Kohlberg refers to these stages as justice of reasoning . Each stage becomes more complex than the previous. To grow morally a person must experience disequalibrium. If a child is always given what they want and never has to consider the feelings, needs or wants of others, they will never progress to a higher level of morality. If never given a reason to consider someone else why should they believe that another s needs are more important than their own.
Many people grow physically mature without becoming morally mature.
He found that once a child reaches and goes through a stage they do not regress. There is not a skipping of a step. In observing and testing children and adults, Kohlberg theorized that each person goes through the same sequence or stages. A person is limited to the ability defined in the stage they are in. If a child is in the first stage of preconventional morality, they will only be in Stage 1 or Stage 2.