Describe Carol Gilligan’s theory regarding the morality of girls and women. Are her claims supported by current research?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: Carol Gilligan is the best-known of those who have argued that Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory does not adequately represent the morality of girls and women. Gilligan believes that feminine morality emphasizes an “ethic of care” that Kohlberg’s system devalues. According to Gilligan, a concern for others is a different but no less valid basis for moral judgment than a focus on impersonal rights. Many studies have tested Gilligan’s claim that Kohlberg’s approach underestimates the moral maturity of females, and most do not support it. On hypothetical dilemmas as well as everyday moral problems, adolescent and adult females display reasoning at the same stage as their male agemates, and often at a higher stage. Themes of justice and caring appear in the responses of both sexes and when females do raise interpersonal concerns, they are not downgraded in Kohlberg’s system. These findings suggest that although Kohlberg emphasized justice rather than caring as the highest moral ideal, his theory taps both sets of values. Nevertheless, some evidence indicates that although the morality of males and females taps both orientations, females do tend to emphasize care, whereas males either stress justice or focus equally on justice and care. This difference in emphasis, which appears more often in real-life than in hypothetical dilemmas, may reflect women’s greater involvement in daily activities involving care and concern for others. Indeed, context profoundly affects use of a care orientation.