Preconventional Morality
Children learn different morals from a very young age starting with their parents teaching them right from wrong. This starts becoming more ingrained as time passes because children learn more and more about consequences and rewards as they enter school. Children learn that if they act in a way that is considered morally correct, then they will be rewarded. However, they also learn that acting in an unfavorable way will lead to consequences. They tend to act in a way that will be favorable for them personally. Kohlberg named this stage of morality preconventional morality and said that this was when the focus was on the self-interest of the child (Myers, 2013, p. 194).