Discovering How is Moral Character Developed

Introduction

Life is all about the unlimited choices we make. In order to make a moral decision, one must consider this: What is my motive? Is the choice moral, amoral, or immoral? And does this choice follow what my values are? Whether they are big or small, every day we make decisions that can have an impact on our lives. Psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg formed what is known as the Six Stages of Moral Development as a way to allow a person to view what level of morality they are and learn how to make good choices in order to achieve the deep personal maturity and freedom, which is stage six. We should always do our best to try and make the right choices, but there is always the chance of making a mistake, and that is okay. This raises the question: how is moral character developed?

The Stages of Moral Character Development

I have made many decisions in my life. Many of them were right. Others were wrong, and the majority of the time I had to make decisions without giving them a second thought. A situation in which I had to make a choice between right and wrong took place during the final week of this past summer. I was staying at a friend’s cottage for a week along with the rest of my friend group. Throughout the week, we did what most teenagers who are left alone would do like going swimming in the lake until midnight, trekking the forest in the dark, burning our homework from the last semester and many other acts which could be seen as childish. Our reasoning behind all of this was because we wanted to make the most out of the week before school started again along with all the tests and stress that comes with it. By the end of the week on the last day there, I was dead tired from all the late nights and fun that we had together. I really wanted to fall asleep although a few of my friends, let's call them Joey and Jay, thought it would be a good idea to open up their parent’s liquor cabinet. It seemed that everyone, except myself, was on board with the idea. I was tired and I just wanted to sleep early for once. On the other hand, my friend Mya was unsure whether or not to stay up and drink, given the fact that (like myself) she was underage. This would be the first of many decisions that I would make that night.

It was evident that Mya was feeling uncomfortable because drinking underage was against what she valued. First, I decided to ask her if she wanted to tag along with me and just go to bed, but she said she still wanted to stay up. At that moment, two choices came to mind: go to sleep and leave Mya by herself or stay up and look out for her. I decided the right thing to do was to stay up with her so that she would not feel left out and that is exactly what I did. As the night progressed, I decided it would be best for me to go to sleep but Joey insisted that I stay and drink with them. It was obvious he wasn’t in his right mind, as was the rest of the group. Then their attention turned toward us and my next major decision was going to be made. When they began to pressure both Mya and I to drink, Mya just got up and left without me. I was confused and upset since I was obviously not comfortable with the situation, yet she still left me by myself. Just to satisfy my friends, I chose to drink with them and then afterward called it a night.

Consideration of Moral Motivation

That night, I was given many choices and had made many decisions that lead me to become the person I am today. I had already acquired a set of values and principles in my life. That being said, I chose to help Mya by staying with her because it would not be right to abandon a friend in a situation she is not comfortable in, especially a situation which involved alcohol being served to underage teens. This decision can be considered level four of moral development because I chose to protect my friend by upholding the law. If I was to end up going to sleep, my decision would be seen as a stage two morality, as I would only be satisfying my own needs and not considering the situation of those around me. My decision to ask Mya to just go to sleep with me is an example of a ‘quick-fix’ mentality. By this I mean, if Mya just went to bed I would not have to worry about her and I could get some rest, problem solved. This decision was made with the motive of my personal benefit and is what someone who is a level two would reason with. The next decision I made was whether or not to drink. My choices were to ignore the group and continue playing games or please the group by choosing to drink alcohol. Being left alone by Mya lowered my self-esteem and the pressure from my other friends added more stress for me. All of this factored in my decision which was to drink. This act is immoral as it goes against my own values of drinking alcohol underage. Choosing to drink with my friends rather than ignore them can be seen as a stage three of moral development. I chose to fall into peer pressure, conforming to what my friends believed were the standard ideas of appropriate behaviour for a teenager.

Looking back at that night, there could have been other ways for me to avoid drinking at all, for example, voicing my opinion at the beginning of the night that drinking unsupervised with underage teenagers in the room would be wrong. Doing so could have possibly persuaded my friends to think twice about their actions. Also, after reflecting on my decisions I came to the realization that my intention to help Mya was not really at the stage four of morality but rather a stage two. After Mya left me once we were being pressured, I was not upset by the fact that I was ditched by her, but the fact that I was expecting Mya to return the favor after I made my decision to look out for her. I was motivated by the thought, “You’ll scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” because my expectations from her was to be treated the same way. This way of thinking represents my low level of maturity, just like my decision to drink. Today, I feel that it was immature to consume alcohol and allow my friends to pressure me when the mature thing to do was to simply put my foot down and say no.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this assignment made me reflect on these two things: Who am I today? And with the decisions I make, who do I want to become? I am who I am today from the choices I have made. If I was given the chance to remake any past decisions, then I would be a completely different individual. The decisions I have made lead me to believe that I fall under the second stage of moral development - the “me first” stage. My thoughts and actions, whether I admit it or not, may have the motive of ‘personal benefit’. I am only human and mistakes can be made. As long as I learn from my mistakes and make better choices with that knowledge will I be able to move up in Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development. 

References

1. Kohlberg, Lawrence. 'The Philosophy of Moral Development: Moral Stages and the Idea of Justice.' Harper & Row, 1981.
2. Rest, James R. 'Development in Judging Moral Issues.' University of Minnesota, 1979.
3. Turiel, Elliot. 'The Development of Social Knowledge: Morality and Convention.' Cambridge University Press, 1983.
4. Damon, William, and Killen, Melanie. 'Children's Reasoning about Interpersonal and Moral Conflicts.' University of California Press, 1982.