Study challenges widely held view about children's moral judgement
Thursday, September 22, 2016 - 13:04
in Psychology & Sociology
Children's ability to make moral judgements has often been substantially underestimated, new research indicates. When making moral judgements, adults tend to focus on people's intentions rather than on the outcomes of their actions: hurting someone intentionally is much worse than hurting them accidentally. However, the prevailing view in developmental psychology is that younger children's moral judgements are mainly based on the outcomes of actions, rather than the intentions of those involved. However, despite decades of research there is still disagreement about whether this claim is correct.
