Lawrence Kohlberg started as a developmental psychologist and then moved to the field of moral education. He was well known for his theory of moral development, which he popularized through research studies conducted at Harvard University. He got most of his inspiration from the Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, and American philosopher John Dewey.

Kohlberg classified the stages of moral development into three levels. They are Pre-conventional, Conventional, and Post-conventional.

In the pre-conventional level you can find two stages. Stage 1 is Obedience and Punishment; Stage 2 is Individualism, Instrumentalism, and Exchange.

In the conventional level you can also find a separation of two stages. Stage 3 is Good boy/girl; Stage 4 is called the Law and Order stage.

In the post-conventional level you can find the last 2 separate stages. Stage 5 is Social contract, and stage 6 is principled conscience.

Here is a more detailed description of each level and the stages it...