Part 1

Moral Dilemmas
The text uses the Heinz dilemma as an example of moral reasoning. for this week’s discussion, I want you to work through ONE of the Moral Dilemmas illustrated below and generate examples of answers that would be consistent with at least 2 of Kohlberg’s stages.

#1“Dr. Jefferson’s Dying Patient”
There was a woman who had very bad cancer, and there was no treatment known to medicine that could save her. Her doctor, Dr. Jefferson, knew that she only had about six months to live. She was in terrible pain, but she was so weak that a good dose of a pain-killer like ether of morphine would make her die sooner. She was delirious and almost crazy with pain, and in her calm periods she would ask Dr. Jefferson to give her enough ether to kill her. She said she couldn’t stand the pain and was going to die in a few months anyway. Although he knows that mercy killing is against the law, the doctor thinks about granting her request (Colby et al., 1983, p. 79).
1. What Stage(s) is Dr. Jefferson demonstrating?

Colby, A., Kohlberg, L., Gibbs, J., Lieberman, M., Fischer, K., & Saltzstein, H. D. (1983). A longitudinal study of moral judgment. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 48 (1/2), 1-124.

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#2. Real-Life Moral Dilemmas in Children
The Heinz dilemma has been used in research on children’s moral development, but researchers have also been interested in children’s real-life moral dilemmas. Think about real-life moral dilemmas you have faced (e.g., whether or not to tell on a friend for cheating in school or in personal relationships, whether to break curfew, etc.). Then explain how you handled the situation and your reasoning behind your choice using these 3 questions:
1. Give the age you were at the time.
2. Your dilemma, how you solved it.
3. And finally, an evaluation of what Kohlberg stage your reasoning demonstrated and why.

Student #1

1.Give the age you were at the time.

17 years old

2.Your dilemma, how you solved it.

I was a senior in high school on my way to another class during crossing periods. My school has a program called “peer buddies” which is a program designed to pair general education students with special needs students. The program revolves around teaching general education students to work with special needs children and vise versa. On this specific day, I saw a peer buddy couple. I overheard the general education student making vulgar comments and telling the special needs student to meet him in the restroom to act on those vulgar comments. I didn’t know the boys, but I knew who was in charge of the program. I immediately went to speak to the director of the program and report what I had heard. From that point on I was asked to identify the students and that was the end of it.

3.And finally, an evaluation of what Kohlberg stage your reasoning demonstrated and why.

I believe I was in the post-conventional stage of Kohlberg’s moral development theory. Based on my age and my level of reasoning. I wasn’t concerned with what other students would say about being a “snitch”, I was more concerned about the well-being of the special needs student than being accepted by my peers. This clearly differs from those in the conventional level who typically still value their peers’ acceptance over doing what aligns best with their personal ethics and morals.

Student #2

1) 14

2) My cousins, sisters and I were hanging out and my two older cousins went to the store and said not to look inside the bag on the nightstand. They left and the rest of us started talking, until one of my cousins mentioned the bag. I told them they said no, knowing my cousins will beat our butts. They ignored me and finally decided to look in the bag. They open it, and dumped everything on the ground. We were…surprised. My cousins and I started to talk about the things in the bag, and I knew I had to leave. I left, and my cousins and sisters got caught. They weren’t sneaky with their story.

3) This event demonstrates stage one on the preconventional level because I followed what my cousins had said because I didn’t want to get in trouble. I reminded m

PART 2

Adolescence across the World

For this week’s discussion I want you to find articles about how adolescence is viewed in countries around the world.
Questions to consider:
1) At what age is a youth considered an adolescent in this country?

2) What, if any, rituals recognize the transition from youth to adolescent?
3) What privileges/responsibilities do adolescents have in this particular country? 4) What is the role of education in the life of adolescents in this country? and
5) How do adolescents in this country differ from adolescents in the United States?

Compare your findings to others in class. Are there factors that hold true cross-culturally?

Student1: 1) At what age is a youth considered an adolescent in this country?

In Mexico, the youth are considered an adolescent by the time they are 12 until the time they are 18 years old.

3) What privileges/responsibilities do adolescents have in this particular country

Adolescents in Mexico typically have a job that helps provide supplemental income for their household. At the age of 18, they are able to buy alcohol and cigarettes. Adolescents are able to further their education, but it can be costly since most schools are not funded by the government. Thing such as uniforms are worn and must be bought which sometimes leads adolescents to drop out because education is just too expensive for them to afford.

5) How do adolescents in this country differ from adolescents in the United States?

Adolescents in the United States are still sheltered by their parents for the most part. They are allowed to continue their education (free through a public school) and usually do not need to get a job in order to help their families survive. Adolescents in Mexico are treated like adults before they even turn 18 in most circumstances but their drinking and smoking age limit is 18 which is different from here in the United States where the age limit is 21 years old.

Student 2

1) At what age is a youth considered an adolescent in this country?

In Guatemala I don’t remember being labeled as an adolescent but only “joven” which means, young boy. It is considered to be a “joven” from ages 12 up to 25 years. Because Guatemala in general is a poor country and in addition to the permanent corrupted government system, the boys during their adolescent years have no other choice but to become laborers so that they end up being decent husbands and fathers of several children. Same with the female adolescent who’s only training is to become a good wife and end up looking after her husband and several children. As a form of rebellion, a significant large number of these young individuals start having unprotected sex at verry young age and become parents without a formal education or job training.

2) What, if any, rituals recognize the transition from youth to adolescent?

The only rituals to recognize the transition from youth to adolescent I have seen is in a documentary on the Discovery Channel. There is a brazillian tribe that initiate “manhood” by burning a child`s hands with firing ants and these children have to experience that excruciating pain in order to be worthy of manhood, or Something like that. Another experience of ritual I know is in the Mexican culture where they celebrate the “quinceañeras” (a girl becoming a woman) right in the middle of adolescence.

3) What privileges/responsibilities do adolescents have in this particular country?

As for the Quinceañera, they have that privilege to be presented as a woman to the community via a huge party. As for the brave Brazilian boys it is only to be called man instead of children. As for the adolescents in Guatemala, lucky for me I left home at 16 and never went back but only to visit.