Summary of Kohlberg

At stage 1 children think of what is right as that which authority says is right. Doing the right thing is obeying authority and avoiding punishment.

At stage 2, children are no longer so impressed by any single authority; they see that there are different sides to any issue. Since everything is relative, one is free to pursue one's own interests, although it is often useful to make deals and exchange favors with others.

At stages 3 and 4, young people think as members of the conventional society with its values, norms, and expectations.

At stage 3, they emphasize being a good person, which basically means having helpful motives toward people close to one

At stage 4, the concern shifts toward obeying laws to maintain society as a whole.

At stages 5 and 6 people are less concerned with maintaining society for it own sake, and more concerned with the principles and values that make for a good society.

At stage 5 they emphasize basic rights and the democratic processes that give everyone a say.

At stage 6 they define the principles by which agreement will be most just.

W.C. Crain. (1985). Theories of Development. Prentice-Hall. pp. 118-136.

http://faculty.plts.edu/gpence/html/kohlberg.htm

Criticisms - Cultural

How would Kohlberg's stages apply to the great Eastern philosophies?

Or to moral development in many traditional village cultures?

Criticisms - Gender

For males, advanced moral thought revolves around rules, rights, and abstract principles. The ideal is formal justice, in which all parties evaluate one another's claims in an impartial manner.

Carol Gilligan

For women, morality centers not on rights and rules but on interpersonal relationships and the ethics of compassion and care.

The ideal is not impersonal justice but more affirmative ways of living. Women's morality is more contextualized, tied to real, ongoing relationships rather than abstract solutions to hypothetical dilemmas.

Criticisms -- Conceptual

Some psychologists argue that stage theories are simplistic and don’t adequately capture how people learn and develop

Missing white woman syndrome

What does this refer to?

Brianna Denison, Leslie Mazzara

City of Reno Missing Persons

City of Reno – Missing Persons

Jessica Lynch

“I am still confused as to why they chose to lie and tried to make me a legend when the real heroics of my fellow soldiers that day were, in fact, legendary. People like Lori Piestewa and First Sergeant Dowdy who picked up fellow soldiers in harm's way. Or people like Patrick Miller and Sergeant Donald Walters who actually fought until the very end. The bottom line is the American people are capable of determining their own ideals of heroes and they don't need to be told elaborate tales.”

The Fault Lines concept was conceived by Robert C. Maynard. It is based on the notion that we as a nation are split along the five Fault Lines of race, class, gender, geography and generation. Maynard believed that in order to bridge these Fault Lines, journalists must not only admit they exist but also learn to talk, report and write across them. Acknowledging Fault Lines compels us as journalists to seek out those who present a range of views on an issue.

"This country cannot be the country we want it to be, if its story is told by only one group of citizens. Our goal is to give all Americans front-door access to the truth."

Fault Lines Perspectives -- Yours, and Your Sources'

Race/Ethnicity: Your race or your ethnicity influences your view of events.

Gender: Your gender or sexual orientation affects your view of events.

Generation: When you grew up affects your view of events.

Class: Financial circumstances influence perspectives.

Geography: Where you're from can shape how you see events.

'We don't have to resolve our differences,’ We can agree to disagree....

'The most important part is keeping our eyes on the master metaphor of the Fault Line. The society is split along five faults, and we try in vain to paper them over, fill them in or pretend they aren't there. (These) underlying forces, like those in the center of the earth, will thwart us until we come to see our differences as deep but completely natural things, as natural as geographic fault lines.'

'It's no wonder that we're not accurately reflecting our communities. We haven't had a way of talking about it so we can get that coverage into the newsroom.

The Fault Lines framework can take some of the charge out of these difficult conversations, reminding us that it is natural to see things from our own point of view.

'Instead of saying, 'What do you mean you don't see my point? People have learned to say, 'I think we have a Fault Line here,' which gives the other person a chance to think about it without getting defensive.’

Dori Maynard

Stereotypes

Old people are…

Teenagers are…

Men in college are…

Women in college are…

Conservatives are…

Liberals are…

Nevadans are…