Moral Development

Question 1

Is rough and tumble play considered aggression?

Answer 1

No, it is not aggressive

Question 2

What are key differences between rough and tumble play and aggression?

Answer 2

rough and tumble play:
* children smile and laugh
* children are willing participants
* children keep returning for more
* stronger/older kids let opponent “win”
* contact is gentle
* children alternate roles
* no spectators
aggression:
* children grown, stare, cry, get red
* one child dominates another
* children separate after
* no self-handicapping
* contact is hard and harsh
* no changing roles
* draws a crowd

Question 3

What kinds of benefits does rough and tumble play have?

Answer 3

• physical development
• social development
• emotional regulation
• cognitive development
• bonding and relationships

Question 4

What is hostile aggression?

Answer 4

aggressive acts for which the perpetrator’s main goal is to harm or injure a victim

Question 5

What is instrumental aggression?

Answer 5

aggressive acts for which the perpetrator’s major goal is to gain access to objects, space, or privileges

Question 6

What is the developmental trajectory of aggression?

Answer 6

in middle childhood:
↓ instrumental aggression
↑ hostile aggression

Question 7

What is physical aggression?

Answer 7

behaviors that cause bodily harm or injury to others

Question 8

What are the effects of physical aggression?

Answer 8

• physical injury
• emotional trauma
• social withdrawal
• immediate visible harm; more easily identifiable

Question 9

What is relational aggression?

Answer 9

behaviors aimed at damaging social relationships (i.e. spreading rumors, social exclusion, gossiping, manipulation)

Question 10

What are the effects of relational aggression?

Answer 10

damaging to psychological and emotional wellbeing; not as easily identifiable

Question 11

____ are seen as more physically aggressive, while ____ are seen as more relationally aggressive

Answer 11

males; females

Question 12

True or False:
Physical aggression has more damaging impacts on psychological and emotional wellbeing within individuals.

Answer 12

False
Relational aggression is more psychologically damaging

Question 13

What is the developmental trajectory of physical aggression?

Answer 13

• younger children: more likely to use physical aggression as common expressions of frustration, anger, or lack of impulse control
• middle childhood: decrease in physical aggression as children increase regulatory abilities
• adolescents: resurgence of physical aggression due to puberty –> trying to establish dominance

Question 14

What is the developmental trajectory of relational aggression?

Answer 14

• younger children: more likely to use direct forms of relational aggression (i.e. you can’t come to my party)
• older children: more likely to use more subtle methods of harm (i.e. spreading rumors)

Question 15

True or False:
Aggression is a fairly stable trait and a predictor of adult aggressive behaviors

Answer 15

True

Question 16

What is a proactive aggressor?

Answer 16

• finds aggressive acts easy to perform
• rely on aggression to achieve goals

Question 17

What is a reactive aggressor?

Answer 17

• hostile because they overattribute hostile intent to others
• high impulsivty

Question 18

What is the hostile attribution bias?

Answer 18

Aggressive child holds expectation that others are hostile
↓
Expectation results in biased scanning of social cues (confirmation bias)
↓
Infers that accidents had hostile intentions
↓
Retaliates against the other
↓
Results in hostile counter attacks and consequent rejection of child
↓
Expectation that others are hostile is confirmed

Question 19

True or False:
Coercive cycles within families can be influential to hostile behavior.

Answer 19

True

Question 20

A mom refuses to give her daughter cookies. The child whines and the mom eventually gives up fighting. The child gets the cookies she wants.

What kind of conditioning is this?

Answer 20

negative reinforcement

↓ fighting
↑ child’s aggression
child learns to be aggressive next time because her mom will stop fighting and give her what she wants

Question 21

What is Patterson’s model for the development of chronic antisocial behavior?

Answer 21

Early childhood:
poor parental discipline and monitoring + coercive household
↓
Middle childhood:
conduct disorders + hostile attribution bias + lack of restraint = rejection by peers or academic failure + commitment to deviant group
↓
Early adolescence:
delinquency

Question 22

What is altruism?

Answer 22

selfless concern for the welfare of others that is expressed through prosocial acts

Question 23

True or False:
Children only exhibit altruistic actions when adults are nearby.

Answer 23

True
Spontaneous acts are rare

Question 24

The origins of altruistic prosocial behavior are rooted in the capacity to feel ____ and ____.

Answer 24

empathy; sympathy

Question 25

What is empathy?

Answer 25

an emotional reaction to another’s emotional state or condition that is similar to that person’s state or condition

Question 26

What is sympathy?

Answer 26

the feeling of concern for another person in reaction to the other’s emotional state or condition; often an outcome of empathizing with another’s negative emotion or situation

Question 27

True or False:
Empathy promotes altruism.

Answer 27

True

Question 28

What is the developmental trajectory of altruistic prosocial behavior?

Answer 28

• infants: respond to others’ distress, but may not differentiate between others’ emotional reactions and their own
• age 2: children start to more clearly differentiate between another’s emotional distress and their own
• preschool to adolescence: prosocial behaviors increase

Question 29

How does the caregiver influence the child’s altruism?

Answer 29

• forces child to see relationship between his/her acts and consequences
• role-taking ability
• prosocial moral reasoning

Question 30

What was the moral dilemma question presented by Kohlberg?

Answer 30

• Heinz’ wife is sick and there is only one drug that the doctors thought might save her
• Druggist was charging 10x what the drug cost him to make
• Heinz could only get $2000 for a $4000 drug
• Should Heinz steal the drug?

Question 31

What were the three levels of moral judgment in Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Judgment?

Answer 31

• preconventional
• conventional
• postconventional

Question 32

What is preconventional moral judgment?

Answer 32

moral reasoning is self-centered, focused on getting rewards and avoiding punishment

Question 33

What is conventional moral judgment?

Answer 33

moral reasoning is centered on social relationships

Question 34

What is postconventional moral judgment?

Answer 34

moral reasoning is involved with ideals, focusing moral principles

Question 35

How did children with preconventional morality answer the Heinz question?

Answer 35

“The man shouldn’t steal the drug because he may get caught and go to jail.”

Punishment is avoided and rewards are sought

Question 36

How did children with conventional morality answer the Heinz question?

Answer 36

“He shouldn’t steal the drug because everyone will see him as a thief, and his wife wouldn’t want to be cured because of thievery.”

Cares about how situational outcomes impact others and wants to please & be accepted

Question 37

True or False:
Most active members of society remain at postconventional morality.

Answer 37

False
Most active members of society remain at conventional morality

Question 38

How did children with postconventional morality answer the Heinz question?

Answer 38

“The man should steal the drug to cure his wife and then tell the authorities that he has done so. He may have to pay a penalty, but at least he has saved a human life.”

Moral behavior is based on self-chosen ethical principles that are generally comprehensive and universal (i.e. justice, dignity, equality)

Question 39

True or False:
People go through Kohlberg’s stages of morality in the same order and attain the same final stage.

Answer 39

False
They differ in regard to the final stage they attain

Question 40

Levels of ____ determine one’s progressive through the stages of morality

Answer 40

social-cognitive development