Video Transcript: Kohlberg Development

Mommy, mommy. Look, there's the man. He's stealing the that that cart over  there. Why is he doing that? Oh, it's okay, honey. His wife needs it. It'll be all  right. He needs to put something on there to take something from the kitchen  

over to the room, but mommy, he's taken it's not his cart. So goes the  observation of Dr Lawrence Kohlberg and the eyes of a child come the  understandings of morality and ethics, what is right, what is wrong. How does it  all begin? Where does this come from now, of course, as you look at this whole  area and topic today of morality. Morality has to do with as what Dr Kohlberg will say, having do with our development, our development now, of course, Kohlberg is not presenting this from a Christian worldview, a biblical worldview, but he is  coming from a scientific worldview, completely empirical, and from the basis of  saying, Okay, what do we observe? How are we measuring this? What does the  child say, or the adult say? And the relationship between those two and the  relationship of what they then are evaluating to the relationship to others who  are doing the moral or immoral act. Where does the moral compass come from? How does this work? Well, Dr Kohlberg asked these questions. He was trying to  figure this out in the 20th century. Of course, prior to him, as we looked at the  history of psychology, we looked at Freud, we looked at Carl Jung as well as  Carl Rogers, and now today we also look at Kohlberg as we go from  understanding the conscious and the unconscious to then being what is  conscious and also what is applied. However, at this point we're going to talk  about are the theory, the theories, if you will, of what Dr Kohlberg was trying to  tell us, what he was observing from these observational experiments and  therefore hypotheses. Now from there, we can then take it and apply to other  practical examples, which we'll hear in a minute. But back to Kohlberg. What did he teach? What was he all about? Kohlberg talked about the fact that people go  from their childhood years through their adult years, through this process of  becoming moral, moral. Now we would look at this and say, Well, you train up a  child as he ought to go. You look toward scripture. And the Bible talks about this  as it applies to children, especially in the book of Proverbs, how my son Take,  take heed to my teaching. Wisdom is the is the the Start Here, the fear of the  Lord is the beginning of wisdom and so on. And we read about children and  parenting the book of Ephesians and also the other epistles, as Paul instructs  his church members. So there's definitely a point of reference when it comes to  the 10, commandments and also other instructions for the Bible that are from  God. However, Dr Kohlberg and others like him help us to put more say modern  understandings and also framework to the absolute of Scripture, as they give us  the absolute of Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, Honor thy  father and mother. The still comes through Colbert, of course, coming from, from what we can tell, a non biblical worldview is trying to help the modern world  better understand morality as we see it, of course, classically, we look at  morality and ethics from a mythological standpoint, because it all has come 

through story. Different cultures have different stories. For example, as we look  at the culture of the Greeks, what goes on with Zeus Hera, and also the other  gods and goddesses and their stories, the ancient people were saying, well,  once upon a time, Zeus did this, and Hera did that. And we look at the whole  thing of how there was conflict between the gods, and they fought each other,  and one god begot another god and and they were trying to figure this out. And  from there they came, became the whole genesis, if you will, of morality,  understanding what was right and wrong based upon these stories that were  done by oral tradition. Now, the same way Kohlberg, well before we get to  Kohlberg, in the same way, God gave the story, gave the absolutes, the truth  through Moses, prior to Moses, Abraham, and of course, God speaking to the  people directly before the flood, as applied to Adam and Eve still even after the  fall, and also With Cain and Abel. And those examples, those stories that we  read about in Genesis with the patriarchs, so God taught them. And eventually,  when Moses came and there was the Exodus Out of Egypt, we then see the  whole development of morality and also ethics. When it comes to God teaching  the people at Sinai and in the desert the 10 Commandments, Levitical laws and  so forth, God put the law into place to tell the people to help the people to  understand how to follow this almighty, all powerful, all righteous, God that they  could not see. Well, of course, fast forward now to the 20th century, and you  have those who don't know who God is. And I'm sure Dr Colbert knew who God  was, but we don't know where he was at spiritually, honestly, we only know his  theories and his ideas personally. We don't. So based upon this, we then learn  from Kohlberg, and can then point back to scripture of how we can understand  it. Now, after we talk about Kohlberg's idea today, or ideas we're going to talk  about Dr Fowler's theories about faith development, who is a believer who did  bring things into place from a biblical worldview? Well, let's get back to  Kohlberg. Kohlberg talked about morality. He talked about ethics from the early  ages, childhood on into adulthood. Here's how it worked. The Theory of Moral  development begins with the pre conventional stage level one, if you will, kids  who are younger than six years old, and this first step, they see punishment and obedience orientation, they that's what they're being conditioned through. Hence classical conditioning. There's the whole again concept, as Pavlov would show  us how there, if you do touch the hot oven, oh child, then you will get burned.  And there's also, not only hurt in that way. But also, if mom tells you not to touch the hot oven, then and you do touch the hot oven, then that, in fact, is  disobedience. So punishment and obedience is a big part of the childhood. And  this is quite obvious self exclamatory, but Kohlberg notes this in his empirical  observations of how children and therefore human beings begin their formal or  formalizing of morality, because then there's obeying the rules to avoid  punishment. Well, if I, if I, mom says, Don't touch the oven. That's hot because  there's chicken baking in there, because the child has there just not much of a 

connection there. Oh, there's chicken in there. It's it's baking, and they can smell it. But boy, does that look interesting. And I wonder if, when I touch it, what  would happen? Or wonder if I would touch the hot light bulb, what would  happen? Because now LED light bulbs, Hey, that's not such a problem anymore. I don't know I haven't touched an LED light bulb lately when it's on, but those old light bulbs that would that would burn, and then touching that light bulb that's  been on for hours could burn that finger. And mom says, Don't touch light bulb.  Don't touch the stove. You'll get burned, and I care for you as mom, I care for  you, so don't touch it. So then it becomes, then an expectation, as well as a  command, a mandate. And children, of course, look to their parents as we look  to God. So in their minds, this is God saying, Don't do it. And if you do, there is  punishment. And of course, the child does go up and touch the so Ow. Now for  some parents, they say, well, that's punishment enough. Other parents say, I  told you not to go to your room. Punishment. There's a consequence. Don't  touch the stove, don't cross the street. Look both ways, but if you don't, of  course, God forbid, don't get hit by a car. Kohlberg observed this. Kohlberg  formalized and put into a system, how morality then begins to develop. See in  step two, then, of course, we look at this naive hedonism that is conform,  conforms to get rewards, or conforms get rewards and to have favors returned.  So in this step two, we're not even adolescents yet, but in this formative stage,  the child is saying, well, it's just all about me and mom, because there sense of  as really for Piaget and of course, from other theorists, the need to feel secure.  Eric Erickson, of course, looks at this too, to feel secure. I'm at home. Mom is  here. I'm good. I'm bonding with mom and dad. Of course, dad, as the child  learns, goes out to work. And of course, in our day and age, mom goes out to  work too. So there's the nanny, or there is the babysitter, or there's grandma. I'm here with those who care about me, and therefore I feel secure so I can then.  But there's also what I need, if I want a cookie and get a cookie, if I want to  watch television. I can watch television or or watch a video on on the laptop. I  can watch a video laptop with my juice box. Okay? The naivete is, everything is  okay, when it might not be. But the point is, I'm in a secure place. The child  thinks. Naivete, hedonism, quite a strong word. But Kohlberg uses this to  underscore the fact that children need to know, or children are rather than that  place where they need to know that it's okay to talk about themselves, and also  that they have expectations of getting the cookie, having lunch, eating, eating all that they want, maybe, and it's all about me and that, and also the fact that's  more narcissistic, if you will, but, but more the thing of hedonism that I can, I can have, I can, you know, have what I want to Drink. I can have different things. I  have privilege because I'm at home, and eventually there's preschool. And at  preschool, I get, if I do what the teacher says, I get a reward. Oh, all these great  things. This is what I have to play. Oh, this is great. Hence a sense of hedonism, as opposed to the adult version of hedonism, where, of course, eat, drink, for 

tomorrow we die to excess for the child to excess is within the limits of what the  babysitter or the mother or the grandmother the caretaker is there to then put on that child so child a doesn't get sick. And two, the child is safe because the adult knows that they are accountable to another adult, saying, Well, what did you do? 

What did you do with little Johnny? Now, little Sue, Little Susie, she you know  what? She did? Did she have her medicine at 10 o'clock today for the child's  concerned. I'm home. I'm having a good time. I'm watching TV. I'm having my  cookie. Naivete and hedonism, but then conforming to get rewards and to have  favors returned. If I do what my caretaker says, I get the cookie. If I do what my  caretaker says, I can watch more television and watch my favorite shows. But if  I don't do what the caretaker says, If I don't do what mom says, then things are  taken away. I don't want that. I like the pleasure, the pleasure of watching the TV show, whichever the popular TV show is for kids these days, it changes every  day. It seems you get the idea level one, level two now, or step two and step  one, step three, which is go, falls into level two, or the conventional level with  Kohlberg, ranges from age seven to age 11. Now we're into first grade, primary  school, almost to that teenage year or the teenage level, but not quite more into  the middle school, pre Middle School stage here, step three, good boy, good girl. Morality, in other words, to conform, to avoid disapproval or dislike by others. So am I accepted by my peers? Am I accepted by my teacher? Am I okay if I  conform to the rules there are, I'm okay and I'm accepted. That is a value that  now that has come into the child's psyche to where they are thinking, Okay, if I  do what I'm I'm expected of doing, and I'm not naughty. If I am, if I do conform,  then I'll get the reward. I'll get the atta boy atta girl, good boy, good girl. Oh,  you're such a good boy. You're such a good girl. I feel so good about myself. I  will then do more moral things and conform and do what the rules say. Hence,  conversely, bad girl, bad boy. And there's the negative, what sometimes, of  course, we observe there too. It can that can also perpetuate rebellion and  perpetuate a boy or a girl between age 7-11 it's like if they mess up or whatever.  Now we get into the area of, well, I don't feel secure. I don't feel my needs are  met. Me. There's neglect, but if I act out negatively, I might get the attention that  I need genuinely and in a valid way, but they misbehave, and they are immoral  to gain that attention and perceived acceptance. However, here to stick to  Kohlberg's steps. Step three has more to do with that. If as the child conforms,  then there is, of course, the reward verbally and also mentally, emotionally and  psychologically, step four says, and of course, this is the latter part right into age 11, into age 12. Almost not quite. Step Four conforms to avoid censure by  authorities. So if I do what I'm told, I can then be heard, so I can tell my story  about what happened in the playground. And did you know? And I saw this, but  if I misbehave, if I disobey, then the adult in my life, adults, plural in my life, they  don't want to listen. They're more about go to your room. I don't listen to that.  Talk to the hand. You're such a bad boy, such a bad girl. I'll listen to you go 

away. Which then translates into non acceptance, rejection and a sense of  insecurity. Kohlberg took a lot of time to give attention to this, but also in the  context of the development of the moral code, or morality in the psyche of  human beings, regardless of gender. For morality transcends gender however. It is, of course, acted out. It is played out different ways, whether it's a boy or a  girl. So step one, step two, and then step three and four, we're looking at the  conformity ages. Good boy, good girl, huh? And then I won't be shut down by  the authorities if I conform to the rules. And then, if I know I'm a good boy good  girl, then I know I can get far in my life and in my relationships, maybe even the  point of manipulation, of course, the negative side, or to the whole thing of I  know and begin to get a sense of who I am. But then come the adolescent years of what I like to call the mental health years, mentally ill years, for some of us,  because there's a whole thing of differentiation and becoming my own person,  starting age 13, and for some even age 12, going out into 13, 14, and so on,  because developmentally makes sense. How can you become an adult? If you  do not differentiate from your parents, if you do not differentiate from your  parents, become your own identity, your own person, then you will have a harder time becoming your own adult, your own person. Kohlberg, Kohlberg saw this as well. He said, Yeah, I I see that there's a shift, a change as an objective  empiricist, an objective scientist. He says, okay, and now I'm seeing that these  12, 13, 14, year olds on up, they conform to maintain, as opposed to the child  conform, maintain communities with an emphasis on individual rights. Let's  unpack this first conforming to maintain communities communities as I conform  to maintain communities, then I conform to what is helpful, to be a part of the  community and not to feel rejected, as we know when it comes to teenagers,  what's the big deal? They want to feel that they're in with the in crowd. What's  the worry of a parent? And I'm a parent of a 16 year old, I understand the worry  the parent is, does my still child in my mind, of course, in the mind of the  adolescent, I'm becoming an adult here. I'm becoming more independent. That's good. Hopefully they are. How is that happening? If they conform to the rules so  they begin to understand that they'll begin to fit in and get ahead and be able to  build on who they really are, and that there are rewards if they conform and  obey the rules from Kohlberg's observations, of course, in this system. But more importantly, as we look at the conformity, that also is the emphasis individual  emphasis on individual rights. I become my own person, says the adolescent I  need to then, still, though I have a right to be me, I'm not going to be what my  mom expects of me now all the time, or my dad expects of me all the time, and  they they do not, you know, it's something else that's going to begin to define  me, my relationships with my friends, the My pursuits, as far as my goals in life,  least I have some sense of goals. Not all teenagers do. Of course, they're more  into the moment. Anyway, as you know, having fun with the friends, that's really  the big deal. As far as community, although they're wondering about college, 

university and and what do I do beyond high school? At the same time  simultaneously, I'm in high school and or middle school, high school, and they're in front of my friends. That's all I care about. And if I'm going to drive a car, for  instance, well then I can either get a job at the fast food place or at the grocery  store or so I can pay for the gasoline that's needed, and also the repairs for the  car. That's really where they're at at the moment. But some teenagers are  thinking ahead and then begin to realize that, oh, if I arrived at my job on time, I  value the work that I'm doing there. I take it seriously, as opposed to not  seriously. And of course, it's up and down with this. We know this biologically,  the frontal lobe is just trying to grow even more and and they become  teenagers, become moody, and it's up and down, thing, hit and miss.  Sometimes they don't show up to the work, and they get fired, and they need to  then look for a different job, and they're wondering, who am I? What does it all  mean? These questions? Of course, those are questions that carry on to  adulthood, if they don't have a healthy sense of grounding and also. Point of  reference and foundation when it comes to family of origin. So with Kohlberg,  he's saying, what we notice and know about teenagers is that when they  conform to the rules, there is then a sense of community, a connection to  community. However, there are teenagers that do conform to the rules, and they  end up still isolating from community, probably because of temperament and  who they are, and this whole thing of isolation, maybe, and you just don't  understand, hence differentiation, is still trying to figure out, who am I, but the  overall arc is, if I conform, I belong. Kohlberg solved this, and also individual  rights begin to get stronger, leading up to age 18, 19, 20. into the 20s on into  adulthood. The person then says, I am individual principles of conscience.  Conscience and individual principles of conscience have to do with the fact that  the adult now is saying, I now understand that I conform and I obey the rules.  This is good, but now I understand who I am, and also I have other principles  now, because of my positive and negative experiences when it comes to justice, for example, when it comes to a male who wants to protect a female, and he'll  do anything to bring justice to the situation, sometimes he'll break the rules to  bring justice to protect the woman. Hence the example, or with example, the  female, as you read about in your textbook, the females is want to care. They  want females tend to want to care and help others. It states and based on that,  then there's this thing about principles, where, if I can help and care for that child or for these people, that principle that value is higher than always trying to keep  the rule. Hence, we have this phenomena of policy over people, or people over  policy. Some in their adulthood, at this stage, will say, Well, I care more about  the people than the policy. For instance, the policy may say that there's that we  then have a trash can at every single door everywhere, and it's in a certain spot  as and there are 24/7 in the building. However, there are people who are are not aware of this, and they and they're always looking for and so on. But so I'm 

gonna move that the trash cans to other, other places and not and to that break  the policy, I'll add more trash cans in the building, because people are always  looking for them for some reason. Hence, there's a need to change this, but, but  if others, they know the policy has got the trash cans in these certain places in  the building period, do not add or subtract. Whereas you may have a female  who is working at the organization says, No, I care about people too much and  their health and safety and wellness, I'm gonna provide more trash cans and  make sure there are trash cans in all the rooms, not just some, but all. You get  the idea, policy people, people over policy and vice versa. Kohlberg began to  see that when it comes to adults, there are principles that they will inhabit, and a lot of it comes from family of origin, again, going back to the step one through  step five, because with some families of origin, there's abuse, neglect. There's  also inconsistency when it comes to rule making and rule keeping, or there's  really no sense of of of belonging. There's a disconnect, lot of different issues,  complicated, however, what we do understand is that every person takes what  they have from family of origin and carries on into their adulthood, and then  translates into what principles they have then developed for themselves, as the  male, as the female, as a community, and by God's grace, we see more and  more God's common grace upon community in general. I hope that's the case  for your community. Of course, there's a lot of people who a lot of strange ideas  and strange principles. By God's grace, there are principles that do make sense, and hopefully, where there are truly again, given the biblical context and biblical  worldview, more principles being carried out that are compliant with the Bible.  We keep praying, we keep going. Kohlberg, of course, gives us a framework for  the process or the and also the stages of how morality, then it developed in  human beings overall. The next video, we're going to talk about Kohlberg in  more detail, because what Kohlberg does, excuse me, not Kohlberg but Fowler.  Take Kohlberg into Fowler. Kohlberg talks about morality and in general, how it  all builds. Fowler takes what Kohlberg has done, and he says, This is how now  we can apply his theory to understand how faith is developed in a Christian  person, and we'll have a good time in understanding how that then develops  based on Fowler's ideas. And hopefully help you to better understand how to  help others in your ministry, as we apply the gift of psychology, you.