Executive function and Theory of Mind in explaining young children’s moral reasoning: A Test of the Hierarchical Competing Systems Model
| Autor: | Joanna P. Weaver, Alexander P. D'Esterre, Erin R. Baker |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
05 social sciences
Experimental and Cognitive Psychology Cognition Moral reasoning Executive functions 050105 experimental psychology Harm Theory of mind Developmental and Educational Psychology 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Early childhood Psychology Attribution 050104 developmental & child psychology Stroop effect Cognitive psychology |
| Zdroj: | Cognitive Development. 58:101035 |
| ISSN: | 0885-2014 |
| Popis: | Children’s moral reasoning in early childhood is dynamic, and requires coordination of multiple social domains. Hierarchical Competing Systems Model (HCSM; Marcovitch & Zelazo, 2009) posits that underlying cognitive mechanisms, namely executive functions (EF), might allow for greater reflection and integration of multiple domains. In the current study, 121 preschool-age children (Mage = 53.24 months) completed an age-appropriate Stroop task, a theory of mind (ToM) battery, and open-ended story-interviews pertaining to intentional and accidental harm. Findings largely support the HCSM in explaining children’s moral reasoning. Stroop performance explained morally-embedded ToM task performance, such that stronger EF corresponded with better ToM performance. ToM performance explained attributions of intentions for events of intentional harm and accidental harm, but did not explain children’s own evaluations of either transgression. Stroop performance also explained discrepant justificatory strategies across harmful events, for instance with faster Stroop performance corresponding with reasoning strategies related to fairness, but only for the accidental event. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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