1
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Thomas S, Kelsey C, Vaish A. No one is going to recess: How children evaluate collective and targeted punishment. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2024; 33:e12730. [PMID: 38993500 PMCID: PMC11238698 DOI: 10.1111/sode.12730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
This study examined children's responses to targeted and collective punishment. Thirty-six 4-5-year-olds and 36 6-7-year-olds (36 females; 54 White; data collected 2018-2019 in the United States) experienced three classroom punishment situations: Targeted (only transgressing student punished), Collective (one student transgressed, all students punished), and Baseline (all students transgressed, all punished). The older children evaluated collective punishment as less fair than targeted, whereas younger children evaluated both similarly. Across ages, children distributed fewer resources to teachers who administered collective than targeted punishment, and rated transgressors more negatively and distributed fewer resources to transgressors in Collective and Targeted than Baseline. These findings demonstrate children's increasing understanding of punishment and point to the potential impact of different forms of punishment on children's social lives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Thomas
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Caroline Kelsey
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Amrisha Vaish
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
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2
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Pan Q, Chen S, Qu Y. Corporal punishment and violent behavior spectrum: a meta-analytic review. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1323784. [PMID: 38384354 PMCID: PMC10879622 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1323784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Corporal punishment is believed to precede various forms of violent behavior, yet prior research has yielded inconsistent findings, partly due to variations in violent types and other factors. This meta-analysis systematically reviewed 35 studies including 144 effect sizes (comprising a total sample size of 159,213) investigating the association between corporal punishment and a spectrum of violent behaviors called Violent Behavior Spectrum (VBS). Additionally, meta-regressions were conducted to explore the moderating impact of punishment severity, violence type and cultural context. Our findings indicated a significant positive relationship between corporal punishment and VBS (r = 0.238, 95%, CI [0.176, 0.300]). Notably, punishment severity was found to influence the strength of this association. Namely, The more severe the corporal punishment, the more likely it is to lead to VBS. These results enhance our understanding of the intricate connection between corporal punishment and various forms of violence, providing valuable insights for both parenting practices and policy development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingna Pan
- School of Criminal Investigation in People’s Public Security University of China, Beijing, China
- Investigation Department, Hunan Police Academy, Changsha, China
| | - Siru Chen
- School of Business, Hunan Institute of Technology, Hengyang, China
| | - Ying Qu
- Department of Psychology at Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China
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3
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Yang Q, Hoffman M, Krueger F. The science of justice: The neuropsychology of social punishment. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 157:105525. [PMID: 38158000 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 12/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
The social punishment (SP) of norm violations has received much attention across multiple disciplines. However, current models of SP fail to consider the role of motivational processes, and none can explain the observed behavioral and neuropsychological differences between the two recognized forms of SP: second-party punishment (2PP) and third-party punishment (3PP). After reviewing the literature giving rise to the current models of SP, we propose a unified model of SP which integrates general psychological descriptions of decision-making as a confluence of affect, cognition, and motivation, with evidence that SP is driven by two main factors: the amount of harm (assessed primarily in the salience network) and the norm violator's intention (assessed primarily in the default-mode and central-executive networks). We posit that motivational differences between 2PP and 3PP, articulated in mesocorticolimbic pathways, impact final SP by differentially impacting the assessments of harm and intention done in these domain-general large-scale networks. This new model will lead to a better understanding of SP, which might even improve forensic, procedural, and substantive legal practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qun Yang
- Department of Psychology, Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Morris Hoffman
- Second Judicial District (ret.), State of Colorado, Denver, CO, USA.
| | - Frank Krueger
- School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA.
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4
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Osiesi MP, Sanni KT, Blignaut S, Adeniran SA, Dikko BO, Fajobi OO, Adekoya AF, Udemba EC, Adegboyega SM. Psychosocial factors as predictors of aggressive behaviors among primary school learners. Aggress Behav 2023; 49:602-615. [PMID: 37393594 DOI: 10.1002/ab.22098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
The study investigated psychosocial factors as predictors of aggressive behaviors among primary school learners in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study used a survey research design. All public primary school learners in Ekiti State formed the target population. A sample size of one thousand three hundred and fifty (1350) respondents was selected using a multistage sampling procedure, consisting of 641 males (47.5%) and 709 females (52.5%), ages 9-13 years, who participated in the study. A self-report instrument tagged "Learners' Aggressive Behaviours Questionnaire" (α indexes of .81, .70, .77, and .84 for the four components respectively) was used for data collection. The data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis at a 5% level of significance. The empirical findings revealed that parenting styles, peer influence, and self-control significantly predicted learners' aggressive behavior. Recommendations for curbing aggressive behavior among learners were highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mensah P Osiesi
- Department of Guidance and Counseling, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye, Ekiti State, Nigeria
| | - Kamorudeen T Sanni
- Department of Guidance and Counseling, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye, Ekiti State, Nigeria
| | - Sylvan Blignaut
- Postgraduate Studies Department, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
| | - Sunday A Adeniran
- Department of Science Education, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye, Ekiti State, Nigeria
| | - Basirat O Dikko
- Department of Guidance and Counseling, Faculty of Education, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye, Ekiti State, Nigeria
| | - Olutoyin O Fajobi
- Department of Guidance and Counseling, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye, Ekiti State, Nigeria
| | - Adebolu F Adekoya
- Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Faculty of Education, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye, Ekiti State, Nigeria
| | - Esther C Udemba
- Department of Educational Management and Business Studies, Faculty of Education, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye, Ekiti State, Nigeria
| | - Sikeade M Adegboyega
- Department of Science Education, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oye, Ekiti State, Nigeria
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5
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Rothenberg WA, Sorbring E, Lansford JE, Peña Alampay L, Al-Hassan SM, Bacchini D, Bornstein MH, Chang L, Deater-Deckard K, Giunta LD, Dodge KA, Gurdal S, Liu Q, Long Q, Oburu P, Pastorelli C, Skinner AT, Tapanya S, Steinberg L, Maria Uribe Tirado L, Yotanyamaneewong S. Predicting child aggression: The role of parent and child endorsement of reactive aggression across 13 cultural groups in 9 nations. Aggress Behav 2023; 49:183-197. [PMID: 36565473 PMCID: PMC10105370 DOI: 10.1002/ab.22067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Parent and child endorsement of reactive aggression both predict the emergence of child aggression, but they are rarely studied together and in longitudinal contexts. The present study does so by examining the unique predictive effects of parent and child endorsement of reactive aggression at age 8 on child aggression at age 9 in 1456 children from 13 cultural groups in 9 nations. Multiple group structural equation models explored whether age 8 child and parent endorsement of reactive aggression predicted subsequent age 9 child endorsement of reactive aggression and child aggression, after accounting for prior child aggression and parent education. Results revealed that greater parent endorsement of reactive aggression at age 8 predicted greater child endorsement of aggression at age 9, that greater parent endorsement of reactive aggression at age 8 uniquely predicted greater aggression at age 9 in girls, and that greater child endorsement of reactive aggression at age 8 uniquely predicted greater aggression at age 9 in boys. All three of these associations emerged across cultures. Implications of, and explanations for, study findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- William A Rothenberg
- Duke Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
- Mailman Center for Child Development, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
| | - Emma Sorbring
- Division of Social Work and Social Pedagogy, University West, Trollhättan, Sweden
| | - Jennifer E Lansford
- Duke Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Liane Peña Alampay
- Department of Psychology, Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon City, Philippines
| | - Suha M Al-Hassan
- Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority, Emirates College for Advanced Education, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Department of Early Childhood Education, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
| | - Dario Bacchini
- Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Marc H Bornstein
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- UNICEF, New York City, New York, USA
- Institute for Fiscal Studies, London, UK
| | - Lei Chang
- Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Zhuhai, China
| | - Kirby Deater-Deckard
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Massachusetts, Amherst, USA
| | - Laura Di Giunta
- Department of Psychology, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Kenneth A Dodge
- Duke Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Sevtap Gurdal
- Division of Social Work and Social Pedagogy, University West, Trollhättan, Sweden
| | - Qin Liu
- School of Public Health & Management, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Qian Long
- Global Health Research Center, Duke Kunshan University, Suzhou, China
| | - Paul Oburu
- Department of Psychology, Maseno University, Maseno, Kenya
| | | | - Ann T Skinner
- Duke Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Sombat Tapanya
- Department of Psychiatry, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Laurence Steinberg
- Psychology and Neuroscience Department, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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The profit motive: Implications for children's reasoning about merit-based resource distribution. J Exp Child Psychol 2023; 226:105563. [PMID: 36308815 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 09/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
How to distribute resources in a fair way is a fundamental source of conflict in human societies. A central dilemma that people begin to grapple with during childhood is the extent to which individuals should be rewarded based on merit at the expense of equality. The current study examined children's reasoning about this dilemma by testing whether they are sensitive to information about the motives of highly productive people when determining whether they should receive extra compensation. Across two studies, children (6- to 11-year-olds, total N = 143) judged high performers to be less deserving of extra resources when they were motivated by profit rather than being intrinsically motivated, and this pattern was more pronounced among the older children. The findings demonstrate that, with age, children increasingly consider motives when deciding whether productivity should be rewarded and that the tendency of adults to view profit motives as problematic has origins during childhood.
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7
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Geraci A, Surian L. Preverbal infants' reactions to third-party punishments and rewards delivered toward fair and unfair agents. J Exp Child Psychol 2023; 226:105574. [PMID: 36332434 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 10/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Rewarding individuals who distribute resources fairly and punishing those who distribute resources unfairly may be very important actions for fostering cooperation. This study investigated whether 9-month-olds have some expectations concerning punishments and rewards that follow distributive actions. Infants were shown simple animations and were tested using the violation-of-expectation paradigm. In Experiment 1, we found that infants looked longer when they saw a bystander delivering a corporal punishment to a 'fair distributor,' who distributed some windfall resources equally to the possible recipients, rather than to an 'unfair distributor,' who distributed the resources unequally. This pattern of looking times was reversed when, in Experiment 2, punishments were replaced with rewards. These findings suggest an early emergence of expectations about punishing and rewarding actions in third-party contexts, and they help to evaluate competing claims about the origins of a sense of fairness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Geraci
- Department of Social and Educational Sciences of the Mediterranean Area, University for Foreigners of Reggio Calabria, 89125 Reggio Calabria RC, Italy.
| | - Luca Surian
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38122 Trento TN, Italy
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8
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de Oliveira EA, Mendes DMLF, Pessôa LF, de M. Oliveira SK. Who gets mad, sad, scared or happy at discipline? Emotion attributions explain child externalizing behaviour. INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/icd.2378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Deise M. L. F. Mendes
- Department of Psychology Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Brazil
| | - Luciana F. Pessôa
- Department of Psychology Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Brazil
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9
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Gönültaş S, Ketzitzidou Argyri E, Yüksel AŞ, Palmer SB, McGuire L, Killen M, Rutland A. British Adolescents Are More Likely Than Children to Support Bystanders Who Challenge Exclusion of Immigrant Peers. Front Psychol 2022; 13:837276. [PMID: 36017427 PMCID: PMC9396375 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.837276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study examined British children’s and adolescents’ individual and perceived group evaluations of a challenger when a member of one’s own group excludes a British national or an immigrant newcomer to the school (Turkish or Australian) from participating in a group activity. Participants included British children (n = 110, Mage in years = 9.69, SD = 1.07, 44 girls, aged 8–11) and adolescents (n = 193, Mage in years = 14.16, SD = 0.92, 104 girls, aged 13–16), who were inducted into their group and heard hypothetical scenarios in which a member of their own group expressed a desire to exclude the newcomer from joining their activity. Subsequently, participants heard that another member of the ingroup challenged the exclusionary act by stating that they should be inclusive. Children’s and adolescents’ individual evaluations of the bystander who challenged the social exclusion of an immigrant peer were more positive than their perceived group evaluations, recognizing that groups are often exclusionary. Only adolescents but not children differed in their individual and perceived group evaluations in the social exclusion of British peers. When the newcomer was an immigrant peer, adolescents were more likely to evaluate the challenger positively in both their individual and perceived group evaluations compared to children. Further, children, compared to adolescents, were more likely to reason about social and group norms to justify their evaluations only when the excluded peer was an immigrant but not when the excluded peer was British. Adolescents were more likely to reason about fairness, rights, and equality. The findings indicate that exclusionary group norms surrounding immigrants begin in childhood. Interventions that focus on changing group norms to be more inclusive could be effective in reducing prejudicial attitudes toward immigrants in childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seçil Gönültaş
- Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey
- *Correspondence: Seçil Gönültaş
| | | | - Ayşe Şule Yüksel
- Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Sally B. Palmer
- Graduate School of Education, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Luke McGuire
- Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Melanie Killen
- Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Adam Rutland
- Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
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10
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Zhu Y, Zhang J, Liu X. Is Distributional Justice Equivalent to Prosocial Sharing in Children's Cognition? Front Psychol 2022; 13:888028. [PMID: 35903728 PMCID: PMC9315223 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.888028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Distribution and sharing are social preference behaviors supported and shaped by selection pressures, which express individuals' concern for the welfare of others. Distributive behavior results in distributive justice, which is at the core of moral justice. Sharing is a feature of the prosocial realm. The connotations of distribution and sharing are different, so the principles, research paradigms, and social functions of the two are also different. Three potential causes of confusion between the two in the current research on distribution and sharing are discussed. First, they share common factors in terms of individual cognition, situation, and social factors. Second, although they are conceptually different, prosocial sharing and distribution fairness sensitivity are mutually predictive in individual infants. Similarly, neural differences in preschoolers' perception of distribution fairness predict their subsequent sharing generosity. Finally, similar activation regions are relevant to distribution and sharing situations that need behavioral control on a neural basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuning Zhu
- School of Psychology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
| | - Jingmiao Zhang
- School of Psychology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
- School of Educational Science and Technology, Anshan Normal University, Anshan, China
| | - Xiuli Liu
- School of Psychology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China
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11
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Geraci A, Simion F, Surian L. Infants' intention-based evaluations of distributive actions. J Exp Child Psychol 2022; 220:105429. [PMID: 35421629 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Revised: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Recent research revealed that infants attend to agents' intentions when they evaluate helping actions. The current study investigated whether infants also consider agents' intentions when they evaluate distributive actions. In Experiment 1, 9-month-old infants were first shown two failed attempts to perform a distribution. In the "failed equal distribution," the distributor first tried to reach one of the recipients to deliver an apple, failed, and then attempted to reach the other possible recipient to deliver a different apple and also failed. In the "failed unequal distribution," a different distributor always tried unsuccessfully to reach the same beneficiary. Then, in the test phase, infants were presented with the two distributors side by side, and infants' spontaneous preferential looking and reaching actions were recorded. We found a reliable preference for the equal distributor in both the visual and manual responses. Experiments 2 and 3 helped to rule out alternative explanations based on perceptual cues and affiliative biases. Overall, these findings suggest that infants' ability to evaluate distributive actions relies not only on the outcomes but also on the distributors' intentions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Geraci
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy.
| | - Francesca Simion
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy
| | - Luca Surian
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
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12
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Gummerum M, López-Pérez B, Van Dijk E, Van Dillen LF. Ire and punishment: Incidental anger and costly punishment in children, adolescents, and adults. J Exp Child Psychol 2022; 218:105376. [PMID: 35114578 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/10/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Why do children, adolescents, and adults engage in costly punishment to sanction fairness violations? Two studies investigated the differential impact of incidental anger on the costly punishment of 8-year-olds, 13-year-olds, and adults. Focusing on experimentally manipulated incidental anger allows for a causal investigation as to whether and how anger affects costly punishment in these age groups in addition to other motives such as inequity aversion. Study 1 (N = 210) assessed the effect of incidental anger (vs. a neutral emotion) on second-party punishment, where punishers were direct victims of fairness violations. Study 2 (N = 208) examined third-party punishment, where the punisher was an observer unaffected by the violation. Across ages, incidental anger increased the second-party punishment of unequal offers but not equal offers. Thus, anger seems to play a causal role in the punishment of unfairness when fairness violations are self-relevant. As predicted, adults' third-party punishment of unequal offers was higher in the incidental anger condition than in the neutral emotion condition. Children's third-party punishment of unfairness was not affected by the emotion condition, but incidental anger increased adolescents' third-party punishment across offers. Overall, our data suggest that the association between anger and costly punishment is based on the self-relevance of the violation. In third-party situations, where unfairness does not affect the self, social-cognitive processes that develop well into adulthood, such as emotional appraisals, might be necessary for third parties to engage in costly punishment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Gummerum
- Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK; School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK.
| | - Belén López-Pérez
- School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK; Department of Psychology, Liverpool Hope University, Hope Park, Liverpool L16 9JD, UK
| | - Eric Van Dijk
- Social, Economic, and Organizational Psychology, Leiden University, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Lotte F Van Dillen
- Social, Economic, and Organizational Psychology, Leiden University, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands
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13
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Lavoie J, Murray AL, Skinner G, Janiczek E. Measuring morality in infancy: A scoping methodological review. INFANT AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/icd.2298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Lavoie
- Moray House School of Education & Sport University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| | - Aja L. Murray
- Department of Psychology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| | - Guy Skinner
- Institute of Criminology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
| | - Emilia Janiczek
- Department of Psychology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
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14
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Dempsey EE, Moore C, Johnson SA, Stewart SH, Smith IM. Moral Foundations Theory Among Autistic and Neurotypical Children. Front Psychol 2022; 12:782610. [PMID: 35095668 PMCID: PMC8795511 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.782610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Morality can help guide behavior and facilitate relationships. Although moral judgments by autistic people are similar to neurotypical individuals, many researchers argue that subtle differences signify deficits in autistic individuals. Moral foundation theory describes moral judgments in terms of differences rather than deficits. The current research, aimed at assessing autistic individuals' moral inclinations using Haidt's framework, was co-designed with autistic community members. Our aim was to describe autistic moral thinking from a strengths-based perspective while acknowledging differences that may pose interpersonal challenges among autistic youth. We assessed 25 autistic and 23 neurotypical children's moral judgments using the Moral Foundations Questionnaire for Kids. We used semi-structured interviews and qualitative analysis with a subset of participants to describe children's moral reasoning. Analyses suggested that autistic and neurotypical children make similar judgments about moral transgressions across all five moral foundations. General linear mixed modeling showed that the greatest predictor of recommending punishment was how bad children deemed moral transgressions to be. We also found a trend that autistic children were more likely to recommend punishment for harmless norms violations than were neurotypical children. Future research could use longitudinal methods to understand the development of moral judgments among autistic and neurotypical children.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chris Moore
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Shannon A. Johnson
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
- Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Sherry H. Stewart
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
- Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Isabel M. Smith
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
- Department of Pediatrics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
- Autism Research Centre, IWK Health, Halifax, NS, Canada
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15
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Kim M, Decety J, Wu L, Baek S, Sankey D. Neural computations in children's third-party interventions are modulated by their parents' moral values. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2021; 6:38. [PMID: 34921148 PMCID: PMC8683432 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-021-00116-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
One means by which humans maintain social cooperation is through intervention in third-party transgressions, a behaviour observable from the early years of development. While it has been argued that pre-school age children's intervention behaviour is driven by normative understandings, there is scepticism regarding this claim. There is also little consensus regarding the underlying mechanisms and motives that initially drive intervention behaviours in pre-school children. To elucidate the neural computations of moral norm violation associated with young children's intervention into third-party transgression, forty-seven preschoolers (average age 53.92 months) participated in a study comprising of electroencephalographic (EEG) measurements, a live interaction experiment, and a parent survey about moral values. This study provides data indicating that early implicit evaluations, rather than late deliberative processes, are implicated in a child's spontaneous intervention into third-party harm. Moreover, our findings suggest that parents' values about justice influence their children's early neural responses to third-party harm and their overt costly intervention behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minkang Kim
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
| | - Jean Decety
- Child Neurosuite, Department of Psychology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
| | - Ling Wu
- Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Soohyun Baek
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Derek Sankey
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
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Kienbaum J, Mairhofer S. Need, effort, or integration? The development of intuitive distributive justice decisions in children, adolescents, and adults. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/sode.12563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jutta Kienbaum
- Institute of Psychology University of Education Karlsruhe Karlsruhe Germany
| | - Sigrid Mairhofer
- Faculty of Education Free University of Bozen‐Bolzano, Bolzano, BZ Italy
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17
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Geraci A, Simion F. Evaluation of prosocial actions performed by dynamic shapes at 17 months of age. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2021.1957823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Geraci
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Francesca Simion
- Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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18
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Geraci A, Rigo P, Simonelli A, Di Nuovo S, Simion F. Preschoolers' evaluations of comforting actions towards third parties in different relationship contexts. JOURNAL OF APPLIED DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.appdev.2021.101315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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19
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Geraci A. Toddlers' expectations of corporal third-party punishments against the non-defender puppet. J Exp Child Psychol 2021; 210:105199. [PMID: 34146988 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Revised: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Recent research has demonstrated that toddlers expect individuals to approach and reward those who defend a victim from an aggressor rather than those who refuse to do so. This work focused on toddlers' expectations of corporal third-party punishments trought various actions, such as hitting with a stick or repelling someone who refused to defend a social partner following aggression. Using a violation of expectation paradigm (VoE), three experiments were carried out to investigate whether 21-month-olds expect others to apply different kinds of corporal punishments against the non-defender puppet (expected event) rather than the defender puppet (unexpected event), showing a bystander hitting with a stick (Experiment 1) or pushing strongly (Experiment 3) each of the two puppets. In both experiments, toddlers showed to be surprised whent the saw the bystander punish by hitting or pushing the defender puppet rather the non-defender puppet. In a control experiment displaying a non-social condition (Experiment 2), in which the victim puppets were replaced by two inert boxes, toddlers showed no expectation. These results uncovered that toddlers expect others to engage in different corporal punishments toward those who refuse to defend a social partner from an aggressor, by revealing that these expectations are not specific to a single type of punishment. The findings raise questions about the development of corporal third-party punishments, and have implications for the theory on ontogenetic processes underlying sociomoral development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Geraci
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 36068, Rovereto, Italy.
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