Young children's understanding of moral rules in aggressive situations : implications for early childhood education

Includes bibliographical references (pages [24]-26)Young children's moral reasoning about provoked and unprovoked aggressive situations was examined. Subjects included 20 four-year-old and 20 six-year-old boys with 10 aggressive and 10 nonaggressive boys in each age group. Interview questions were asked about short vignettes involving peers' aggressive behavior. Six-year-olds rated aggressive behavior as very bad regardless of the provocation. Four-year-old's judgments were less harsh, especially if the aggression was provoked. Implications include information that may help early childhood educators deal with provocations (e.g., teasing) and potentially reduce social rejection.M.S. (Master of Science