Kohlberg and Gilligan

Moral issues themselves always relate to the consequences of one’s actions and decisions as they help or hurt other people. In terms of moral, ethical, or even legal responsibility, the justification for a decision is often more revealing than the actual decision itself. When people talk about moral development, they are referring to their conduct and attitude towards other people in society. They look to see if you and I follow societal norms, rules, and laws. The importance of moral development can be seen every day on the news. Every minute somewhere, a person is being insulted, assaulted, or killed. Each and every day we must interact with society and its members. Some are dishonest; some are conniving, and some will do what ever they want, no matter who they hurt. Yet, there are also those who have compassion, kindness, and a genuine interest in society. Some people give their life to helping others, while still others pretend to be devoted, caring citizens as an instrumental means of getting what they want. Yet morals are not tangible objects that we can see. Humans are not genetically endowed with moral meters implanted on us for the world to see. Just as we are all interconnected with a family system and society as a whole, it is the morals of each and every individual that comprise as society which shapes that society. For what is morally acceptable in the United States may not be morally acceptable in another country and so forth. The importance of morals and moral development weighs so exponentially on society that moral development does indeed warrant study by many.

Kohlberg in “Indoctrination Versus Relativity in Value Education,” conducts a cross-cultural research in Taiwan, Turkey, Mexico and introduces a model, which holds that people across cultures progress predictably through six identifiable developmental stages, each more adequate at responding to moral dilemmas than its predecessor. He uses surveys as his major source of assessment...