Abstract

While considerable attention has been given to Kohlberg's stages of moral reasoning, little effort has been given to studying Kohlberg's notion of a metaphorical Stage Seven, which presupposes a cosmic rather than a universal humanistic orientation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether EEG coherence can distinguish cosmic orientation responses from non‐cosmic orientation responses to the question, ‘Why be moral?’. Thirteen cosmic orientation candidates were compared with thirteen non‐cosmic orientation subjects, matched for age, using EEG coherence measures. Results indicate that cosmic orientation candidates exhibited higher EEG bilateral frontal alpha coherence than non‐cosmic orientation subjects (p<.01). In addition, a positive correlation was found between the Principled Thinking Scale of Rest's Defining Issues Test and right homolateral EEG coherence (rs =.46, p<.05). Discussion of the results, along with suggestions for further research and implications for education are included.