The effect of possibility of recovery of harm on preschoolers' right and wrong judgments about punitive aggression

The present study examined the effect of possibility of recovery of harm on preschoolers' right and wrong judgments about punitive aggression. Twenty-four preschoolers (12 boys and 12 girls; average age 65 months, range 56 to 77 months) were presented with picture stories in which the victimizer did either reparable harm (stealing victim's property) or irreparable harm (destroying victim's property), and then the main character who had seen the situation punished the victimizer by either physical or verbal aggression. Following each story, the children were asked to judge (1) whether the punitive aggression was right or wrong and (2) whether they would behave like the main character. The results were as follows: (1) The children allowed punitive aggression in either situation. (2) The children allowed verbal aggression more than physical aggression. (3) The children reported that they would not show either physical or verbal aggression in either situation. The results suggest that permission of punitive aggression is based on the development of the concept of retributive justice rather than the possibility of recovery of harm