At the pre-conventional level (most nine-year-olds and younger, some over nine), we don’t have a personal code of morality. Instead, our moral code is shaped by the standards of adults and the consequences of following or breaking their rules.
Authority is outside the individual and reasoning is based on the physical consequences of actions.
At the conventional level (most adolescents and adults), we begin to internalize the moral standards of valued adult role models.
Authority is internally but not questioned and reasoning is based on the norms of the group to which the person belongs.