Kohlberg's theory of moral development presents three levels with two stages each of moral reasoning. The reason or motive for the behavior of an individual is what defines each stage (Crain, 1985). In order to come up with this developmental theory Kohlberg carried out studies using various dilemmas and finding out how the subjects responded. His main interest in the process is not a "yes" or "no" said by the subject but rather the reasoning behind the answer. This way he was able to demonstrate that people's moral reasoning progressed through a series of stages as discussed hereunder:

The first level is referred to as the "pre-conventional moral reasoning" and is typically related to children of about the age of 10 years. At this stage the individual does not internalize morals and the reasoning is externally influenced (Jeremy et al., 2000). The individual categorizes an act as good or bad...
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