Page 102 - Communication and the Evolution of Society

79 Moral Development and Ego Identity

from a point of view accepted as capable of consensus—the point of
view, let us say, of a good and just life;
Entail sanctions in case of failure (punishment, shame, or guilt).
(Compare Kohlberg’s definitions of the stages of moral consciousness
in Schema 1b. As Schema 2 shows, different sanctions and domains of
validity correspond to these stages. )
Schema 1b. Definition of Moral Stages

J. Preconventional level
At this level the child is responsive to cultural rules and labels of good
and bad, right or wrong, but interprets these labels in terms of either
the physical or the hedonistic consequences of action (punishment,
reward, exchange of favors), or in terms of the physical power of
those who enunciate the rules and labels. The level is divided into the
following two stages:

Stage 1: The punishment and obedience orientation. The physical con-
sequences of action determine its goodness or badness regardless of the
human meaning or value of these consequences. Avoidance of punish-
ment and unquestioning deference to power are valued in their own
right, not in terms of respect for an underlying moral order supported
by punishment and authority (the latter being stage 4).
Stage 2: The instrumental relativist orientation. Right action consists
of that which instrumentally satisfies one’s own needs and occasionally
the needs of others. Human relations are viewed in terms like those of
the market place. Elements of fairness, of reciprocity, and of equal
sharing are present, but they are always interpreted in a physical prag-
matic way. Reciprocity is a matter of »you scratch my back and I'll
scratch yours«, not of loyalty, gratitude, or justice.
L
II. Conventional level
At this level, maintaining the expectations of the individual’s family,
group, or nation is perceived as valuable in its own right, regardless
of immediate and obvious consequences. The attitude is not only one
of conformity to personal expectations and social order, but of loyalty
to it, of actively maintaining, supporting, and justifying the order, and
of identifying with the persons or group involved in it. At this level,
there are the following two stages:
Stage 3: The interpersonal concordance or “good boy-nice girl’ ori-
entation. Good behavior is that which pleases or helps others and is