Lawrence Kohlberg
Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987) was a prominent American psychologist best known for his groundbreaking theories in developmental psychology, particularly regarding moral development in children. His early experiences during World War II, including his work with Jewish refugees, profoundly influenced his interest in moral dilemmas. Kohlberg's research, initiated in the 1950s, involved presenting moral dilemmas, such as the famous case of Heinz, to boys aged eleven to sixteen to assess their moral reasoning.
He proposed a theory of moral development consisting of six stages grouped into three levels: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional. This framework illustrates a progression from self-centered morality to an understanding rooted in universal ethical principles. Throughout his career, Kohlberg held positions at several prestigious institutions, including Harvard University, where he continued to explore various aspects of child development, moral education, and socialization.
His later years were marked by health challenges stemming from a parasitic infection acquired during field research in Belize. Despite these struggles, Kohlberg's legacy endures through his influential work in moral development and child psychology, shaping how educators and psychologists understand ethical reasoning and moral growth.
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Subject Terms
Lawrence Kohlberg
- Date of birth: October 25, 1927
- Place of birth: Bronxville, New York
- Date of death: ca. January 17, 1987
- Place of death: Boston, Massachusetts
- TYPE OF PSYCHOLOGY: Developmental psychology
Kohlberg was best known for studying the moral development of children.
Life
Lawrence Kohlberg was born to Alfred and Charlotte Kohlberg. He attended and graduated from Andover Academy. In the fall of 1945, Kohlberg traveled to war-torn Europe with the Merchant Marines and was much affected by the plight of Jewish refugees. Thereafter, Kohlberg volunteered on a ship smuggling Jewish refugees to British-controlled Palestine. The British navy seized the ship and imprisoned the crew. Eventually, Kohlberg escaped and returned to the United States. This early experience helped lay the groundwork for his abiding interest in moral dilemmas (for example, obeying the law versus doing what seemed morally right).
In 1948, Kohlberg entered the University of Chicago, tested out of several classes, and earned his bachelor’s degree in a single year. He began his dissertation research on moral development in the mid-1950s, presenting moral dilemmas to boys between the ages of eleven and sixteen. A well-known dilemma concerns a man named Heinz whose wife is dying of cancer. Heinz cannot afford a life-saving drug, and faces the dilemma of whether he should break into a pharmacy to steal the drug. After presenting each dilemma to the boys, Kohlberg would ask whether the action taken was okay, and then ask additional questions to determine the moral reasoning behind their answers. Kohlberg received his doctorate in psychology in 1958.
Based on his research, Kohlberg posited his well-known theory of moral development. It consists of six sequential stages grouped in pairs at three levels: preconventional level (punishment-obedience stage, personal reward stage), conventional level (good boy-nice girl stage, law and order stage), and postconventional level (social contract stage, universal ethical principle stage). Development proceeds sequentially from an egocentric orientation at the bottom to one based on universal “truths” at the top.
Kohlberg worked at Yale University (1959–1961), the Institute for Advanced Study (1961–1962), and the University of Chicago (1962–1968). In 1968, he joined the faculty of Harvard University, and there he remained. Beyond his groundbreaking work in the study of moral development, Kohlberg did research and published in a variety of areas, including moral education, “just communities,” ego development, sex-role development, socialization, egocentric speech, and using childhood behavior to predict later mental health.
Conducting cross-cultural research in Belize in the early 1970s, Kohlberg acquired a parasitic infection that caused him to suffer dizziness, nausea, and depression for the rest of his life until his apparent suicide in 1987. His legacy is his well-known work in the area of moral development and, more broadly, his rich and varied contributions to the field of child development.
Bibliography
Crain, William. Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. 7th ed., Routledge, 2024.
Gibbs, John C. Moral Development and Reality: Beyond the Theories of Kohlberg, Hoffman, and Haidt. Oxford UP, 2014.
Kohlberg, Lawrence. The Psychology of Moral Development: The Nature and Validity of Moral Stages. Harper, 1984.
Rest, James, Clark Power, and Mary Brabeck. “Lawrence Kohlberg (1927–1987).” American Psychologist, vol. 43, 1988, pp. 249–57.
Walsh, Catherine. “The Life and Legacy of Lawrence Kohlberg.” Society, vol. 37, no. 2, 2000, pp. 38–41.