Correct Answer - Option 1 : Piaget
Piaget has laid the foundation (in 1965) for understanding the developmental phases in the moral judgment of the child. His main areas of research were how children act upon rules and laws, how children judge bad acts and lies, how children look upon punishment and justice.
According to him, there are four stages:
| Stages |
Moral Development |
| Anomy or Pre Moral Period (the first five years) |
At this stage, the behaviour of the child is not guided by moral standards. |
| Heteronomy Authority (5 to 9 years) |
Rewards and punishments regulate moral development. |
| Heteronomy Reciprocity (9 to 13 years) |
This stage is regulated by reciprocity which implies, ‘we should not do to others what will be offensive to us’. |
| Autonomy Adolescence (13 to 18 years) |
The individual at this stage is fully responsible for his behaviour. |
Theory of Moral Development by Kohlberg:
-
Lawrence Kohlberg, an American psychologist, has propounded the 'Theory of Moral Development' in 1969.
- He has made a systematic study of moral development in his theory that is categorized into 3 levels and 6 stages.
Refer to the table to be familiar with all the stages of Kohlberg's theory.
|
Level 1:
Pre-conventional Morality
|
Stage 1: The Obedience & Punishment Orientation - behaviour driven by avoiding punishment
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Stage 2: Naive Hedonistic and Instrumental Orientation - behaviour driven by self-interest and rewards
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Level 2:
Conventional Morality
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Stage 3: Good Boy - Nice Girl Orientation - behaviour driven by social approval
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Stage 4: The Law & Order Orientation: behaviour driven by obeying authority and conforming to social order
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Level:
Post-conventional Morality
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Stage 5: The Social Contract Orientation: behaviour driven by a balance of social order and individual rights
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Stage 6: The Universal Ethical Principle Orientation: behaviour driven by internal moral principle.
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Hence, we can conclude that Piaget first gave the Theory of Moral Development.
