Rozwój moralny a metody podejmowania decyzji – analiza porównawcza kultur

S. Kierkegaard believed that there were three different forms of life and called them the aesthetic stage, the ethical stage, and the religious stage. L. Kohlberg’s theory of moral development divides individuals on the basis of their moral development into six stages, two at the pre-conventional level, two at the conventional level and two at the post-conventional level. This theory shows progress from strong addiction and submission to outside influences and never ending inner struggle to overcome crisises in order to achieve moral autonomy. In the light of cross-cultural comparison there is only partial support for a relationship between level of moral judgment (based on Kohlberg’s theory of moral development) and ethical decision-making. Data collected from Malaysian and New Zeland business students provided evidence that the relationship between subject’s level of moral judgment and their ethical intentions occurred in only three of six instances. The absence of a consistent empirical relationship between level of moral judgment, ethical intentions and culture suggests that the number of other factors may influence an individual’s ethical behavior.