This assignment requires that you locate an individual not associated with this course to interview. During the interview, you will present the interviewee with the Heinz dilemma, made famous by Kohlberg, and after a review of the dilemma, ask follow-up questions. Review your interviewee’s responses and select which stage of moral development is indicated by each of the responses. Reflect on whether you believe this is an accurate assessment of the individual’s level of moral development. Utilizing criticisms of Kohlberg’s model and this experience, construct a position on the utility of Kohlberg’s model for assessing moral development and whether it accounts for atypical moral development.
Moral Development and Dilemma
This short paper assignment requires that you locate an individual not associated with this course to interview. The interview will take approximately 10–15 minutes to complete. The interview will be most effective in person, but if this is not possible the interview can take place over the phone, through email, or through any other appropriate means of technology. Please keep any information regarding the interviewee confidential. If you have not done so already, have your interviewee complete a consent form and submit this to your instructor in this module.
During the interview, you will present the interviewee with the Heinz dilemma, made famous by Kohlberg:
Heinz Dilemma:
In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging $2,000, or 10 times the cost of the drug, for a small (possibly lifesaving) dose. Heinz, the sick woman’s husband, borrowed all the money he could, about $1,000, or half of what he needed. He told the druggist how his wife was doing and asked the druggist to sell the drug at a lower price or to let him pay later. The druggist replied, “No, I discovered the drug, and I’m going to make money from it.” Heinz then became desperate and broke into the store to steal the drug for his wife. Should Heinz have done that?
After reviewing the dilemma with your interviewee, ask the follow-up questions listed below. Be sure to keep accurate notes of your subject’s responses, as this will help you to complete your paper.
1. Should Heinz steal the drug? Why or why not?
2. If Heinz does not love his wife, should he steal the drug for her? Why or why not?
3. Suppose the person dying is not his wife but a stranger. Should Heinz steal the drug for a stranger? Why or why not?
4. Why should people do everything they can to save another’s life?
5. It is against the law for Heinz to steal? Does that make it morally wrong? Why or why not?
6. Why should people generally do everything they can to avoid breaking the law? How does this relate to Heinz’s case?
In this short paper, be sure to address the following critical elements:
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State of Moral Development: Review your interviewee’s responses and select which stage of moral development is indicated by each response. Did the answers supplied clearly meet the criteria for one stage? If more than one stage might be indicated, which stage is best represented by the collective information provided across all answers?
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Reflection: Reflect on if you believe this is an accurate assessment of the individual’s level of moral development. Are the stages of Kohlberg’s model comprehensive enough to identify your interviewee? Did your presence influence the interviewee’s answers? What use might a developmental psychologist or a mental health professional have for this information? Could this be utilized for assessing specific personality or characterological issues in development?
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Position: Utilizing criticisms of Kohlberg’s model and this experience, construct a position on the utility of Kohlberg’s model for assessing moral development. Consider if Kohlberg’s theory accounts for atypical moral development (i.e., criminal behavior or aggressive actions). Does Kohlberg’s theory accurately allow the assessment of a person? Might the actions or decisions in the response to the Heinz or other dilemmas be situationally dependent?
What to Submit
Your paper must be submitted as a two- to three-page Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and at least three sources cited in APA format.
