Lawrence Kohlberg Ethics Theorists, Research Paper Example

The case study under review relates to Mr. Doe dying leaving behind a new will prepared when he was mentally incompetent. There is no way the nurse can prove Mr. Doe’s mental incompetence prior to rewriting his will as the nurse was the only person present when the will was written.Lawrence Kohlberg Ethics theory projects stages of moral development. This theory embodies the assumption that moral reasoning forms the basis of ethical behavior. Further, there are six distinct developmental stages, which each has the capacity of appropriately responding to moral dilemmas than any other theories have advanced (Shaffer, 2004).

Precisely, these three stages encompass three levels. Level 1 is pre-conventional whereby the individual tries to avoidpunishment through self-interest motivation. Level 11 is conventional in which persons become more confirmative as they execute the authority available to them. Level 111 is classified post conventional whereby universal ethical principles become applicable and social contracts emerge (Haggbloom, 2002).

Lawrence Kohlberg Ethics theory distinctly relates to the dilemma of the nursewho has no way to prove Mr. Doe’s mental incompetence prior to rewriting his will as he/she was the only person present when the will was written. This can be linked to the pre-conventional stage in that the nurse adapts a self- preservation role because he/she does not want to become liable for sanctioning an action which at the moment seems inappropriate (Woolfolk, 2012).

The nurse would then have to prove to relatives; hospital authorities that Mr. Doe was capable or incapable of rewriting the will. More importantly, the nurse was the only person there at the time which may raise moral suspicions as to why another person was not called in as witness the incident. Consequently, the nurse takes a position of trying to avoid punishment through self-interest motivation(Shaffer, 2004).

References

Haggbloom, S. (2002). The 100 Most Eminent Psychologists of the 20th Century. Review of General Psychology.  6(2), 139–15.

Shaffer, R. (2004). Social and Personality Development (5th ed.). Wadsworth Publishing.

Woolfolk, A. (2012). Educational Psychology. Prentice Hall.