Lawrence Kohlberg - an introduction

Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987) was one of the key figures in generating theories of human development. Following James Mark Baldwin and Jean Piaget, he designed a research program in order to understand moral development – which he viewed as justice development -, during the life-span. With the help of dilemma-interviews and a comprehensive scoring manual, Kohlberg looked into the stage of development and the moral point of view of children, adolescents and adults both in the United States and abroad. Related herewith, he discussed central topics, such as the relationship between judgment and action, the transnational universality of moral development, and gender-related morality. His innovative interdisciplinary work embraced the fields of developmental psychology, philosophy, and education among others. His research was inspiring in many aspects and will be inspiring for the years to come.