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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Transmission of moral values between generations of families in conditions of social and economic vulnerability / Transmissão de valores morais entre as gerações de famílias em condições de vulnerabilidade social e econômica

Introduction: the study sought to determine how the passage of values between generations is processed, in view of the exposure to conditions of deprivation to which these people are subjected, while they carry the obligation to ensure the minimum for their children but do not have the necessary resources. This raises the question of how it is possible to affirm a notion of right and wrong within this social framework. this study analysed the transmission of values between generations in groups of people in unfavourable economic and social conditions. Methods: this is a qualitative descriptive study, interviews were conducted through group meetings to discuss issues related to morals. It was carried out with grandparents, their children, and their grandchildren who are residents of a peripheral neighbourhood of the capital of São Paulo and live in restricted economic conditions and under the daily impact of violence. These discussions involved the three generational components of three families. Different arrangements were made that involved the same generational group in an initial meeting and, in another meeting, the mixture of different generations and different families responding to pre-established themes that involved moral dilemmas focused on the daily cultural and social life of these families. The theoretical basis of this study was psychoanalysis, using the concepts of Identification, Ego Ideal, Ideal Ego, Oedipus, and the dynamics underlying the insertion of the father in the Oedipal triad.Results: the grandfathers were ambiguous because they have a reference to a law of morals transcending space and time. Parents, realising the ambiguity of these grandparents in relation to reality, reformulate these moral questions, basing their convictions on a law that is established within the contingencies of everyday life and, therefore, changeable. The adolescent grandchildren perceive this ambiguity in the parents and in their speech. Conclusion: there is greater identification of moral standards among grandchildren and grandparents than between children and parents. The interviewed parents were ambiguous in the way they act and speak, with the transgenerational reproduction model being more guided between grandchildren and grandparents than in the sequential temporal generational sequence.

Introdução: o estudo procurou averiguar como se processa a passagem de valores entre gerações, face à exposição a condições de privação a que são submetidas estas pessoas, enquanto carregam a obrigação de assegurar o mínimo aos filhos mas não dispõem dos recursos necessários. Isso levanta a questão de como é possível afirmar uma noção de certo e errado dentro dessa estrutura social. este estudo analisou a transmissão de valores entre gerações em grupos de pessoas em condições econômicas e sociais desfavoráveis. Métodos: trata-se de um estudo qualitativo descritivo, foram realizadas entrevistas por meio de encontros grupais para discussão de questões relacionadas à moral. Foi realizado com avós, filhos e netos moradores de um bairro periférico da capital paulista e que vivem em condições econômicas restritas e sob o impacto cotidiano da violência. Essas discussões envolveram os três componentes geracionais de três famílias. Diferentes arranjos foram feitos envolvendo o mesmo grupo geracional em um encontro inicial e, em outro encontro, a mistura de diferentes gerações e diferentes famílias respondendo a temas pré-estabelecidos que envolviam dilemas morais centrados no cotidiano cultural e social dessas famílias. A base teórica deste estudo foi a psicanálise, utilizando os conceitos de Identificação, Ideal do Ego. Resultados: os avôs se mostraram ambíguos pois possuem uma referência de Lei, de moral, deslocada no espaço e no tempo; os pais percebendo a ambiguidade destes avôs em relação à realidade reformulam estas questões morais pautando suas convicções em uma Lei que se estabelece dentro das contingências do cotidiano e, portanto, mutável; os netos adolescentes percebem esta ambiguidade nos pais e nos seus discursos. Conclusão: há maior identificação de padrões morais entre netos e avôs do que entre filhos e pais. Os pais entrevistados se mostraram ambíguos na forma de agir e de discursar, sendo o modelo de reprodução transgeracional mais pautado entre netos e avôs do que na sequência geracional temporal sequencial.

Human infants are aroused and concerned by moral transgressions.

Humans reason and care about ethical issues, such as avoiding unnecessary harm. But what enables us to develop a moral capacity? This question dates back at least to ancient Greece and typically results in the traditional opposition between sentimentalism (the view that morality is mainly driven by socioaffective processes) and rationalism [the view that morality is mainly driven by (socio)cognitive processes or reason]. Here, we used multiple methods (eye-tracking and observations of expressive behaviors) to assess the role of both cognitive and socioaffective processes in infants' developing morality. We capitalized on the distinction between moral (e.g., harmful) and conventional (e.g., harmless) transgressions to investigate whether 18-mo-old infants understand actions as distinctively moral as opposed to merely disobedient or unexpected. All infants watched the same social scene, but based on prior verbal interactions, an actor's tearing apart of a picture (an act not intrinsically harmful) with a tool constituted either a conventional (wrong tool), a moral (producing harm), or no violation (correct tool). Infants' anticipatory looks differentiated between conventional and no violation conditions, suggesting that they processed the verbal interactions and built corresponding expectations. Importantly, infants showed a larger increase in pupil size (physiological arousal), and more expressions indicating empathic concern, in response to a moral than to a conventional violation. Thus, infants differentiated between harmful and harmless transgressions based solely on prior verbal interactions. Together, these convergent findings suggest that human infants' moral development is fostered by both sociocognitive (inferring harm) and socioaffective processes (empathic concern for others' welfare).

Evaluations of pro-environmental behaviors by 7-month-old infants.

Environmental morality is the foundation of a sustainable future, yet its ontogenetic origin remains unknown. In the present study, we asked whether 7-month-olds have a sense of 'environmental morality'. Infants' evaluations of two pro-environmental actions were assessed in both visual and reaching preferential tasks. In Experiment 1, the overt behavior of protecting (i.e., collecting artificial objects spread on a lawn) was compared with the action of harming the environment (i.e., by disregarding the objects). In Experiment 2, the covert behavior of protecting the environment (i.e., maintaining artificial objects inside a container) was compared with the action of harming the environment (i.e., littering the artificial objects on a lawn). The results showed infants' reaching preference for the agent who performed overt pro-environmental actions (Experiment 1), and no preference for the agent who performed covert pro-environmental actions (Experiment 2). These findings reveal a rudimentary ecological sense and suggest that infants require different abilities to evaluate overt impact-oriented and covert intend-oriented pro-environmental behaviors.

Psicología del desarrollo en Colombia: pasado reciente y situación actual / Developmental Psychology in Colombia: Recent Past and Present Situation

Resumen El presente artículo analiza el estado actual de la psicología del desarrollo en Colombia. El punto de partida es la producción académica más significativa de los grupos de investigación, registrada en el Sistema Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología de Colombia (ScienTI) en las últimas tres décadas. La revisión documental se organizó a partir de las principales áreas de trabajo identificadas: desarrollo en contextos de pobreza, desarrollo cognitivo, relaciones vinculares, desarrollo afectivo y emocional, desarrollo moral, psicología cultural del desarrollo y desarrollos atípicos. Se identificaron 44 grupos de investigación que aportan al campo de la psicología del desarrollo desde diferentes ámbitos teóricos, conceptuales y metodológicos. Cada uno de estos grupos brinda sus aportes desde diferentes regiones del país y en distintos segmentos de la población, en los que se destaca una preocupación por poblaciones en contextos de pobreza y violencia, respondiendo así a la situación del país. Algunos de esos estudios han contribuido a la identificación de factores protectores en poblaciones vulnerables y al fortalecimiento de bases seguras en familias, así como en la formulación de políticas públicas a favor de la niñez colombiana.

Abstract This paper analyzes the current state of developmental psychology in Colombia. The starting point is the most significant academic production of research groups, registered in the National System of Science and Technology of Colombia in the last three decades. The documentary review was organized according to the main areas of work identified: development in contexts of poverty, cognitive development, bonding relationships, affective and emotional development, moral development, cultural psychology of development and atypical developments. Forty-four research groups have been identified that contribute to the field of developmental psychology from different theoretical, conceptual, and methodological fields. Each of these groups provides their contributions from different regions of the country and in different segments of the population, in which a concern for populations in contexts of poverty and violence stands out, thus responding to the situation of the country. Some of these studies have contributed to the identification of protective factors in vulnerable populations and to the strengthening of safe bases in families, as well as to the formulation of public policies in favor of Colombian children.

Effectiveness of Moral Developmental Interventions for Youth Engaged in Delinquent Behavior: A Meta-Analysis.

There is vast empirical evidence showing that juvenile delinquency is associated with delays in moral development, including moral judgment, empathy, and self-conscious emotions (guilt and shame). Consequently, interventions have been developed that target moral development of juvenile delinquents to reduce criminal offense recidivism. However, a comprehensive synthesis of studies examining the effectiveness of these interventions was not yet available. The present meta-analysis of (quasi-)experimental research therefore examined the effects of interventions that target moral development of youth engaged in delinquent behavior. Interventions that targeted moral judgment (11 studies and 17 effect sizes) showed a significant and small-to-medium effect on moral judgment (d = 0.39), with intervention type as a significant moderator, but no significant effect on recidivism (d = 0.03; 11 studies and 40 effect sizes). No (quasi-)experimental studies were found that targeted guilt and shame in juvenile offenders, and an insufficient number of studies (i.e., only two) were found to conduct a meta-analysis of interventions that target empathy. The discussion focuses on potential ways to improve moral development interventions for youth engaged in delinquent behavior, and provides suggestions for future research.

Moral Decision-Making in Trolley Problems and Variants: How Do Participants' Perspectives, Borderline Personality Traits, and Empathy Predict Choices?

The aim of the present study was to demonstrate and extend the causal effect of participants' perspectives on moral decision-making using trolley problems and variants. Additionally, we investigated whether empathy and borderline (BDL) personality traits predicted participants' choices in these scenarios. We used both a classical trolley problem (a causing harm scenario) and an everyday trolley-like problem (a causing inconvenience scenario). Participants (N = 427, women: 54%) completed BDL traits and empathy questionnaires and, randomly, the two types of trolley problems, presenting both three different perspectives. Our study provided strong evidence that the perspective from which participants were enrolled in the trolley problem caused significant changes in their moral decision-making. Furthermore, we found that affective empathy and BDL traits significantly predicted participants' decisions in the causing inconvenience scenario, while only BDL traits predicted choices in the causing harm scenario. This study was original in providing new experimental materials, causal results, and highlighting the significant influence of BDL traits and affective empathy on moral decision-making. These findings raised fundamental questions, which are further developed in the discussion section.

How the COVID-19 pandemic affects the moral reasoning of pediatric residents and the general population.

BACKGROUND: Kohlberg's theory of moral development asserts that people progress through different stages of moral reasoning as their cognitive abilities and social interactions mature. Individuals at the lowest stage of moral reasoning (preconventional stage) judge moral issues based on self-interest, those with a medium stage (conventional stage) judge them based on compliance with rules and norms, and those at the highest stage (postconventional stage) judge moral issues based on universal principles and shared ideals. Upon attaining adulthood, it can be considered that there is stability in the stage of individuals' moral development; however, the effect of a global population crisis such as the one experienced in March 2020, when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 pandemic, is unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in the moral reasoning of pediatric residents before and after one year of the COVID-19 pandemic and compare them with a general population group. METHODS: This is a naturalistic quasi-experimental study conducted with two groups, one comprised 47 pediatric residents of a tertiary hospital converted into a COVID hospital during the pandemic and another group comprised 47 beneficiaries of a family clinic who were not health workers. The defining issues test (DIT) was applied to the 94 participants during March 2020, before the pandemic initiated in Mexico, and later during March 2021. To assess intragroup changes, the McNemar-Bowker and Wilcoxon tests were used. RESULTS: Pediatric residents showed higher baseline stages of moral reasoning: 53% in the postconventional group compared to the general population group (7%). In the preconventional group, 23% were residents and 64% belonged to the general population. In the second measurement, one year after the start of the pandemic, the group of residents had a significant decrease of 13 points in the P index, unlike the general population group in which a decrease of 3 points was observed. This decrease however, did not equalize baseline stages. Pediatric residents remained 10 points higher than the general population group. Moral reasoning stages were associated with age and educational stage. CONCLUSIONS: After a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we found a decrease in the stage of moral reasoning development in pediatric residents of a hospital converted for the care of patients with COVID-19, while it remained stable in the general population group. Physicians showed higher stages of moral reasoning at baseline than the general population.

"But the poor needed it more": Children's judgments on procedural justice to allocate resources between two candidates equal in merit, different in need.

The current study investigated children's judgments on procedural justice and its outcomes when the candidates were equal in merit but different in need. A total of 88 children (41 girls and 47 boys) aged 7 to 11 years were individually interviewed (Mage = 8 years 9 months, SD = 14.065 months). Results showed that, regardless of age, children tended to give educational resources to the resource-poor candidates. However, children's welfare consideration of the resource-poor candidates increased with age. Children also made differentiated judgments based on the resource type and treated educational materials as more necessary than educational experiences. Children's age and socioeconomic status (SES) were associated with this differentiation. Younger and high-SES children were more likely to view the outcome of procedural justice (i.e., drawing a stick) for allocating an educational experience (i.e., summer camp) as fair when the result favored the resource-rich candidate. Overall, findings revealed that children do not use a unitary form of fairness in the procedural justice context. The shift from strict equality to welfare concerns continues to develop over middle childhood.

Examining the influence of shyness on children's helping and comforting behaviour.

Introduction: Shy children, who tend to feel anxious around others and withdraw from social interactions, are found to be less prosocial than their not-shy peers in some studies, though not in others. To examine the contexts in which shy children may be more or less likely to engage in prosocial behaviour, we compared children's willingness and ability to intervene during in-person tasks that differed in social engagement demands and complexity, factors that have been conflated in past research. Methods: We presented 42, 3.5- to 4.5-year-old children with prosocial problems that varied, in a 2 x 2 within-subjects design, by the type of intervention required (i.e., simple helping or complex comforting) and the source of the problem (i.e., social: within the experimenter's personal space; or object: a target object distanced from her). Results: Most of the children acted prosocially, with little prompting, in the two helping tasks and in the object-centered comforting task. In contrast, fewer than half of the children acted prosocially in the social-centered comforting task. Shyer children were not less likely to intervene in any of the four tasks, but they were slower to intervene in the object-centred comforting task, in which the experimenter was upset about a broken toy. Discussion: Thus, providing social-centered comfort to a recently-introduced adult is challenging for young children, regardless of shyness, though shy children do show hesitancy with object-centered comforting. Further, these findings provide insights into the methodological challenges of disentangling children's prosocial motivation and understanding, and we propose solutions to these challenges for future research.

A cross-cultural comparison of the relation between children's moral standards of honesty and their lie-telling behavior.

This study examined the relation between children's moral standards of honesty and their lie-telling behavior and the role that culture plays in this relation. In the study, 6- to 12-year-old Chinese and Northern American (Canadian and American) children underwent a behavioral paradigm where they had the opportunity to tell a lie about their performance to gain a benefit. The children then read vignettes where a character told lies to conceal a transgression committed to satisfy either a need or a desire and evaluated those lies. Northern American children were less likely to lie with age, but Chinese children did not demonstrate this trend. Lie-telling rates were higher for Chinese children than for Northern American children, but children were overall unlikely to tell a lie about their performance. Chinese children evaluated the lies in the vignettes more negatively than Northern American children. Children's moral standards of honesty were related to their lie-telling behavior, and the relation between children's moral standards and behavior did not differ by age in either culture. Overall, results suggest that culture influences how children make moral evaluations and decisions related to lie-telling and support the notion that children's moral standards and behavior are related. These findings suggest that socialization plays a central role in children's moral decision making related to honesty through helping children to develop moral standards related to honesty.