This paper reports young (3-5 year-olds') children's cognitive and affective understanding of actual moral (harm to others) and prudential (harm to self) transgressions in the family, as reported by the parent, but in a way that provides the child the opportunity to reflect on and reason about the actual events. A total of 38 parent-child dyads…

There is a growing demand for equal support of social-emotional learning across the globe. In the United States, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning has shed significant light on the power of affective development for school-aged children, indicating that, without it, students are limited in their ability to reach their…

Empathy and sympathy play crucial roles in much of human social interaction and are necessary components for healthy coexistence. Sympathy is thought to be a proxy for motivating prosocial behavior and providing the affective and motivational base for moral development. The purpose of the present study was to use functional MRI to characterize…

A developmental psychologist discusses the meaning of "moral development" and suggests ways to implement classroom activities fostering the moral growth of pupils. (MB)

Discusses research which focuses on the types of experience that foster the internalization of moral norms in an individual's development. Considers the roles of parents, peers, and the mass media, as well as cognitive development and arousal of affects such as empathy and guilt. (Author/GC)

Traces the development of the capacity to make moral judgments. States that emotions involve judgments as well as actions. Discusses the susceptibility of moral beings to remorse and explores the nature of sympathy and resentment. (GG)

A conference on research relating to how children acquire their systems of values and morality was held with the overall objective toward improving the quality of human life through greater scientific understanding of the developmental processes and the support of research on these complex problems. Participants stressed that many child-rearing…

The concept of emotional competence entails resilience, self-efficacy, and acting in accord with one's sense of moral character. This suggests argues that emotional competence is demonstrated by the self-efficacy in emotion-eliciting encounters and identifies eight key emotional skills that support its acquisition in interpersonal contexts. The…