ERIC Number: EJ684980
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-May
Pages: 11
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0012-1649
EISSN: N/A
Conscience in Childhood: Old Questions, New Answers
Aksan, Nazan; Kochanska, Grazyna
Developmental Psychology, v41 n3 p506-516 May 2005
Although conscience has been the focus of reflection for centuries, fundamental questions regarding its organization have not been fully answered. To address those questions, the authors applied structural equation modeling techniques to longitudinal data comprising multiple behavioral measures of children's conscience, obtained in parallel fashion at 33 and 45 months. The measures encompassed moral emotion (guilt and empathic distress) and rule-compatible conduct (internalization of maternal prohibitions and requests and of another adult's rules). Confirmatory factor analyses supported a differentiated view of conscience with 2 latent factors at both ages: Moral Emotion and Rule-Compatible Conduct. The structure of conscience was remarkably stable over time. The coherence between Moral Emotion and Rule-Compatible Conduct factors increased as children grew older.
Descriptors: Anxiety, Moral Development, Children, Child Behavior, Psychological Patterns, Emotional Response, Empathy, Compliance (Psychology), Social Behavior
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Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A