Critical Response

Critiques of Kohlberg's stage theory

Many of Kohlberg's critics have pointed to what they regard as weaknesses in his stage theory of moral development. Some of these concern the number of stages. As was noted earlier, the existence of Kohlberg's sixth stage was questioned by researchers who could not find subjects who seemed to have attained it. In addition, Kohlberg's eventual hypothesis of a seventh stage of moral development, which he called a "soft stage," represented a later modification of his original position.

Other critics question the interrelationship among the stages. Kohlberg's early work described the stages as "hard," in the sense that the stages were not only sequential but relatively separate from one another; that is, people would generally function in all areas of moral...