Core Studies - Developmental Psychology - Lee’s Study

Question 1

Piaget’s Research

Answer 1

Suggested that children do not begin to use the protagonist’s intentions as the key factor of their moral judgements until around 11 years old

Question 2

Wimmer’s Research

Answer 2

Disagreed with Piaget as preschool children and young school-aged children are distinctly capable of distinguishing lying from behavioural misdeeds and can consistently make moral judgements in a similar way to that of older children and adults when both the falsity of a statement and the speaker’s intention to deceive are highlighted

Question 3

Sweetser’s Research

Answer 3

Argued that the understanding of lying is greatly influenced by the cultural norms and moral values in which a person in socialised

Question 4

Purpose of Lee’s Research

Answer 4

Conducted to bridge the gap between this previous research by directly testing the posited effect of culture on children’s moral evaluations of lying and truth telling

Question 5

Why were Children in People’s Republic of China (PRC) used to compare against the western culture of Canadian Children

Answer 5

Because their cultural values differ and we need a range to better be able to generalise

Question 6

Examples of cultural differences between Chinese and Canadian children

Answer 6

In China:
- moral education within the curriculum
- collectivist culture
- strict rules that promote promote honesty
- humility is strongly encouraged

Question 7

Aims

Answer 7

To investigate cross-cultural differences in children’s understanding and moral valuations between Canadian and Chinese children.

Question 8

Research method

Answer 8

Laboratory experiment using a cross-cultural method

Question 9

Experimental design

Answer 9

independent measures

Question 10

Independent variables

Answer 10

Prosocial Behaviour/Truth-telling
Prosocial Behaviour/Lie-telling
Antisocial Behaviour/Truth-telling
Antisocial Behaviour/Lie-telling

Question 11

What exactly was being manipulated for independent variable

Answer 11

Whether the the participant heard the social story or the physical story

Question 12

Dependent variables

Answer 12

• The rating given to the story character’s deed on a 7 point scale
• The rating given to what the character said on a 7 point scale

Question 13

What was the 7 point scale

Answer 13

• very very good
• very good
• good
• neither good nor naughty
• naughty
• very naughty
• very very naughty

Question 14

Sample

Answer 14

• 120 Chinese children aged 7, 9 and 11
• 108 Canadian children aged 7, 9 and 11
• recruited from elementary and primary schools in medium sized children

Question 15

Procedure

Answer 15

• Children were randomly allocated into either social or physical story condition
• Each child was seen individually
• The 7 point rating scale was first explained to them
• Each child listened to all four social stories or all four physical stories in 2 sections. First the deed of the character in the story and then the lying/truth telling section
• After each section the children were asked to rate the actions of the characters in the stories using the 7 point scale using phrases such as “Was what she (he) did good or naughty?”

Question 16

Results for Prosocial Behaviour/Truth-telling conditions

Answer 16

• Overall children from both cultures rated the prosocial behaviours similarly
• Canadian children at each age gave similar ratings to truth telling however, Chinese children’s ratings became less positive as age increased

Question 17

Results for Prosocial Behaviour/Truth-telling conditions (similarities)

Answer 17

• Overall children from both cultures rated the prosocial behaviours similarly

Question 18

Results for Prosocial Behaviour/Truth-telling conditions (differences)

Answer 18

• Canadian children at each age gave similar ratings to truth telling however, Chinese children’s ratings became less positive as age increased

Question 19

Results for Prosocial Behaviour/Lie-telling conditions

Answer 19

• Overall, Canadian children rated lie telling negatively bat as age increased their ratings became less negative
• Overall, Chinese children’s ratings of lie telling changed from negative to positive as age increased

Question 20

Results for Antisocial Behaviour/Truth-telling conditions

Answer 20

• Children from both cultures rated the antisocial behaviours similarly
• Children from both cultures rated truth telling in this situation very positively

Question 21

Results for Antisocial Behaviour/Lie-telling conditions

Answer 21

• Both Chinese and Canadian children rated lie telling negatively in this condition
• Chinese 7 year olds rated lie telling less negatively than older children in the physical story condition
• Canadian 7 year olds rated lie telling less negatively than older children in the social story condition

Question 22

Results for Antisocial Behaviour/Lie-telling conditions (similarities)

Answer 22

• Both Chinese and Canadian children rated lie telling negatively in this condition

Question 24

Results for Antisocial Behaviour/Lie-telling conditions (differences)

Answer 24

• Chinese 7 year olds rated lie telling less negatively than older children in the physical story condition
• Canadian 7 year olds rated lie telling less negatively than older children in the social story condition

Question 25

Conclusions

Answer 25

• Moral reasoning can be influenced by our culture and the society in which we live
• The influence of socio-cultural factors become stronger as we age
• The emphasis on self-effacement and modesty in Chinese culture increasingly exerts its impact on Chinese children’s moral judgements
• Both Chinese and Canadian children show similar moral evaluations of lie telling and truth telling relating to antisocial behaviours
• Chinese children rate truth telling in prosocial situations less positively and lie telling in the same situations less negatively than Canadian children

Question 26

Link to Key Theme

Question 27

Link to Area