Who proposed a stage-based theory of moral development, including the Heinz dilemma?

• A. Lawrence Kohlberg
• B. Jean Piaget
• C. Erik Erikson
• D. Carol Gilligan

Answer: (A)

Lawrence Kohlberg proposed a stage-based theory of moral development. He used the Heinz dilemma—a story about a man who must decide whether to steal a drug to save his wife's life—to examine how people justify moral choices. His theory posits that moral reasoning unfolds through levels and stages: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional, with six stages in total. Early stages focus on avoiding punishment or seeking personal gain, middle stages emphasize conforming to social rules, and higher stages involve reasoning based on abstract principles like justice and human rights. The Heinz case shows how the same situation can be justified in increasingly sophisticated ways, illustrating progression through the stages rather than just the final decision. Kohlberg built on Piaget’s work and expanded it to explain moral development across adolescence and adulthood.