Lawrence Kohlberg (October 25, 1927 – January 19, 1987) was a Jewish American psychologist born in Bronxville, New York, he was the son of Alfred Kohlberg, a Jewish man, and of his second wife, Charlotte Albrecht, a Protestant woman. He served as a professor at the University of Chicago, as well as Harvard University. Having specialized in research on moral education and reasoning, he is best known for his theory of stages of moral development. Even though it was considered unusual in his era, he still decided to study the topic of moral judgement following Piaget's footsteps.^[1] In fact, it took Kohlberg five years before he was able to publish an article based on his views.^[2] A close follower of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, Kohlberg's work reflected and extended his predecessor's ideas, at the same time creating a new field within psychology: "moral development". Scholars such as Elliot Turiel and James Rest have responded to Kohlberg's work with their own significant contributions. In an empirical study by Haggbloom et al. using six criteria, such as citations and recognition, Kohlberg was found to be the 30th most eminent psychologist of the 20th century.^[3]

Stages of Moral Development[link]

In his 1958 dissertation, Kohlberg wrote what are now known as Kohlberg's stages of moral development.^[4] These stages are planes of moral adequacy conceived to explain the development of moral reasoning. Created while studying psychology at the University of Chicago, the theory was inspired by the work of Jean Piaget and a fascination with children's reactions to moral dilemmas.^[5] Kohlberg proposed a form of “Socratic” moral education and reaffirmed Dewey’s idea that development should be the aim of education. He also outlined how educators can influence moral development without indoctrination and how public school can be engaged in moral education consistent with the Constitution.^[6]

His theory holds that moral reasoning,which is the basis for ethical behavior, has six identifiable developmental constructive stages - each more adequate at responding to moral dilemmas than the last.^[7] Lawrence Kohlberg suggested that the higher stages of moral development provide the person with greater capacities/abilities in terms of decision making and so these stages allow people to handle more complex dilemmas.^[8] In studying these, Kohlberg followed the development of moral judgment that is far beyond the ages originally studied earlier by Piaget,^[9] who also claimed that logic and morality develop through constructive stages.^[7] Expanding considerably upon this groundwork, it was determined that the process of moral development was principally concerned with justice and that its development continued throughout the life span,^[4] even spawning dialogue of philosophical implications of such research.^[10][11]

Kohlberg studied moral reasoning by presenting subjects with moral dilemmas. He would then categorize and classify the reasoning used in the responses, into one of six distinct stages, grouped into three levels: pre-conventional, conventional and post-conventional.^[12][13][14] Each level contains two stages. These stages heavily influenced others and have been utilized by others like James Rest in making the Defining Issues Test in 1979.^[15]

Some of Kohlberg's publications include Consensus and Controversy, The Meaning and Measurement of Moral Development, Lawrence Kohlberg's Approach to Moral Education and Child Psychology and Childhood Education: A Cognitive Developmental View.^[16]

Death[link]

Kohlberg contracted a tropical parasite in 1971 while doing cross-cultural work in Belize. As a result, he struggled with depression and physical pain for the rest of his life. On January 19, 1987, he requested a day of leave from the Massachusetts hospital where he was being treated, and committed suicide by drowning. ^[17]

See also[link]

• Kohlberg's stages of moral development
• Moral reasoning
• Just Community Schools
• Carol Gilligan
• Jean Piaget

Notes[link]

• Crain, William C. (1985). Theories of Development (2Rev ed.). Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-913617-7. http://faculty.plts.edu/gpence/html/kohlberg.htm. 
• Reconstructing Larry: Assessing the Legacy of Lawrence Kohlberg
• PSYography: Lawrence Kohlberg
• BookRags Biography
• Munsey, Brenda ed. (1980). Moral Development, Moral Education, and Kohlberg. Religious Education Press. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/0-8193-5020-9|0-8193-5020-9]]. 
• "Kohlberg, Lawrence: Biography." Psychologists and Their Theories for Students. Ed. Kristine Krapp. Gale Group, Inc., 2005. eNotes.com. 2006. 28 Oct, 2007 <http://www.enotes.com/psychology-theories/kohlberg-lawrence/biography>

References[link]

"Lawrence Kohlberg." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 21 Apr 2009, 00:45 UTC. 21 Apr 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lawrence_Kohlberg&oldid=285136608>.

Claudia Hammond (born 1971) is British author, occasional TV presenter, and frequent radio presenter with the BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4.

Education[link]

Hammond grew up in Bedfordshire.^[1] She was educated at Sussex University in applied psychology,^[2] and Surrey University, where she gained a MSc in Health Psychology, carrying out research into doctor–patient communication in a breast cancer unit.^[3]

Career[link]

Author[link]

Hammond is the author of a book on the science of emotions titled Emotional Rollercoaster, published in 2005. Reviews were positive, with one ^[4] saying that although it contained 'rare errors' these mistakes were are 'vastly outweighed by the wealth of fascinating observations' and that 'humour, sensitivity and warmth... emanate from every page'.

She published her second book, Time Warped: Unlocking the Mysteries of Time Perception, with Canongate Books in May 2012, to excellent reviews. The Financial Times calls it 'a fascinating and at times mind-boggling book that will change the way you think about time.' ^[5]

 |url = http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/80aca668-943d-11e1-bb0d-00144feab49a.html#axzz1u8ab1Tdd
 |url = http://www.canongate.tv/authors/claudiahammond

Radio presenter[link]

This is the field of work for which Hammond is probably best known. She has said that she decided that she wanted to work in radio quite suddenly, although early. "I was at a children’s book festival and, after I had queued up to get Roald Dahl’s autograph, he asked me what I wanted to do when I grew up. I’m told I said “I want to work in radio”. That was the first my parents knew about it. It was probably the first time I realised." ^[2] She presents programmes about psychology on BBC Radio 4, including All in the Mind. She also presents Health Check on BBC World Service Radio.^[3]

TV presenter[link]

In addition to presenting Health Check on BBC World News every Friday, Hammond has appeared on several other TV programmes (such as the One Show and BBC Breakfast) commenting on psychological topics. In the past, as reporter, she presented science and medical features for Channel 5 News.^[6]

Journalistic philosophy[link]

Hammond has said that she tries to "give people a better understanding of the role psychology plays. Helping people articulate and get across a seemingly technical piece of good research is central to my approach. I also like bringing different specialists together – it’s amazing how often people who are hugely expert in one area of psychology know next to nothing about related work in a slightly different field." ^[2]

Despite her varied portfolio, Hammond gave 'be choosy' as a piece of careers advice advice in one interview:

"Popular programmes are fine – "I sometimes go on Richard & Judy to talk about psychological research – but if I think a show is going to dumb it down, I say no. And sometimes they’re looking for is a qualified therapist, and that’s not me."^[2]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

1. ^ "Hammond, Claudia". thersa.org. Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. http://www.thersa.org/events/speakers-archive/h/claudia-hammond. Retrieved 15 March 2012. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Florance, Ian (2009). "A Rollercoaster Ride". The Psychologist (British Psychological Society) 22 (5). http://www.claudiahammond.com/BPSinterview.pdf. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Find a Programme - Health Check". BBC World Service. 2008-12-01. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/health_check.shtml. Retrieved 2008-12-03. 
4. ^ Evans, Dylan (2005-03-05). "Fasten Your Seatbelts". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/mar/05/featuresreviews.guardianreview22. Retrieved 2011-11-04. 
5. ^ canongate.tv
6. ^ "Claudiahammond.com". Claudia Hammond. http://www.claudiahammond.com/page4.htm. Retrieved 2011-11-04. 

External links[link]

• Claudia Hammond homepage
• BBC World Service presenter profile (including a video).
• Claudia Hammond on twitter
• Emotional Rollercoaster on ISBNDb
• Review of Emotional Rollercoaster in The Independent