fixed address

kohlberg's theory of moral development

This is night number two of no Ji. He's in Pakse with Phet visiting the fam. I haven't heard from them yet, so I can't offer factual updates on all the cool stuff he's doing with his cousins and aunties and uncles. But I can guess that it goes a little something like this: we went on the motorcycle! we went on the tuk tuk! we went in the truck! we ate noodles! then Pa bought us ice cream! then he played cards and I played video games! then I had a shower and Pa drank some beer! I woke up early but Pa slept in until lunch-time! I'll give all my readers 10 baht if I'm wrong on that one.

I'm used to Phet being out of town, so that's not too hard to deal with, but I've only spent maybe four nights in total away from Ji since he was born. Ok, maybe six nights if you count the trip to New Orleans. And we sleep in the same room still, so I'm used to hearing him rustling in his sleep and waking up demanding his Milo. I miss him alot when he's not around. Especially when I come across little projects he's had underway that I haven't noticed. Today I found some cool art that he'd done - he's really into cutting and pasting all manner of stuff. Like, one objet d'art was a (clean) mini plastic spoon glitter-glued to a deflated balloon. I also found his awesome comet creation in the guest bedroom - a balloon with pink ribbons taped onto it. Very cool. Ah, it's an odd thing, isn't it, that when Ji's around I sometimes just need five minutes of quiet, but when he's gone I miss and miss and miss him.

He turned the corner on being the spawn of hell that he was the week before last. He's still got his red hot fiery temper stoked, but he's been in a far better mood. Thank god. I thought the school was going to disown him. This week his teachers said he was fine...one teacher mentioned wearily that he was still really keen on playing boxing all the time, but the others (including the Chinese teacher who Ji sassed royally last week) all heaped on the praise.

Ji's going through a very interesting time where he seems to be giving a lot of thought as to why people can be bad. Like, bad as in villainous, not bad as in sassing the teacher. He's been asking about all the characters in the movies and stories he's seen, trying to find out what made the bad guys bad. It's a pretty damn good train of thought; in a fairy tale why are the bad guys bad? The girly stories are kind of dumb, really, in that respect. Cinderella? Jealousy. Snow White? Jealousy. The Little Mermaid? Jealousy. Rapunzel? Uh, Rapunzel's Mom ate the witch's rapini...and, uh, the witch was pissed. But Ji had a few excellent points. Why was the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk so bad? And what about the giant in Aladdin, why were his knickers in such a knot?

I seem to recall some kind of chart from OISE last year in our psych book that detailed at what age kids developed a moral understanding of their world, and when they gained a nuanced understanding that there are shades of grey in life. I might've even done a presentation on it. Hm, well, or someone in the class did one. Let's go to the internet and find out what I'm babbling about. (Pause for search). Ok, here we go, thanks to the University of Illinois:

Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg proposed that children form ways of thinking through their experiences which include understandings of moral concepts such as justice, rights, equality and human welfare. On the basis of his research, Kohlberg identified six stages of moral reasoning grouped into three major levels. Each level represented a fundamental shift in the social-moral perspective of the individual.

At the first level, the preconventional level, a person's moral judgments are characterized by a concrete, individual perspective. Within this level, a Stage 1 heteronomous orientation focuses on avoiding breaking rules that are backed by punishment, obedience for its own sake and avoiding the physical consequences of an action to persons and property. The reasoning of Stage 1 is characterized by ego-centrism and the inability to consider the perspectives of others. At Stage 2 there is the early emergence of moral reciprocity. The Stage 2 orientation focuses on the instrumental, pragmatic value of an action. Reciprocity is of the form, "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours." The Golden Rule becomes, "If someone hits you, you hit them back."

Individuals at Stage 3 are aware of shared feelings, agreements, and expectations which take primacy over individual interests. Persons at Stage 3 define what is right in terms of what is expected by people close to one's self, and in terms of the stereotypic roles that define being good - e.g., a good brother, mother, teacher. Being good means keeping mutual relationships, such as trust, loyalty, respect, and gratitude. The perspective is that of the local community or family. There is not as yet a consideration of the generalized social system.

Stage 4 marks the shift from defining what is right in terms of local norms and role expectations to defining right in terms of the laws and norms established by the larger social system.

Finally, the post conventional level is characterized in Stages 5 and 6 by reasoning based on principles, using a "prior to society" perspective. These individuals reason based on the principles which underlie rules and norms, but reject a uniform application of a rule or norm.

So where is Ji at on this spectrum? I'd say he's bucking against Stage 1. He told me the other night he planned to run away from home because he's tired of following our rules. He is solidly enjoying an extended visit to Stage 2. 'Hit me and I hit you back' could be the mantra for him and his rugrat classmates. Or they might modify it slightly to be the even more forceful 'do nothing and I will still hit you'. And while Ji is apparently aware of society's norms, he is saucily teen-like in his interest in flouting expectations (ex: touching teachers' boobs, licking his desk, selecting designs for his first tattoo).

All this combined with his deep fascination with the source and root of evil, and concern about combating evil makes me think that Kohlberg should've inserted a Stage 2b, which I propose whould be called the 'Introspective Hulk' stage. In the 'Introspective Hulk' stage, the child values his family and his friends, but feels he is being pressured by society to conform. The child at this stage grows fierce when his wishes are not fulfilled. Faced with being told 'no', the child's anger will grow to giagantic proportions and he will lash out at those closest to him with great force and fury. However, when calm, the child struggles to understand his moral universe. He attempts to learn the reasons why people cause harm to others. Children at Stage 2b may attempt to create a sense of control over their lives by engaging in imaginative play in which they take on the role of superheroes. Parents who are living with a child at Stage 2b should consider enlisting the help of the military in dealing with their offspring, and are advised to relocate their child to a several-miles-below-ground top secret lab where the child can be placed in a restraining harness. Or parents can just send their kids off to visit their relatives in a nearby country so as to facilitate entry of the parents into Stage 6c of Parental Development: 'Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder'. [Ji Hong-17-July-2005]