Children's conceptions of the situational affective consequences of sociomoral events.
Children's conceptions of the linkages between sociomoral events and emotional consequences were examined in a 2-part study. In Part 1, kindergartners, third graders, and sixth graders assessed the probable emotional consequences of 6 types of sociomoral events (inhibitive morality, active morality, conventional, personal, distributive justice, and prosocial morality) on several event participants (initiator and recipient of the action, adult and child observers, and subject as observer). Results indicated that children's conceptions were highly differentiated, reflecting a general sensitivity to differences in both types of sociomoral events and the roles of individuals in these events. An additional sociomoral event X event interaction indicated, however, that conceptions within some sociomoral events also depended on the particular roles of the event participants. In Part 2 of the study, the social event-emotion linkage was reversed. Children were presented with depictions of the affective reactions of sociomoral participants and selected which of 2 sociomoral events was more likely to have produced those reactions. Overall, children were able to match affective information representative of each sociomoral category to the appropriate eliciting sociomoral event.
Arsenio
W F
WF
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY 10461.
D000339:Affect; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003210:Concept Formation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009014:Morals; D012931:Social Environment; D012951:Socialization