A student asked me if Kohlberg's stages were good at predicting moral behavior, as opposed to just reasoning. Can anyone help me with this one?
Well, yes and no. The classical ref on this is:
Blasi, A. (1980). Bridging moral cognition and moral action: A critical review of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 88(1), 1-45.
in which we find a review of the small to moderate correlations that K'berg stages have with behavior. So, the correlation is there, but nowhere as strong as one might hope. The newer versions of K'berg theory from folks who call themselves "neo-Kohlbergians" talk about 4 components of moral "ability": moral sensitivity, moral judgment, moral motivation, and moral implementation. The standard K'berg interview or J. Rest Defining Issues Test only measures (2), and 1 through 4 is needed to produced sustained moral behavior. See:
Rest, J., Narvaez, D., Bebeau, M., & Thoma, S (1999). A neo-Kohlbergian approach: The DIT and schema theory. Educational Psychology Review. Special Issue: Moral Development in Adolescents and Adults. 11(4), 291-324.
-Chuck -- - Chuck Huff Psychology Department - Professor & Chair St.Olaf College - http://www.stolaf.edu/people/huff/ 1520 St. Olaf Avenue - 507.646.3169 Fax: 646.3774 Northfield, MN 55057-1098
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