Question

Mr. Duran spends extra time with his 8-year-old son Michael because he is concerned that Michael is not transitioning well to his new school. Recently Mr. Duran noticed that his other son, Joseph, was becoming jealous of the time his dad spends with Michael. Mr. Duran is not too concerned at this point because he knows that 6-year-old Joseph’s moral reasoning skills will expand. Considering Joseph’s judgment of his dad’s behavior, Joseph is probably at what level of moral reasoning?

Answer 1

According to Kohlbergs stages of moral reasoning, Joseph is at stage 3, that states conventional moral reasoning while the substage is family and group. This level states that being moral is creating or nurturing long term relationships among groups and families.

Here Joseph is child and for him, morally he should get equal time being the son as far his moral compass is matured. He measures his level of relationship with his father through this moral compass and might take it longterm.

Answer 2

Joseph may be at the equality level of moral reasoning. His jealousy is based on the thought that he deserves the same attention and treatment from his father than his older brother Michael.