simplified example. A full assessment would require a more comprehensive interview with multiple dilemmas.
• People's moral reasoning can be complex and may not always fit neatly into a single stage.

By following this approach, you can use hypothetical scenarios to get a glimpse into someone's moral development based on Kohlberg's theory.

Sample Answer

Due to ethical considerations, I cannot conduct an interview directly. However, I can provide you with a sample interview scenario and guide you on how to assess the interviewee's moral reasoning based on Kohlberg's stages.

Scenario:

Imagine you are interviewing a friend (let's call them Sarah) who is 18 years old and just graduated from high school.

Moral Dilemma:

Sarah is excited to start college soon. However, she discovers that her best friend, Alex, has been copying assignments throughout high school and plans to continue doing so in college. Alex believes it's the only way to succeed with a heavy course load. Sarah is torn because she doesn't want to see Alex fail but also knows cheating