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CTET 8 Feb 2026 Paper 1, Question 11

Topic: Kohlberg

Q11

In response to the question, “Is it alright to steal the chocolate from the freezer in absence of your parents ?” 4-year-old Meera replied, “It will be wrong because doing so can cause punishment from the parent.” Meera’s moral reasoning depicts which stage of Lawrence Kohlberg’s theory of moral development ?

  1. (1) Formal Conventional
  2. (2) Post-conventional
  3. (3) Pre-conventionalCorrect answer
  4. (4) Conventional

Solution.

CBSE answer: (3)

Answer: (3) Pre-conventional

  1. Meera judges stealing as wrong only because she might be punished.
  2. Avoiding punishment is the first stage (obedience and punishment) of Kohlberg's pre-conventional level.
  3. The conventional level looks at social approval and rules; the post-conventional level looks at ethical principles.

Trap: (1) 'Formal Conventional' is not a level in Kohlberg's theory.