Moral development theory provides useful models for the design of intervention programs for early adolescents. As Collins (1977) has pointed out, there are two reasons why this is so. One is that stage descriptions of structural change provide di- agnostic and prognostic categories for the assess- ment of reasoning. Another is that stage theories actually suggest what an intervention might look like in order to effect a reorganization of thinking at a higher level. According to Kohlberg (1976), there is maximal assimilation of moral judgments one stage above one's current stage level, sug- gesting that an effective intervention would involve structuring moral discourse to reflect this type of cognitive conflict.