Nelson+-+Period+1

**Asia Lewis** **Arinelle Lewis** **Johannah Gonzalez** **Emily Schwarck** **Background** There was a pilot study to determine neutral action (Throwing the ball) Two types of pictures: Implied & Explicit Three groups: Verbal, Verbal-Implied, Verbal-Explicit
 * 4/17/12**

Good Motive: Boy wanted to share the ball with his friend Bad Motive: Boy was mad at and wanted to hurt his friend Good Outcome: Friend was happy and played Bad Outcome: Friend got hurt and cried.

**Aim** To determine the conditions under which the moral judgments of 3-4 year old children would reflect their consideration and use of motives as well as outcomes.

**Participants**: 60 preschool aged children aged 3-4 (mean: 3 years, 4 months) 30 second grade students aged 6-8 (mean: 7 years, 4 months) -All White, Middle Class, Urban Area, With Parental Consent -Even number of Female & Male participants

**Research Method**: Experiment

**How was data collected?** ‘Goodness' was rated on a 7 point smiley face scale. Faces ranged in size and from happy to sad with neutral in between.

**What type of data?** Quantitative

**Procedure**: Children were told 4 stories (with pictures) -Good Motive, Good Outcome -Good Motive Bad Outcome -Bad Motive, Good Outcome -Bad Motive, Bad Outcome Children were interviewed individually and shown how to use the scale (given an example) Children Rated ‘Goodness’ on Scale Children were asked to repeat the story

**Special Equipment**: 7 point ‘Goodness’ Scale

**Results**: in Verbal Condition, children rated on motive

**Conclusions**: Any negative cue, may lead to a negative judgement

**Strengths**: Scale was child friendly and easy to understand

**Weaknesses**: Interviewers demonstrated how to use the scale (bias?); Sample was not diverse (generalization?)

**Ecological Validity**: Very High Ecological Validity. The study was very realistic and did simulate a possible real life situation.

**Ethics**: None.