Standard issue moral judgment interview

From Psy3241


The standard issue moral judgment interview was developed in 1958 by Lawerence Kohlberg.

During the moral judgment interview the interviewer uses moral dilemmas to determine which

stage of moral reasoning a person uses. The dilemmas are fictional short stories that describe

situations in which a person has to make a moral decision. Kohlberg believes that the

justifaction for the answer given by the participant is most important. The standard issue moral

judgment interview has six stages. The preconventional level which is most common in children.

The preconventional level judges the morality of an action by its direct consequences stage one

obedience and punishment orientation-how to avoid punishment and stage two self-interest

orientation-what's in it for me. The conventional level is typical in adolescents and adults.

Stage three interpersonal accord and conformity-the individual tries to be a good boy or a good

girl and stage four authority and social order obedience-importance to obey laws to maintain

society. The post conventional stage is also known as the principle level. Stage five social

context driven-realization that individuals have different opinions and values and stage six

universal ethical principles-reasoning is based on abstract reasoning.

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