Children recognize and reject favoritism in norm enforcement.

The impartial enforcement of norms and laws is a hallmark of fair societies, yet partial, unequal norm enforcement is common, for example as a result of corruption. While children condemn norm violations and value impartiality in resource allocation contexts, children's understanding of unequal norm enforcement is currently underexplored. In three vignette studies, we investigated 4- to 8-year-old's (N = 192) developing recognition and condemnation of unequal norm enforcement, which presupposes a sensitivity to impartiality as a meta-norm. Children evaluated the actions of characters who enforced different norms equally or unequally. From age 5, children disapproved of unequal norm enforcement but approved of unequal treatment when justified (Study 1). Children of all ages accepted a lack of punishment when applied equally to all transgressors, suggesting that their negative evaluations of unequal norm enforcement were specifically guided by the element of partiality and not the desire to see transgressors sanctioned (Study 2). Further, children aged 6 years and older were sensitive to the reasons behind unequal punishment, condemning instances of favoritism while accepting selective leniency due to mitigating circumstances (Study 3). The findings show that, from around 5 to 6 years of age, children condemn unequal sanctions for equal transgressions, thereby demonstrating a deep appreciation of impartiality as a foundational principle of fair norm enforcement.

Exploring medical ethics: moral reasoning among new pediatric resident physicians in a tertiary hospital.

BACKGROUND: Physicians are frequently faced with ethical dilemmas that require answers based in moral reasoning, which develops and evolves during their lives and their medical education. According to Kohlberg, there are three levels of moral reasoning development: pre-conventional (in which decisions are guided by oneself convenience), conventional (focused on obeying society's rules), and post-conventional (decisions are based in universal ethical principles). The aim of this study was to describe the level of moral reasoning among new pediatric resident physicians in a tertiary hospital. METHOD: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted from 2020 to 2023. The Defining Issues Test was used to assess the level of moral reasoning among 195 new pediatric resident physicians in a tertiary hospital. RESULTS: Most resident physicians considered the fourth stage affirmations to be the most important. The median P-index (PI) was 40, and 49% of participants were on the post-conventional level of moral reasoning. The year with the lowest number of new resident physicians on the post-conventional level was 2021. CONCLUSION: The moral reasoning level among pediatric resident physicians was higher than the average found in general population. This suggests that the education received during the medical formation may influence the individuals' moral development.

INTRODUCCIÓN: Los médicos se enfrentan cotidianamente a dilemas éticos que exigen respuestas basadas en el razonamiento moral, el cual evoluciona a lo largo de la vida y con su formación médica. Kohlberg distingue tres niveles de desarrollo moral: preconvencional (decisiones guiadas por interés propio), convencional (enfocado a obedecer reglas de la sociedad) y posconvencional (decisiones basadas en principios éticos universales). El propósito de este estudio fue describir el nivel de razonamiento moral en residentes de pediatría recién ingresados en un hospital de tercer nivel. MÉTODO: Se realizó un estudio transversal descriptivo de 2020 a 2023. Se evaluó el nivel de razonamiento moral con el defining issues test (DIT) en 195 residentes de pediatría de primer año en un hospital pediátrico de tercer nivel. RESULTADOS: Se encontró una mediana de edad de 26 años, el 60% de los residentes fueron mujeres, el 74% refirieron profesar alguna religión, el 51% nacieron en Ciudad de México, en donde el 45% cohabitan en una vivienda compartida. El estadio con mayor puntuación del DIT fue el cuarto. Se observó una mediana de índice P (IP) de 40. Respecto al nivel de razonamiento moral, el 49% se encontraban en el nivel posconvencional. CONCLUSIÓN: Los residentes de pediatría mostraron un nivel de razonamiento moral más alto que lo reportado como promedio en la población general (nivel posconvencional vs. convencional, respectivamente), lo que sugiere que la enseñanza en la carrera de medicina pudiera influir en el desarrollo moral de los sujetos.

Values Scale for Positive Youth Development in Sport.

Adolescence is a period of special significance for the development of personal and social values. Positive adolescent development (PYD) can be an ideal perspective from which to promote values in young people through their sports practice. The aim of the study was to adapt and analyse the measurement properties of the Values Scale for Positive Youth Development for use in the context of sport in young athletes. A total of 599 adolescents, competitors of different sports modalities, participated in the study. Confirmatory factor analysis and reliability and invariance analyses were performed. The results confirmed a good model fit, with adjustment indexes (CFI, GFI and AGFI) above 0.90 and error (RMSEA and SRMR) below 0.08. The factor loadings above 0.50 were obtained for all items. Adequate reliability of the scales was also confirmed, between 0.72 and 0.89, and gender, age and sport invariance were confirmed. In conclusion, the analysed scale is a valid and reliable instrument with adequate psychometric properties, which makes it an appropriate assessment tool to be used in sports contexts, based on the positive adolescent development approach.

What motivates early lies? Deception in 2½- to 5-year-olds.

What motivates young children to produce early lies? A total of 217 2½- to 5-year-old children (Mage = 44.5 months, SD = 8.45; 54% girls; 61.7% White) from the southeastern United States were tested using a modified third-party transgression paradigm to examine the motivation behind their deception. Children were assigned to one of three conditions-baseline, self-motivated, or other-motivated condition-and their propensity to lie was captured through both verbal and nonverbal measures. Results show that children's early lies are primarily driven by a self-serving motivation. However, the motivation to lie diversifies by 4 years of age, when children begin to lie for both self-serving and other-serving motivations.

Executive function as a mechanism for the emergence and expression of moral knowledge.

We outline two accounts by which executive function (EF) supports children's moral reasoning: an emergence and an expression account. The emergence account postulates that EF supports the development of moral concepts because it relates to how children navigate their early social environments and how well they can internalize moral messages. The expression account postulates that EF supports children's in-the-moment moral reasoning for complex moral situations. We present data from two studies with preschool children to assess each account. In support of the emergence account, EF longitudinally and positively predicted moral reasoning, but only for children who have experienced moderate forms of peer conflict. In support of the expression account, EF was only correlated with judgments that required the coordination of multiple pieces of information (i.e., retaliation and criterion judgments). We conclude that EF is an important cognitive mechanism of moral development and discuss various implications of these findings for both moral development and EF theory.

Infant-parent attachment and lie-telling in young children: The Generation R Study.

Insecure-attached adults are more likely to lie. However, it is unknown whether infant-parent attachment quality relates to lie-telling in early childhood. As in adults, lie-telling in early childhood might be related to attachment insecurity. However, a competing hypothesis might be plausible; lie-telling might be related to attachment security given that lie-telling in early childhood is considered an advancement in social-cognitive development. The current study is the first to investigate the link between insecure/secure and disorganized/non-disorganized attachment and lie-telling behavior in early childhood. Because lie-telling is studied in the context of cheating behavior, the association between cheating and attachment is additionally explored. A total of 560 Dutch children (287 girls) from a longitudinal cohort study (Generation R) were included in the analyses. Attachment quality with primary caregiver (secure/insecure and disorganized/non-disorganized attachment) was assessed at 14 months of age in the Strange Situation Procedure, and cheating and lie-telling were observed in games administered at 4 years of age. The results demonstrated no relationship of attachment (in)security and (dis)organization with cheating and lie-telling. Results are interpreted in light of evidence that lie-telling in early childhood is part of normative development. Limitations are discussed, including the time lag between assessments, the fact that lie-telling was measured toward a researcher instead of a caregiver, and the conceptualization of attachment in infancy versus adulthood. Attachment quality does not affect early normative lie-telling, but how and when it may affect later lying in children remains to be explored.

The origins of moral sensitivities: Probing infants' expectations, evaluations, generalization, and enforcement of moral norms.

Identifying the origins of moral sensitivities, and their elaboration, within infancy and early childhood is a challenging task, given inherent limitations in infants' behavior. Here, I argue for a multi-pronged, multi-method approach that involves cleaving the moral response at its joints. Specifically, I chart the emergence of infants' moral expectations, evaluations, generalization and enforcement, demonstrating that while many moral sensitivities are present in the second year of life, these sensitivities are closely aligned with, and likely driven by, infants' everyday experience. Moreover, qualitative differences exist between the moral responses that are present in infancy and those of later childhood, particularly in terms of enforcement (i.e., a lack of punishment in infancy). These findings set the stage for addressing outstanding critical questions regarding moral development, that include identifying discrete causal inputs to early moral cognition, identifying whether moral cognition is distinct from social cognition early in life, and explaining gaps that exist between moral cognition and moral behavior in development.

Inclusive classroom norms and children's expectations of inclusion of peers with learning difficulties in their social world.

We examined whether inclusive classroom norms predicted children's reasoning and expectations about the inclusion of peers with learning difficulties from different perspectives (i.e., self, friends, and unfamiliar story protagonist). Swiss elementary school children (N = 1019; 51% girls; Mage = 10.20 years; Grades 3-6) shared their perceptions of inclusive classroom norms and answered questions regarding the inclusion of a character with learning difficulties in an academic scenario. Multilevel analyses revealed that children expected less inclusion from their friends (estimated OR = 0.14, p < .001) or the unfamiliar story protagonist (estimated OR = 0.15, p < .001) than from themselves. Inclusive classroom norms positively predicted children's own (estimated OR = 3.17, p = .041) and their friends' inclusion expectations (estimated OR = 4.59, p = .007). Moreover, individuals who perceived higher inclusive norms than the classroom average were less concerned that the inclusion of the child with learning difficulties would threaten successful group functioning (γ = - 0.19, p = .011). To target the inclusion of children with learning difficulties, school psychologists can heighten classmates' perceptions of inclusive norms and pay attention to individual differences in norm perception.

Schadenfreude or empathy? Children's emotional responses to the physical pain and pleasure of prosocial and antisocial others.

Adults' emotional reactions to the pain and pleasure of others are influenced by the moral character of those individuals. However, it remains unclear whether children's emotional responses also show such selectivity. To investigate this, we compared 4- to 8-year-old children's emotional responses to the physical pain and pleasure of prosocial versus antisocial puppets. In Study 1, children reported unhappiness after witnessing the pain of the prosocial and antisocial puppets but reported less unhappiness after witnessing the pain of the antisocial puppet. In Study 2, children reported happiness after witnessing the pleasure of both puppets but reported being less happy for the antisocial puppet. These results suggest that children are less likely to empathize with antisocial individuals. Meanwhile, children did not display Schadenfreude (pleasure at others' pain) or Gluckschmerz (displeasure at others' pleasure) toward antisocial individuals in our studies. Moreover, the selectivity of children's emotional responses disappeared after we manipulated the physical competence rather than the moral character of the puppets in Study 3. Our findings help to reveal the moral selectivity of emotional responses to others' pleasure and pain during early childhood.

I help, therefore, I am? - A registered report on longitudinal inter-relations of the three-dimensional moral self-concept and prosocial behaviours in preschool children.

Children's moral self-concept (MSC) has been proposed to relate to prosocial behaviour. However, systematic assessments of their inter-relations are scarce. Therefore, this longitudinal study investigated the development, structure and inter-relation of prosocial behaviours and the MSC in childhood, using three measurement points at ages 4, 5 and 6 years. We assessed children's MSC and helping, sharing and comforting behaviours in a laboratory setting. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed a three-dimensional MSC structure at 5 and 6 years, but not at 4 years. There was inconsistent stability across time points regarding prosocial behaviour and MSC. For the comforting domain, but not the other domains, cross-lagged relations between self-concept and behaviour were present. Moreover, helping behaviour and self-concept were inter-related at 6 years. Results provide support for reciprocal associations between MSC and prosocial behaviour, albeit only in the comforting domain. They highlight the importance of distinguishing between types of prosocial behaviour and corresponding dimensions of the self-concept, as different developmental trajectories and associations emerge.

Preschoolers' retrospective and prospective judgements of immanent justice following distributive actions.

Prior research provided evidence for retrospective and prospective judgements of immanent justice in adults, but the developmental origins of judgements of immanent justice remain unknown. Both retrospective and prospective judgements were investigated in preschool age, using explicit and implicit measures. In Experiment 1, 2.5- and 4-year-olds were first shown events in which one agent distributed resources fairly or unfairly, and then they saw test events in which both distributors were damaged by a misfortune. Later, they were presented with a verbal task, in which they had to respond to two questions on evaluation of the deservingness, by using explicit measures. All children were likely to approve of deserved outcomes when deeds and outcomes were congruent (i.e., unfair distributor-misfortune), and only older ones were likely to disapprove when they were incongruent (i.e., fair distributor-misfortune). In Experiment 2, 4-year-olds after seeing familiarization events of Experiment 1, were presented with two verbal questions to explore prospective judgements of immanent justice, by using explicit measures. In Experiment 3, 4-year-olds were first shown familiarization events of Experiment 1 and listened to respective narratives, then before the outcome was revealed they were assessed with a reaching task to investigate prospective judgements of immanent justice, by using implicit measures. Children reached the image depicting a bad outcome for the unfair distributor, and that illustrated a good outcome for the fair distributor. The results of the last two experiments demonstrated a fine ability to make prospective judgements at 4 years of life, and found that they were to be more prone to apply immanent justice reasoning to positive outcomes following good actions. Taken together, these results provide new evidence for preschoolers' retrospective and prospective judgements of immanent justice.

I help, therefore, I am?-longitudinal interrelations of the three-dimensional moral self-concept and prosocial behaviours in 4-6-year-old children.

Children's moral self-concept (MSC) has been proposed to relate to prosocial behaviour. However, systematic assessments of their interrelations are scarce. The current study examines the early development, structure, stability and interrelation of three key prosocial behaviours and the corresponding dimensions of the moral self-concept. To this end, we use a longitudinal approach with three measurement points during the preschool years at ages 4, 5 and 6 years. We assess three prosocial dimensions of children's MSC through a puppet-interview. In addition, behavioural measures of children's helping, sharing and comforting were administered in a laboratory setting. By examining the longitudinal associations between MSC and prosocial behaviours, this study will provide valuable insights into the complex nature of prosocial development in early childhood.

Desenvolvimento moral, afetividade e complexidade: esgotamento das teorias morais racionalistas a partir de Carol Gilligan / Moral development, affectivity and complexity: depletion of rationalist moral theories as of Carol Gilligan / Desarrollo moral, afectividad y complejidad: agotamiento de las teorías morales racionalistas desde Carol Gilligan / Développement moral, affectivité et complexité: l'épuisement des théories morales rationalistes à partir de Carol Gilligan

As teorias morais de Jean Piaget e Lawrence Kohlberg são acusadas de esgotamento. Esse esgotamento seria devido, principalmente, a suas limitações em contemplar a complexidade envolvida no desenvolvimento moral, como o papel da afetividade nesse processo. A partir do trabalho pioneiro de Carol Gilligan que se ateve a essa relação entre cognição e afetividade, diversas teorias surgiram com proposições próprias visando sanar as limitações de suas predecessoras, e que por isso poderiam se dizer pós-kohlberguianas. Este artigo tem o objetivo de discutir a questão da complexidade no desenvolvimento moral, sobretudo quanto à influência da afetividade nesse processo, desvelada inicialmente a partir de Gilligan. Conclui-se que, caso haja, de fato, tal esgotamento, as teorias pós-kohlberguianas que consideram a complexidade, em débito com o trabalho pioneiro de Gilligan que lhes serviu de referência, parecem ter renovado o campo de investigação para mais um ciclo de décadas de estudo sobre o desenvolvimento moral

The moral theories of Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg are accused of depletion. This depletion would be mainly due to its limitations in contemplating the complexity involved in moral development, such as the role of affectivity in this process. Based on the pioneering work of Carol Gilligan that stuck to this relationship between cognition and affectivity, several theories emerged with their own propositions aimed at remedying the limitations of their predecessors, which could therefore be said to be post-Kohlberguian. This article aims to discuss the issue of complexity in moral development, especially regarding the influence of affectivity in this process, initially unveiled from Gilligan. It is concluded that if there is, in fact, such depletion, the post-Kohlberguian theories that consider complexity, indebted to Gilligan's pioneering work that served as a reference, seem to have renewed the field of investigation for another cycle of decades of study on moral development

Las teorías morales de Jean Piaget y Lawrence Kohlberg están acusadas de agotamiento. Este agotamiento se debería a sus limitaciones para contemplar la complejidad del desarrollo moral, como el papel de la afectividad en este proceso. A partir del trabajo pionero de Carol Gilligan que se apegó a esta relación entre cognición y afectividad, surgieron varias teorías con propuestas propias destinadas a remediar las limitaciones de sus predecesoras, que podría decirse post-Kohlberguianas. Este artículo tiene como objetivo discutir el tema de la complejidad en el desarrollo moral, especialmente en lo que respecta a la influencia de la afectividad en este proceso, inicialmente desvelado por Gilligan. Se concluye que si existe tal agotamiento, las teorías post-Kohlberguianas que consideran la complejidad, en deuda con el trabajo pionero de Gilligan que sirvió de referencia, parecen haber renovado el campo de investigación para otro ciclo de décadas de estudio sobre el desarrollo moral

Les théories morales de Jean Piaget et Lawrence Kohlberg sont accusées d'épuisement. Cet épuisement serait dû à ses limites à envisager la complexité impliquée dans le développement moral, comme le rôle de l'affectivité dans ce processus. Sur la base des travaux pionniers de Carol Gilligan qui s'en tenaient à cette relation entre cognition et affectivité, plusieurs théories ont émergé avec leurs propres propositions visant à remédier aux limites de leurs prédécesseurs, alors appelé post-kohlberguiennes. L'objectif est discuter de la question de la complexité dans le développement moral, notamment en ce qui concerne l'influence de l'affectivité dans ce processus, initialement dévoilée de Gilligan. On en conclut que s'il y a, en fait, un tel épuisement, les théories post-kohlberguiennes qui considèrent la complexité, redevable au travail pionnier de Gilligan qui a servi de référence, semblent avoir renouvelé le champ d'investigation pour un autre cycle de décennies d'étude sur le développement moral

Evidências de validade da Escala RASH - Relação, Autonomia, Separação e Heteronomia em uma amostra de brasileiros e norte americanos / Evidenced of validity of the RASH Scale - Relation, Autonomy, Separation and Heteronomy in a sample of brazilians and north americans / Evidencias de validez de la Escala RASH - Relación, Autonomía, Separación y Heteronomía en una muestra de brasileños y norteamericanos

A Escala RASH (relação, autonomia, separação e heteronomia) foi desenvolvida para investigar padrões de self em estudos transculturais. No presente estudo, foi realizada uma análise fatorial da escala RASH em amostras brasileiras e norte-americanas, com o objetivo de fornecer uma medida de quatro fatores com bons índices de ajuste. Buscou-se confirmar o padrão de self autônomo-relacionado nas duas amostras e também a relação entre o nível de escolaridade dos pais e tipos de valores que desejam para seus filhos. Coletou-se dados de 756 participantes (EUA, n = 519, Brasil, n = 237), pais ou responsáveis por alunos de 7 a 14 anos. Foram realizadas análise fatorial exploratória e confirmatória, medidas de invariância e estatísticas básicas como média, desvio padrão e correlação. Os resultados corroboram uma estrutura de quatro fatores do instrumento e os padrões autorrelatados nas duas culturas. O instrumento pode auxiliar em pesquisas transculturais sobre o desenvolvimento de valores e captar diferenças entre culturas.(AU)

The RASH scale (which stands for relation, autonomy, separation, and heteronomy) was developed to investigate patterns of self in cross-cultural studies. In the present study, a factor analysis of the RASH scale was conducted in Brazilian and North American samples, with the aim of providing a four-factor measure with good fit indices. The aim was to confirm the pattern of autonomous-relational self in the two samples and also the relationship among the parents' level of education and the types of values they want for their children. We collected data from 756 participants (n = 519, USA; n = 237, Brazil), parents or guardians of students aged 7 to 14 years. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, invariance measures and basic statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and correlation were performed. The results confirmed the four-factor structure of the instrument and self-reported patterns in the two cultures. The instrument can help in cross-cultural research on the development of values and capture differences between cultures.(AU)

La escala RASH (relación, autonomía, separación y heteronomía) se desarrolló para investigar patrones del self en estudios transculturales. En el presente estudio, se realizó una validación de la escala RASH en muestras brasileñas y norteamericanas, con el objetivo de proporcionar una medida de cuatro factores con buenos índices de ajuste. Se buscó confirmar el patrón de self autónomo-relacionado en ambas muestras, así como la relación entre el nivel educativo de los padres y los tipos de valores que desean para sus hijos. Se recopilaron datos de 756 participantes (n = 519 en EE. UU.; N = 237 en Brasil), padres o tutores de estudiantes de 7 a 14 años. Se llevaron a cabo análisis factoriales exploratorios y confirmatorios, seguidos de medidas de invarianza y cálculos de estadísticas básicas como media, desviación estándar y correlación. Los resultados respaldaron la estructura de cuatro factores del instrumento y los patrones autoinformados en ambas culturas. El instrumento puede ser útil para investigaciones interculturales sobre el desarrollo de valores y para capturar las diferencias entre culturas.(AU)

Evaluation of Moral Reasoning Skills among Dental Students in the Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia.

Introduction: One of the main roles of healthcare educators is to prepare students to make the right ethical decisions. This study evaluated the moral reasoning levels of dental students according to Kohlberg's six-stage moral development system. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in three dental schools in the Makkah region. Senior-year students completed the self-administered Socio-moral Reflection Objective Measure (SROM), which consists of hypothetical moral dilemmas and options that mirror individual reasoning possibilities. SROM results were matched to Kohlberg's six-stage moral development system and associations with demographic variables and perceptions of educational context variables assessed. Results: One hundred and eighty-eight senior students (mean age 23 ± 1.1 years) completed the SROM. Only 34.6% (n = 44) students reached stage four (morality of law and duty to the social order), while most students (63.8%; n = 81) were at stage three (morality of mutual interpersonal expectations); 1.6% (n = 2) were at stage two (the instrumental relativist orientation). No subject achieved stage 5. Attainment of moral reasoning was not associated with demographic or perception of educational context variables. Conclusion: Students demonstrated a relatively low level of moral reasoning. Healthcare educators must review curricula to provide focused training for students to cultivate their moral reasoning skills. Further studies are also needed to confirm and explain this low moral reasoning level in dental students.

Measuring moral development in the pharmacy profession from undergraduate to established practitioner: a decadal longitudinal study.

The aim of this study is to measure and evaluate the moral reasoning of undergraduate pharmacy students as they progress through a British university, and onward through the early years of their professional practice. This study utilizes version 2 of Rest's Defining Issues Test in a longitudinal design, evaluating a single cohort of future pharmacists, which started a 4-year Master of Pharmacy degree program in 2008-09, completed their preregistration training, and progressed through their early careers. The final dataset was collected in 2019. Both descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was subsequently carried out. The cohort experienced significant moral growth during the 4 years of their undergraduate degree, where they were exposed to an ethical education designed to engage students at the "plus one" level of moral reasoning. There is also evidence for work-based augmentation of moral development between graduation from university and qualification as pharmacists. The subjects underwent a marked increase in moral development as they progressed through their undergraduate studies, followed by another sizeable, though not statistically significant developmental progression during the preregistration year. The retrograde step in moral development observed between newly qualified level and established practitioner level requires further investigation: structured interviews with participants, which focus on changes to their experiences in practice and how these affected their moral agency are already underway.

Empathy and ethical sensitivity among intensive and critical care nurses: A path analysis.

BACKGROUND: Intensive and critical care nurses need to demonstrate ethical sensitivity especially in recognizing and dealing with ethical dilemmas particularly as they often care for patients living with life-threatening conditions. Theories suggest that there is a convergence between nurses' empathy and ethical sensitivity. Evidence in the literature indicates that nurses' emotional, demographic, and work characteristics are associated with their level of empathy and ethical sensitivity. AIM: To investigate the relationship between nurses' empathy and ethical sensitivity, considering their emotional states (depression, anxiety, and stress), demographic and work characteristics, and test an empirical model describing potential predictors of empathy (as a mediator) and ethical sensitivity using path analysis. RESEARCH DESIGN: Using a cross-sectional design, the philosophical theory of care ethics and empathy was extended and adopted as a conceptual framework for this study and tested by path analysis. PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT: Data were collected from 347 intensive care nurses recruited by ten educational-medical hospitals in Iran using a questionnaire between February and March 2021. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: The study was reviewed by the Ethical Advisory Board in Iran and conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki. FINDINGS: Study participants demonstrated a mild level of stress, anxiety, and depression, alongside a relatively high level of empathy and ethical sensitivity. Nurses with good socioeconomic status had higher empathetic behavior with patients than those with weak status. Nurses aged over 40 who had received ethics training and had higher work experience were associated with higher ethical sensitivity compared to nurses under 20 years of age. Empathy directly affected ethical sensitivity; however, anxiety had an indirect effect on ethical sensitivity through empathy. Among demographic factors, age had a positive direct effect on ethical sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: Less anxiety and a high level of empathy contribute to higher levels of ethical sensitivity among intensive and critical care nurses.

Generalizing across moral sub-domains: infants bidirectionally link fairness and unfairness to helping and hindering.

Across two experiments, we investigated whether infants use prior behavior to form expectations about future behavior within the moral domain, focusing on the sub-domains of fairness and help/harm. In Experiment 1, 14- to 27-month-old infants were familiarized to an agent who either helped or hindered another agent to obtain her goal. At test, infants saw the helper or hinderer perform either a fair or unfair distribution of resources to two recipients. Infants familiarized to helping looked longer to the unfair distribution than the fair distribution at test, whereas infants familiarized to hindering looked equally at both test events, suggesting that hindering led infants to suspend baseline expectations of fairness. In Experiment 2, infants saw these events in reverse. Following familiarization to fair behavior, infants looked equally to helping and hindering; in contrast, following familiarization to unfair behavior, infants looked significantly longer to helping than hindering on test, suggesting that prior unfair behavior led infants to expect the agent to hinder another agent's goals. These results suggest that infants utilize prior information from one moral sub-domain to form expectations of how an individual will behave in another sub-domain, and that this tendency seems to manifest more strongly when infants initially see hindering and unfair distributions than when they see helping and fair distributions. Together, these findings provide evidence for consilience within the moral domain, starting by at least the second year of life.

Amygdala connectivity and aggression.

Neurobiological models propose that reactive aggression is predicated on impairments in amygdala-prefrontal connectivity that subserves moral decision-making and emotion regulation. The amygdala is a key component within this neural network that modulates reactive aggression. We provide a review of amygdala dysfunctional brain networks leading to reactive aggressive behavior. We elaborate on key concepts, focusing on moral decision-making and emotion regulation in a developmental context, and brain network connectivity factors relating to amygdala (dys)function-factors which we suggest predispose to reactive aggression. We additionally discuss insights into the latest treatment interventions, providing the utilization of the scientific findings for practice.