Peacemaking and consolation in Japanese preschoolers witnessing peer aggression.
This article reports developmental changes relating to reconciliation and bystanders' affiliation with victims of aggression (i.e., consolation) among 3- to 5-year-old Japanese preschool children. Use of the post-conflict-matched control (PC-MC) method revealed that the frequency with which reconciliation and consolation were offered to a victim increased steeply in 5-year-olds, compared with 3- and 4-year-olds. The complexity of contextual factors affecting the occurrence of reconciliation and the form of consolation increased with age. Consolation occurred more often before reconciliation than after among all but the 3-year-olds and occurred more often when no reconciliation occurred than when it did occur among all classes. These findings support the view that consolation functions as a substitute for reconciliation, lessening the tension experienced by the victim of aggression.
Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. keiko@darwin.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Keiko K
KK
Fujisawa
Nobuyuki
N
Kutsukake
Toshikazu
T
Hasegawa
D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D044466:Asian People; D001290:Attitude / Q000208:ethnology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment