Question

multiple choice question

in which of the following ways did kohlberg formulate his theory of moral development?

he did correlational research.
he interviewed people and gave them theoretical moral dilemmas to solve.
he performed natural observation.
he did experimental research on a large group of children and studied their moral preferences.

Explanation:

Identify Kohlberg's methodology

Lawrence Kohlberg formulated his stages of moral development by presenting participants with hypothetical moral scenarios. The most famous of these is the "Heinz Dilemma," where a husband must decide whether to steal an unaffordable drug to save his dying wife.

Analyze the research process

Using the Kohlberg Moral Development knowledge point, we look at how he gathered data. Kohlberg interviewed children, adolescents, and adults, asking them what the characters in these theoretical dilemmas should do and, crucially, why they should do it. He classified their reasoning rather than their specific choices.

Evaluate the given options

• Option 1: "He did correlational research." This is incorrect; while correlations can be drawn, his primary formulation was not based on correlational survey designs.
• Option 2: "He interviewed people and gave them theoretical moral dilemmas to solve." This perfectly describes his clinical interview method using hypothetical dilemmas.
• Option 3: "He performed natural observation." This is incorrect; he actively presented structured scenarios rather than observing natural behavior.
• Option 4: "He did experimental research on a large group of children and studied their moral preferences." This is incorrect; he did not manipulate independent variables in a controlled experimental setup to observe changes in preferences.

Answer:

• He did correlational research.
• He interviewed people and gave them theoretical moral dilemmas to solve. (Correct answer)
• He performed natural observation.
• He did experimental research on a large group of children and studied their moral preferences.