Book dossier

Postconventional moral thinking

by James R. Rest, Muriel J. Bebeau, Mickie Bebeau

Although Lawrence Kohlberg provided major ideas for psychological research on morality for decades, today some critics regard his work as outmoded, beyond repair, and too faulty for anybody to take seriously. These critics suggest that research on moral development would advance more profitably by taking a different approach. Postconventional Moral Thinking proposes a "Neo-Kohlbergian" reformulation that provides a coherent theoretical overview for hundreds of studies that have used the Defining Issues Test (DIT), a methodology first employed within the standard Kohlbergian model. The book includes analysis of criticisms of the Kohlbergian approach, a rationale for DIT research, and new theoretical ideas and research.