Although there is some evidence from cross-sectional studies that reminiscing is an important context in which children construct socioemotional understanding, longitudinal evidence is lacking. The goal of this study was to examine longitudinally the links between the quality of reminiscing at 42 months and children's subsequent socioemotional…

Understanding lay conceptions of morality is important not only because they can guide moral psychology theory but also because they may play a role in everyday moral functioning. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine adolescent conceptions of moral maturity. Study 1 (200 adolescents 12-18 years) involved a free-listing procedure to…

This study examined reasoning about fairness in gender-related traditional practices in Benin, West Africa. Fifty adolescents (M = 15.7 years) and 46 adults (M = 33.4 years) were interviewed about traditional practices involving gender hierarchy. Results indicate that the majority attributed decision-making authority to a traditional authority for…

In this longitudinal study we examined whether two components of effortful control, behavioral control, and executive function moderated the relation between temperament and conscience development. Temperament was assessed when participants were two years of age, and three temperament groups were formed: inhibited, exuberant, and low reactive. At…

In order to assess the effects of displacement and exposure to violence on children's moral reasoning, Colombian children exposed to minimal violence (non-displaced or low risk; N = 99) and to extreme violence (displaced or high risk; N = 94), evenly divided by gender at 6, 9, and 12 years of age, were interviewed regarding their evaluation of…

The present study tested the hypothesis of the cognitively competent but morally insensitive bully. On the basis of teacher and peer ratings, 212 young elementary school children were selected and categorized as bullies, bully-victims, victims, and prosocial children. Children's perspective-taking skills were assessed using theory-of-mind tasks,…

In this investigation, the moral development of physically abused (N = 28), neglected (N = 26), and nonmaltreated (N = 28) five-year-old children from low socioeconomic backgrounds was examined through observational measures of prosocial behaviors, moral transgressions, and emotions associated with moral development. Findings showed that…

Summarizes the main debate points on the issue and nature of bullies and bullying, and clarifies unresolved issues concerning the nature and limits of social competence values. Argues that variations in children's emotion processes may underlie some individual differences that have been found in empathy, social information processing, and reactive…

Examined spontaneous daily family interactions in Taiwan for events of children's shame. Found that shame events occur in multiple episodes of the child's transgression and, in half the cases, some authority was evoked to judge the child's behavior but family members were always present and ready to share the child's transgression and shame.…