Studying children and their ways of dealing with moral choices, Lawrence Kohlberg theorized that six conventional stages occur in moral reasoning. He divided them into three levels, with each level having two stages:

1. Pre-conventional level:
a. Stage 1: Punishment and obedience orientation
- Physical consequences determine what is good or bad.
b. Stage 2: Instrumental relativist orientation
- That which satisfies personal needs is good.

2. Conventional level:
a. Stage 3: Interpersonal concordance (good boy/nice girl)
- What pleases or helps others is good.
b. Stage 4: Law and order orientation
- Maintain the social order. Devotion to duty is good.

3. Post-conventional level:
a. Stage 5: Social law contract
- Values agreed upon by society determine what is right.
b. Stage 6: Universal ethical principle orientation
- What is right is a matter of conscience in accord with universal principles. -

One's moral level is assessed using the Heinz Story:

In Europe, a woman was dying of rare form of cancer. Doctors believed there was only one drug that could save her. The particular druggist was charging $2,000 for a small dose of this drug, although it only cost him $200 to make. The woman's husband, Heinz, could only manage to collect $1,000 for the drug. He pleaded with the druggist to sell it to him cheaper, but the druggist refused. Desperate, Heinz decided to break into the druggist's store and steal the drug to keep his wife alive.

Should Heinz have done this?

Kohlberg presented this and other case scenarios to his subjects in order to observe their reasoning and outline his theories on the development of morality in children.