Children's Perception of the Characteristics of Tasks, Prosocial Moral Reasoning, and Prosocial Decision-making

유아와 아동의 과제특성지각과 친사회적 도덕추론 및 친사회적 의사결정

The 120 participants of this study were 5- and 9-year-old children and their mothers. Children responded to 24 prosocial moral reasoning dilemmas and 8 prosocial decision-making tasks. Mothers' prosocial moral reasoning was assessed with questionnaires. Level of moral reasoning was higher in distant than in close relationships. 5-year-olds in preoperational stage used the complex situational cues in their reasoning, and prosocial moral reasoning of 9-year-olds was positively related to mothers' prosocial moral reasoning in the situation with conditions of distant relationship, low costs, and internal responsibility. Children made more helping decisions in close than in distant relationship situations, low rather than high cost situations, and external rather than internal responsibility situations. 5-year-olds whose mothers were high in level of prosocial moral reasoning were more helpful.