Should Kohlberg's Cognitive Developmental Approach to Morality Be Replaced With a More Pragmatic Approach? Comment on Krebs and Denton (2005)

Krebs and Denton (2005) proposed that Kohlberg's cognitive developmental approach to morality be replaced by a pragmatic approach more relevant to everyday social behavior and the cooperative moral orders of society. Although the Krebs and Denton article raises some legitimate questions, their proposal is at best premature and provokes some serious concerns. Their starting point, that Kohlberg's model of morality is inadequate, is an evaluation shared by many neo-Kohlbergians. Before the cognitive developmental approach is replaced, however, important contributions (e.g., Rest's schema interpretation of the stages) toward refining or improving the approach must be adequately considered. Evidence suggests that Krebs and Denton may have underestimated relations between moral judgment stages and social behavior, including sudden behavior in emergency situations.