CRITICISM'S OF KOHLBERG'S THEORY (Woolfolk, 1993)

Moral development may not occur automatically in stages.

This development may be more related to the rewarding or punishing of a child for certain behavior. The home environment, according to some psychologists, may be more closely related to moral development than a natural progression of stages.

Is MORAL REASONING the same thing as MORAL BEHAVIOR?

For example, a person may say he will do something when given a moral dilemma. Will that person behave in a way that is consistent with what he says in a real life dilemma?

Reliability of Kohlberg's testing.

Will a child evaluated one day by a particular researcher be assessed at the same moral level a few days later by a different researcher?

The validity of Kohlberg's model in terms of the decision the person makes based on the moral dilemmas.

Critics question the fact that whatever solution a person picks is okay, as long as the person can base his/her solution on reasons. Basically, critics wonder if the reasoning a person uses should be enough. "Doesn't the answer have anything to do with the stage of development, instead of just the reasoning?"

Kohlberg is biased against women.

This challenge is due to the fact that Kohlberg doesn't take into account the differences between men and women. For example, women are more likely to base their explanations for moral dilemmas on concepts such as caring and personal relationships. These concepts are likely to be scored at the stage three level. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to base their decisions for moral dilemmas on justice and equity. Those concepts are likely to be scored at stage five or six.