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Midterm Activity – Heinz Dilemma
The Heinz Dilemma, created by Lawrence Kohlberg, is a test of maturity and moral
development throughout childhood and adolescence. Kohlberg’s Model of Moral Reasoning
consists of three levels and six stages. The first level, pre-morality as it is referred too, consists of
stage one and stage two. Stage one is obedience and punishment, there is no differentiation
between right versus wrong. Within this stage, the child avoids punishment whether they know
what is right or wrong. Stage two is self-interest in which the child is only concerned with what
is most beneficial to oneself. Level one typical happens between the ages of two and five. The
second level, conventional morality, consists of stages three and four. Stage three is interpersonal
relationships in which the child and/or adolescent makes an effort to earn the approval of and
maintain good relations with others. In this stage, the individual is more concerned about what
others think of them and don’t necessarily go against the “norms”. Stage four is authority and
social order. The child and/or adolescent is concerned about doing what is right and following
the law. It is their duty to maintain social order and follow the rules. Level two typically occurs
between ages six and twelve. Lastly is level three, post-conventional morality, which consist of
stage five and six. Stage five is social contract, the individual can recognize that laws and rules
can be broken given the situation. The individual chooses to do what is right even if it breaks the
law. Stage fives are typically teens ranging from ages thirteen to twenty. Lastly within the post-
conventional level is stage six. Kohlberg states that this is the highest stage of functioning and
that some individuals may never reach this stage. During this stage, the individual does what is
right based off their own ethical principles of conscience. It focuses on ideas such as equality,
dignity and respect. Although some may never reach this stage it typically occurs during
adulthood.
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Interviewing was an interesting process seeing the way people thought about and
answered these questions. Many of the individuals that I interviewed ended up being stage fives,
as suspected, but there were the occasional stage fours. Like suspected the thirteen-year-old
turned out to be a stage four. She possessed an authoritative-driven behavior with the belief that
we must obey the law whether we want to or not. The fifteen-year-old was a stage five because
although he knows stealing is bad, he would’ve still stolen the drug for the wife. He behaved
outside of the system for the better good. He understood the consequences of stealing, but a
loved-one’s life is more important. The eighteen-year-old ended up being a stage four
surprisingly. Much like the thirteen-year-old, she possessed an authoritative-driven behavior.
Helping others is important as long as they stay within the realm of morality and don’t break the
law. The nineteen-year-old was a stage five as she was able to break or defy the laws in order to
