Noor forgot to bring her tiffin to school and asked Tanya to share her tiffin…
2019
Noor forgot to bring her tiffin to school and asked Tanya to share her tiffin saying "You should share your tiffin with me today because I shared my tiffin with you yesterday".
According to Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development, Noor's statement represents the ________ orientation typical of the ________ level.
- A.
law and order ; post-conventional
- B.
obedience ; pre-conventional
- C.
being nice ; conventional
- D.
exchange ; conventional
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept: Kohlberg's theory of moral development identifies six stages of moral reasoning grouped into three levels:
Level | Stage | Orientation |
|---|---|---|
Pre-conventional | Stage 1 | Obedience-and-punishment orientation (avoid punishment from authority) |
Pre-conventional | Stage 2 | Instrumental-exchange orientation (a fair deal / reciprocity — “I help you, so you help me”) |
Conventional | Stage 3 | Good-boy / nice-girl orientation (act to gain others' approval) |
Conventional | Stage 4 | Law-and-order orientation (follow rules to maintain social order) |
Post-conventional | Stage 5 | Social-contract orientation |
Post-conventional | Stage 6 | Universal-ethical-principle orientation |
Application: Noor conditions her expectation on a favour she rendered earlier — “I shared my tiffin with you yesterday, so you should share yours with me today.” This is a reciprocal, transactional appeal, not an appeal to rules, approval, or authority — the hallmark of the instrumental-exchange orientation (Stage 2).
Cross-check — contrasting the four orientations named in the options:
law and order (Stage 4) — reasoning from rules/authority to keep social order; Noor invokes no rule, only a personal favour.
obedience (Stage 1) — reasoning to avoid punishment from an authority figure; Noor is not avoiding punishment.
being nice (Stage 3) — reasoning to gain others' approval; Noor's statement is not about being liked, it is transactional.
exchange (Stage 2) — reasoning from a fair deal / reciprocity; this exactly matches “I shared mine yesterday, so you should share yours today.”
Result: So the orientation Noor displays is exchange. Kohlberg's standard numbering places the exchange orientation (Stage 2) in the Pre-conventional level, so the level label paired with it here departs from that strict theoretical grouping — a departure that traces back to how the CTET 2019 Paper-2 paper itself printed and paired the terms for this item.