Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development
Your moral reasoning isn't fixed - it actually develops through distinct stages as you mature. Kohlberg built on earlier theories from Freud (who focused on repressing selfish desires) and Piaget (who studied how children understand concepts like justice and fairness).
Kohlberg conducted a 12-year longitudinal study following 75 American boys aged 10-16 through to their late twenties. He wanted to prove that moral development happens gradually through six specific stages across three levels.
The boys were given hypothetical moral dilemmas - short stories presenting ethical conflicts they had to solve. For example, 10-year-olds were asked whether it's better to save one important person or lots of "unimportant" people, whilst older participants tackled mercy killing scenarios.
Key insight: Kohlberg also tested boys from Taiwan, Britain, Canada, Mexico and Turkey using similar moral dilemmas to see if moral development was universal across cultures.
