Lee: Moral Development (Developmental) Flashcards
What research had been does prior to Lee’s study?
-Kohlberg conducted cross cultural research to support his theory of moral development, but did not specifically focus on the art of lying
-Children’s moral judgements about lying and truth telling primarily rely on the extent to which a verbal statement differs from factudality and whether or not the lie is punished
-Piaget believed children begin to use the protagonist’s intention as the key factor of their moral development from the age of 11, others believe that it is earlier
What was the background to Lee’s study?
-Despite advances in research, understanding of the development of children’s moral development of lying is still restricted
-Almost all previous research was conducted in Western countries, where children were raised in industrial environments that emphasised individualism, self assertion/promotion, and competition
What was the aim of Lee’s study?
To compare cross cultural evaluations of lying and truth telling situations involving prosocial and antisocial behaviours.
What was the research method in Lee’s study?
Lab experiment using an independent measures design
What were the variables in Lee’s study?
4 conditions of the IV: Prosocial Behaviour/Truth-Telling stories, Prosocial Behaviour/Lie-Telling stories, Antisocial Behaviour/Truth-
Telling stories, Antisocial Behaviour/Lie-Telling stories (participant read all 4)
Another condition of the IV: whether the participant heard the social story or the physical story
DV: rating given to the character’s deed (between very, very good and very, very naughty) and the rating given to what the character said (verbal statement with the same range)
What was the sample in Lee’s study?
- 120 Chinese children: 40 7-year-olds, 40 9-year-olds, and 40 11-year-olds. Recruited from elementary schools in a medium sized city in China
-108 Canadian children: 36 7-year-olds, 40 9-year-olds, and 32 11-year-olds. They were recruited from elementary schools in Canada in a province much smaller than the Chinese one.
-Socio-economic status of Chinese children not known, most Canadian children were from middle class families
What was the procedure for Lee’s study?
-Participants were read four scenarios accompanied by illustrations, 2 prosocial, 2 anti social. All were either physical or social depending on which condition the child was in
-Each participant was tested individually
-Participants were instructed on the meanings of the 7 point rating scale with stars and crosses
-The story’s deed section was read first and then they would indicate their rating either verbally, non verbally, or both on the rating chart
-They were read the second section and gave their answer in the same way
-The words good and naughty were altered within subjects
-In each condition, half the participants read the stories in one order and the other half in the other order
-Participants involved in post experimental discussions
What were the key findings from Lee’s study?
-No significant difference in similarly negative ratings of lying in antisocial situations and positive ratings or truth telling in those stories between Canadian and Chinese children
-Chinese children tended to rate truth telling less positively than their Canadian counterparts in truth telling and lying in prosocial situations
-Chinese children rated lying in prosocial situations significantly more positively than Canadian children
-As age increased, Chinese children rated lying increasingly more positively in prosocial situations
-70% of Chinese 11 year olds rated lying positively in prosocial stories, compared to just 25% of Chinese 7 year olds.
What conclusions can be drawn from Lee’s study?
-There is a close relationship between socio cultural practices and moral judgements in terms of lying and truth telling
-Social and cultural norms have an impact on children’s developing moral judgements, which in turn, are modified by age and experience
-Chinese children rate truth telling in prosocial situations less positively and lie telling in the same situations less negatively than Canadian children
-Both Chinese and Canadian children show similar moral evaluations of lie telling and truth telling related to antisocial behaviour
-The emphasis on self effacement and modesty in Chinese culture increasingly exerts its impact on children’s moral development
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research method used in Lee’s study?
- Quasi experiment so can’t establish cause and effect
-Cross cultural - good for representativeness and to show that some behaviours are universal
-However, the task may not be interpreted in the same way by all cultures
-Children may not be used to 1 on 1 interviews, leading to demand characteristics
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the types of data collected in Lee’s study?
- Quantitative data by giving children a seven point rating scale. The 3 stars were allocated the value +3 and the 3 crosses were allocated the value -3.
- Can be tested for significance and some results were found to be significant at 1%
- Qualitative data by asking the children for their reasoning
What ethical considerations are there for Lee’s study?
- Unequal number of children from the 2 cultures could reflect at least some Canadian parents exercising their right to withdraw
-Very ethical - consent likely given and no harm caused
What is the validity like in Lee’s study?
- Same age and gender mix as far as possible in the two groups, reducing participant variables as well as selecting participants from non-heavy industry cities.
- Linguistic translations may not have the same meaning making it an extraneous variable and reducing internal validity
- Counterbalancing controlled for order effects
What was the reliability like in Lee’s study?
- Standardised procedure meaning it could easily be replicated by other researchers
- Reasonably large number of children in each condition, it is likely the sample was large enough to establish consistent effect
- 4 stories read to the child so a consistent settled viewpoint could be ensured
Was there any sampling bias in Lee’s study?
- Children were form similar backgrounds (cities were provincial capitals)
-large enough numbers of each age group
-Relatively even gender split
-Fewer children in the Canadian sample than the Chinese sample
-All from urban areas so results may not be generalisable to rural areas
-Misses out other continents completely
