This study investigated differences in children's and adolescents' experiences of harming their siblings and friends. Participants ("N" = 101; 7-, 11-, and 16-year-olds) provided accounts of events when they hurt a younger sibling and a friend. Harm against friends was described as unusual, unforeseeable, and circumstantial. By contrast,…

Ninety-six Colombian children (mean age = 7.7 years) and adolescents (mean age = 14.6 years) made judgments about stealing and physical harm in the abstract and in the context of survival and revenge. All participants judged it wrong to steal or hurt others because of considerations with justice and welfare, and most also judged it wrong to engage…

Examines several issues arising from two differing approaches to morality--Kohlberg's theory of moral reasoning development and Gilligan's theory of moral orientations. (PCB)

A theory of the assignment of moral responsibility and punishment for harm was tested with 5- to 11-year-old children. Results indicated sophisticated use of moral concepts from 5 years. Developmental trends suggested increasing sensitivity to these concepts, greater tolerance for harm doing, and more emphasis on restitution than punishment.…

Investigates the relationships among the first three stages of cognitive, role-taking, and moral development in both transitional and nontransitional subjects ages 5 to 14 years in order to determine whether the pattern of associations conformed more adequately to the "functional unity" model or to the "necessary but not…

A two-part study examined children's conceptions of the linkages between sociomoral events and emotional consequences for several event participants. Results of the first study indicated that children's conceptions were highly differentiated. The second study found children able to match affective information to events likely to cause emotional…

Investigates the effects of father absence and perceived maternal behaviors on the moral behavior, judgment, and affect of preadolescent boys. Also tests for differences between sons of divorcees and widows and between boys who were at different ages at the onset of father absence. (CW)

Argues that, although Piaget's seminal work on children's use of intention and consequence information to make moral evaluations has spawned a substantial amount of research, progress in this area has been hampered by serious conceptual and methodological problems. Offers some methodological guidelines for conducting research in this area.…

Children between the ages of 3 and 10 years were presented with a set of pictures representing a contract with bilateral cheating options between a parent and child (Study 1) and between 2 peers (Study 2). The children had to (a) evaluate which situations violated the contract when the relevant information was presented, (b) anticipate the…

A group-administerable version of Kohlberg's Moral Judgment Interview (MJI) was psychometrically evaluated. Results showed that the Sociomoral Reflection Measure has acceptable concurrent validity with the MJI as well as high levels of construct validity and reliability. (Author/MP)

Examines several issues concerning Gilligan's and Kohlberg's models of moral orientations and Kohlberg's model of moral stages in a longitudinal study of 233 subjects aged 5 to 63 years. Results revealed few violations of the stage sequence over the two-year longitudinal interval. (RJC)

Investigated 6-, 8-, and 10-year-olds' reasoning about laws and legal compliance. Found that children considered several factors in their judgments, including perceived justice of the law, its socially beneficial purpose, and potential for infringement on individual freedoms and rights. Found that children apply moral concepts of harm, rights, and…

Reports an attempt to test two interpretations of immanent justice responses as causal attributions rather than as moral judgments. Finds older children use causal chains to explain contiguity between misdeed and adversity. Data were interpreted as consistent with an information-processing model of immanent justice responses. (RMH)

Examined 6-, 8-, and 10-year olds' conceptions of flags as social conventions and their understandings of the symbolic and psychological consequences associated with transgressions toward flags. Found that despite age-related increases in understanding of flags as meaningful collective symbols, children at all ages considered transgressions to be…

Makes a case for rereading the fact-value dichotomy that currently divides the contemporaneous literatures dealing with children's moral reasoning development and their evolving theories of mind. Presents findings from two research programs, in which children's beliefs about truth and rightness are combined, to illustrate the natural…