...Moral Development and the Justice System As law enforcement officials, we need to understand the moral development of not only those we come in contact with in our job, but also of ourselves. Why? The answer is, as police officers; we may be confronted with hundreds of issues about moral reasoning each day. These may range from the decision a suspect makes about whether to resist arrest to whether or not we issue a speeding ticket to a friend. Every day, citizens, as well as officers, make hundreds of decisions that involve moral reasoning. It is imperative as officers of the law that we understand and recognize the reasons behind the decisions of other as well as ourselves. To change our behavior and appreciate others behavior we must be aware of why we as humans make the decisions we make. A psychologist named Lawrence Kohlberg identified three levels of moral development or reasoning. The first level is pre-conventional morality, and it contains two stages. At the pre-conventional level, one does not have a personal code of morality. Instead, our moral code is formed by the standards of adults in our environment and the consequences of adhering to or breaking their rules. This stage is prevalent in children, but can be seen even in older youth and in some cases, adults. The two stages in Level one are: Obedience and Punishment Orientation and Individualism and Exchange. In the first stage an individual is good to avoid being punished. In the second stage, the person recognizes...
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...Assignment 2: Incorporating Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development into the Justice System Alichia Dunaway Strayer University Ethics and Leadership in Criminal Justice CRJ 220 Professor Judy Tompkins August 16, 2015 Abstract The perception of justice is an affiliation that exists between the citizens and the state. Justice means that the state treats every person equally and seeks to find resolution in disputes. This resolution is found on the basis of the detailed facts and is compared to intent criteria, rather than a biased determination. It is based upon the civil rights and duty of individual persons, particularly law enforcement officers. Law enforcement officers employ the concept of justice occasionally, but they are not constantly fair. Law enforcement officers make mistakes just like any other human being. Justice in law enforcement includes an extensive array of recruits and agencies. This includes victim services, the police, department of corrections, crime prevention, the probation and parole departments, and the court system. In order for law enforcement to uphold a general clarity of justice, officers are obliged to have power over the moral capability to legally enforce laws, as well as to continue with admiration that is articulated by the department and its operation. Also, justice includes officers that respect and uphold the rights of citizens. A potion they shall accept on and off the job. Additionally, officers must arrest suspects contained...
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...Kohlberg’s Moral Development Linda Jones University of Phoenix Moral development over an individual’s lifespan remains a major topic of interest for psychologists. There are many theories that have been developed over time but one of the most well-known was developed by Lawrence Kohlberg. Kohlberg expanded the work of Jean Piaget and modified it to explain moral reasoning and how it develops. While Piaget described a process of moral development that occurred in only two stages, Kohlberg’s theory grew to include six stages within three different levels. Kohlberg proposed three these six stages and three levels that moral reasoning was a process that continued through an individual’s life. Level 1 of Kohlberg’s Moral Development is Preconventional Morality. It contains two stages. The first stage is Obedience and Punishment. This marks the earliest formation of moral development and is typically seen in young children though adults are also able to express this reasoning. In the first stage the individual sees rules as unchanging and absolute. Obeying the rules becomes a top priority because it is the only way to not be punished (Brans & Blu, 1998). The second stage of Level 1 is called Individualism and Exchange. Children begin to account for their own points of view. They also begin to judge actions based on intent as well as how the action serves the individual (Graham, et al., 2011). Reciprocity begins to be an option but only if the individual’s needs are also...
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...Kohlberg's Moral Development Crystal Bombay, Ruth A .Buissereth, Steven Odemns, Cherish Powell, and Steven Soranno October 26, 2015 Shawn Davis Kohlberg's Moral Development Today’s discussion will evaluate Kohlberg’s theory on moral development and also Carol Gilligan research on moral reasoning. The topic will first summarize the theory of moral development by psychology’s pioneer Lawrence Kohlberg. The discussion will also have a compelling view of three approaches by Kohlberg to help individuals understand moral development. The topic will also give an explanation of three of limitations of the Kohlberg’s theory and how they work in individual’s lives. The discussion will then give insight on Carol Gilligan and her research on gender differences with moral development and reasoning. This topic will bring delightful stimulations to the mind as there is an in-depth look gender differences in the approach of moral development and reasoning. Kohlberg’s theory Lawrence Kohlberg was a psychologist that extended Jean Piaget's theories. Kohlberg felt that moral development was a process that continues throughout an individual's lifespan. According to Reimer (1977), "Piaget's research dealt mostly with younger children. Kohlberg adopted Piaget's methodology and applied it to older children and adolescents" (p. 61). Kohlberg believed that there were six stages to moral development, within these stages they were classified into three different levels. The three...
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...company. Who is fighting for new contracts? Key Detail #2: Workers are upset about work wages, and stealing due to the situation of the company. Key Detail #3: Will informs his supervisor of the problems, but his supervisor ask him to stay quiet about it, and it’ll work itself out. Will doesn’t know what to do. Is it ethical, yes or no? No Why or why not? : Will should say something to upper management. For moral development, (right from wrong). The right thing to do is tell the truth. Being honest & loyal to his company he works for. And the fairness or equity of the company also known as Justice. He would only jeopardize his job, and put himself in a bad situation, if he lied about it. Also the company is losing money & going to be looking at more problems for property going missing, etc. Learning Goals 1) Describe Lawrence Kohlberg’s justice model of personal ethical development * Kohlberg’s therapy was based on justice, which is neutral fairness, or equity. It explains an understanding of the concept of justice standard in measuring a person’s moral maturity. It comes from 6 stages of...
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...Ethical Role of the Manager In a broad construction of the ethical role of the manager, managing and leading can be said to be inherently ethics-laden tasks because every managerial decision affects either people or the natural environment in some way—and those effects or impacts need to be taken into consideration as decisions are made. A narrower construction of the ethical role of the manager is that managers should serve only the interests of the shareholder; that is, their sole ethical task is to meet the fiduciary obligation to maximize shareholder wealth that is embedded in the law, predominantly that of the United States, although this point of view is increasingly accepted in other parts of the world. Even in this narrow view, however, although not always recognized explicitly, ethics are at the core of management practice. The ethical role of managers is broadened beyond fiduciary responsibility when consideration is given to the multiple stakeholders who constitute the organization being managed and to nature, on which human civilization depends for its survival. Business decisions affect both stakeholders and nature; therefore, a logical conclusion is that those decisions have ethical content inherently and that managerial decisions, behaviors, and actions are therefore inherently ethical in nature. Whenever there are impacts due to a decision, behavior, or action that a leader or manager makes, there are ethical aspects to that decision or situation. While some skeptics...
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...consequences of actions in terms of their duration, intensity, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity, and extent. This tool would not work in today’s society because happiness or pleasure as we know it would be difficult to measure on a numeric scale. There are two forms of utilitarians. Act utilitarians directly apply the principle of utility to each case as it arises. Rule utilitarians apply the principle of utility to general rules of action rather than to particular actions. Act and rule utilitarianism contain numerous flaws. They cannot predict the future. They can use life experiences to attempt to predict outcomes but there is no certainty that these predictions will come true. Utilitarianism is not always concerned with justice, beneficence or autonomy for an individual. In some instances it will be necessary to...
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...individuals’ relationships. Considering that law is connected with the political, economic, and societal worlds, it is regularly involved while pursuing social change. Social change is defined as the modifications in the manner in which individuals work, educate and oversee their children, raise their family, and search for life’s meaning.[3] In my opinion I agree to this statement that in considering the various applications and principles of justice, it can be said that the law, at its best, operates as an agent of change and, at its worst, serves as an instrument of coercion by social elites in society. For several decades, the society and law philosophers have strived hard with the aim of explicating the association between law and social change. The attempts have been made in the milieu of developing legal institutions. In this case, law is perceived as a dependent and independent variable influencing a society. The mutual dependence of law and social systems in a society are also stressed by philosophers. Individuals’ moral attitudes as well as their...
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...morality. Morality are the standards that an individual or group has about what is right and wrong, or good and evil. Moral norms can usually be expressed as general rules or statements, such as “Always tell the truth”. Moral values can usually be expressed as statements describing objects or features of objects that have worth, such as “Honesty is good” and “Injustice is bad”. Five characteristics can help pin down the nature of moral standards. 1. Moral standards deal with matters that we think can seriously injure or seriously benefit human beings. 2. Moral standards are not established or changed by the decisions of particular legislative bodies. 3. We feel that moral standards should be preferred to other values including (especially?) self-interest. 4. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations. – that is, a point of view that does not evaluate standards according to whether they advance the interests of a particular individual or group, but one that goes beyond personal interests to a “universal” standpoint in which everyone’s interests are impartially counted as equal. 5. Moral standards are associated with special emotions and a special vocabulary. Ethics is the discipline that examines one’s moral standards or the moral standards of a society. Ethics is the study of moral standards – the process of examining the moral standards of a...
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... Tiffany Easterling, Sandra Maxey, and Nakeia Trimble PSYCH/600 – Developmental Psychology October 5, 2014 Vicki Koenig Abstract How the development of morality in children develops has been a big question for parents and philosophers for decades. The issue of moral development has been and has become a hot topic within education and psychology. “One of the best known theories was developed by a psychologist named Lawrence Kohlberg who modified and expanded up Jean Piaget’s work to form a theory that explained how children develop moral reasoning” (Cherry, 2014). Moral development was described in two stages by Piaget. Kohlberg took those two stages described by Piaget and elaborated on them. The theory of moral development, which is described by Kohlberg, outlines three levels with six stages. Kohlberg believes that political liberalism “will not be replaced by a new ideology of the West but will continue to be its dominant ideology for the next century” (Crain, 1985). Kohlberg’s proposed moral development is a process that is continuous and occurs over the period of a person’s lifetime. “Furthermore, Kohlberg believes that the liberalistic concept of justice represents a higher conceptualization of justice in the same sense in which a higher developmental stage in morality represents a higher understanding of justice” (Crain, 1985). However, Carol Gilligan a well-known psychologist, ethicist, and feminist is against Kohlberg’s theories. “Through a review of...
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...morality. Morality are the standards that an individual or group has about what is right and wrong, or good and evil. Moral norms can usually be expressed as general rules or statements, such as “Always tell the truth”. Moral values can usually be expressed as statements describing objects or features of objects that have worth, such as “Honesty is good” and “Injustice is bad”. Five characteristics can help pin down the nature of moral standards. 1. Moral standards deal with matters that we think can seriously injure or seriously benefit human beings. 2. Moral standards are not established or changed by the decisions of particular legislative bodies. 3. We feel that moral standards should be preferred to other values including (especially?) self-interest. 4. Moral standards are based on impartial considerations. – that is, a point of view that does not evaluate standards according to whether they advance the interests of a particular individual or group, but one that goes beyond personal interests to a “universal” standpoint in which everyone’s interests are impartially counted as equal. 5. Moral standards are associated with special emotions and a special vocabulary. Ethics is the discipline that examines one’s moral standards or the moral standards of a society. Ethics is the study of moral standards – the process of examining the moral...
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...The dispute between Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan influenced the subject of moral development following Gilligan’s 1982 book, “In a Different Voice,” one of the first to question male-centered psychological research. The distinction between Kohlberg and Gilligan comes down to whether males and females define “morality” differently. Men focusing on justice concerns, according to Kohlberg, and females more focused on caring and relationship needs, according to Gilligan. Theories on how people grow morally became the center of attention of psychology when Jean Piaget first studied how people's reasoning and logical skills evolve throughout their lifetime. Kohlberg liked Piaget’s approach and his next step was to perform research studies in the 1960s, he used the concluding data to develop a model of six “universal” stages through which individuals develop morally. By the late 1970s, his representation of moral development was the dominant view. But females constantly achieved Stage 3 when tested with his model, while men constantly scored at Stages 4 and 5. Gilligan, an old- student of Kohlberg’s, observed that the research and data was based off of tests performed on boys only, and argued whether women were really “morally inferior,” as test scores suggested. So, putting together her own research, she created an alternative model. The dispute mainly focuses around Gilligan’s statement that female psychology and values, including how women come to define morality, contrast...
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...ETHICS ( MORAL PHILOSOPHY) Ethics , also called moral philosophy is the discipline concerned with what is morally good and bad , right and wrong. The term is applied to any system or theory of moral values and principles . It involves systematizing , defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong . Philosophers divide ethical theories into four different categories 1. Metaethics 2. Normative ethics 3. Agapeic ethics 4. Applied ethics 1. METAETHICS What does moral language mean ? Do moral facts exist ? How can we know whether moral judgments are true or false ? Metaethics is the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties , statements , attitudes and judgments . Two prominent issues of metaethics are : 1.1 Metaphysical Issues: Objectivism and Relativism Objectivism or other worldly views suggest that reality exists as an objective absolute – facts are facts, independent of man’s feelings , wishes , views or hopes. It holds that there is no fundamental contradiction between the free, abstract character of mental life and the physical body in which it resides . It holds it as undeniable that humans have free will, and opposes metaphysical determinism or fatalism. The metaphysical relativism is the claim that there are no absolutes in reality; epistemological is that there are no absolutes in knowledge; morality is the denial of moral absolutes; and religious is the clam that there is no true religion . Greek philosopher...
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...Introduction As a business it is essential to comply with the law, allowing the government to put in place regulations in which businesses may not be able to do harm to society, there are also some factors which may be of free choice or personal choice which businesses can also use. However as with their being a diverse gap between what the law requires of an organisation and the free/personal choice there is inevitably a ‘grey area’, this can be interpreted as ethics. Lewis (1985) described defining ethics will be like ‘nailing jello to a wall’ there by suggesting it is virtually impossible to pin point exactly what ethics truly is. There are many factors, which distinguish what is right, and wrong however they are decided predominantly by values and decisions of individuals, in this case managers. In order to comprehend the importance of ethics one must critically take into consideration all parties involved in the process of ethics and ethical decision-making. Why ethics is important for managers? Ethics is defined by the Oxford English dictionary to be ‘morally correct’ as well as Velasquez (2001) who has a similar definition of ethics, suggesting ethics as the ‘principles of conduct governing an individual or a group, it is the study of morality’. However it is difficult to pin point the exact definition of ethics as many authors and instructors have their own distinct meaning of the term ethics, Lewis (2008). In the face of it, it would seem it is a simple problem where...
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...‘How effective is Kohlberg’s stage theory of moral development in explaining moral reasoning and moral behaviour?’ Morality refers to the ‘principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour’ (Oxford dictionary, 2013). Moral development focuses on the way morality changes from childhood to adulthood. It consists of two things; moral reasoning and moral behaviour. Moral reasoning is when an individual tried to work out the difference between right and wrong by using logic. This is a process that is undertaken by people daily in their lives when faced with dilemmas and they need to make a decision based on the morality of the action and what the consequences could be. Moral behaviour is the way people can behave depending on their moral reasoning. Moral behaviour consists of four components; moral sensitivity, moral judgement, moral motivation and moral character. Many theories have been developed on moral development. These theories are based on an individual’s level of cognitive maturity. This essay focuses on Kohlberg’s theory of moral development, and aims to discuss how effective Kohlberg’s stage theory of moral development is, in explaining moral reasoning and moral behaviour. Kohlberg Developed the moral development theory based on Piaget’s theory. Piaget believed that moral development was only a two-staged theory; the first stage of his theory was common in childhood and was called the ‘Heteronomous’ stage. The general idea was...
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