Hierarchical structure of moral stages assessed by a sorting task

Following criticism of Kohlberg's theory of moral judgment, an empirical re -examination of hierarchical stage structure was desirable. Utilizing Piage t's concept of reflective abstraction as a basis, the hierarchical stage st ructure was investigated using a new method. Study participants (553 Dutch university students and 196 Russian high school students) sorted statements in terms of moral sophistication. These statements were typical for the di fferent stages of moral development as defined in Colby and Kohlberg. The r ank ordering performed by participants confirmed the hypotheses. First, des pite large individual variation, the ordering of the statements that gave t he best fit revealed that each consecutive Kohlbergian stage was perceived to be more morally sophisticated. Second, the lower the stage as represente d by the items, the higher the agreement among the participants in their ra nking; and the higher the stage as represented by the items, the lower the agreement among the participants in the rankings. Moreover, the pivotal poi nt depended on the developmental characteristics of the sample, which demon strated a developmental effect: The ordering of statements representative o f moral stages below one's own current stage was straightforward, whereas t he ordering of statements above one's own stage was difficult. It was concl uded that the Piagetian idea of reflective abstraction can be used successf ully to operationalize and measure the hierarchical nature of moral develop ment.