Development of moral attitudes toward out-group members in 3—11-year-old urban and rural children

This paper describes the experiment, which tested the hypothesis that urban and rural children´s moral attitudes toward out-group members are developed by systemic differentiation, i.e. their subjective experience´s complication. Participants are 179 3—11-year-old children from Moscow and Alexandrov Gay (Saratov region town). Children solved moral dilemmas dedicated to in-out-group conflict. The significant difference between younger and older children’s strategies was revealed: younger children are tending to support in-group members, whereas older children tending to support victims, even if they are out-group members. This trend is universal for both urban and rural children. The data is discussed within system-evolutionary approach.

1. Alexandrov Yu.I. Razvitie kak differenciaciya [The development as a differentiation]. In Chuprikova N.I., Koshelev A.D. (comp.). Differencionno-integracionnaya teoriya razvitiya [ Differential-integrative theory of development]. Moscow: Yazyki slavyanskih kul’tur Publ., 2011, pp. 49—69.
2. Alexandrov Yu.I. V.B. Shvyrkov. Formirovanie novoj paradigmy v psihologii i smezhnyh naukah [The new paradigm in psychology and related sciences]. In Zhuravlev A.L., Kol’tsova V.A. (ed.) Vydayushchiesya psihologi IP RAN [ Outstanding psychologists of Institute of Psychology RAS]. Moscow: Institut psihologii RAN Publ., 2017, pp. 218—238.
3. Alexandrov Yu.I., Alexandrova N.L. Sub”ektivnyj opyt, kul’tura i social’nye predstavleniya [Subjective experience, culture and social cognition]. Moscow: Institut psihologii RAN Publ., 2009. 320 p.
4. Alexandrov Yu.I., Svarnik O.E., Znamenskaya I.I., Kolbeneva M.G., Arutyunova K.R., Krylov A.K., Bulava A.I. Regressiya kak etap razvitiya [Regression as a stage of development]. Moscow: Institut psihologii RAN Publ., 2017. 191 p.
5. Ancyferova L.I. Svyaz’ moral’nogo soznaniya s nravstvennym povedeniem cheloveka (po materialam issledovanij Lourensa Kolberga i ego shkoly) [Connections of moral cognition and moral behavior of human (Lawrence Kohlberg experiments)]. Psikhologicheskii zhurnal [Psychological journal], 1999. Vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 5—17.
6. Baleva M.V. Cognitive styles and contextual variables as the factors of ingroup bias and outgroup stereotyping in the perception of artificial social groups. Sotsial’naia psikhologiia i obshchestvo [Social Psychology and Society], 2017. Vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 67—84. doi:10.17759/sps.2017080205 (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)
7. Battervort D., Harris M. Principy psihologii razvitiya [Principles of the developmental psychology]. Moscow: Kogito-centr Publ., 2000. 350 p.
8. Varga A.Ya., Fedorovich E.Yu. O psihologicheskoj roli domashnih pitomcev v sem’e [Psychological function of pets in families]. Vestnik MGOU. Ser. Psihologicheskie nauki [Bulletin of Moscow state regional university. Series: Psychology], 2009, no. 1 (3), pp. 22—35.
9. Znamenskaya I.I., Sozinova I.M., Alexandrov Yu.I. Intuitivnye i racional’nye komponenty moral’nogo vybora u detej 3—11 let [Intuitive and rational components of moral choice in children aged 3—11]. Teoreticheskaya i eksperimental’naya psihologiya [Theoretical and experimental psychology], 2013. Vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 57—70.
10. Kornilova T.V. Psihologiya neopredelennosti: edinstvo intellektual’no-lichnostnoj regulyacii reshenij i vyborov [Psychology of ambiguity: unity of intellectual and personal regulation of decisions and choices]. Psikhologicheskii zhurnal [Psychological journal], 2013. Vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 89—100.
11. Merenyuk V.V. Sovladanie so stressom poteri domashnego zhivotnogo [Coping with pet’s death]. Psihologiya stressa i sovladayushchego povedeniya: materialy III Mezhdunar. nauch.-prakt. konf. (g. Kostroma, 26—28 sent. 2013 g.) [“Psychology of stress and coping behavior”: Proceedings of III International conference]. Kostroma: KGU im. N.A. Nekrasova Publ., 2013. Vol. 1, pp. 190—193.
12. Muhina V.S. Psihologicheskaya pomoshch’ postradavshim ot zemletryaseniya v Armyanskoj SSR [Psychological help for Armenian earthquake victims]. Psikhologicheskii zhurnal [Psychological journal], 1989. Vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 44—54.
13. Nikitina E.A., Nikitina K.A. Domashnie zhivotnye: chleny sem’i, slugi ili igrushki? [Are pets members of family, servants or toys?]. In Khvatov I.A., Kharitonov A.N. (ed.) Evolyucionnaya i sravnitel’naya psihologiya v Rossii: teoriya i praktika issledovanij [Evolutionary and comparative psychology in Russia: research theory and practice]. Moscow: Kogito-Centr Publ., 2017, pp. 209—217.
14. Nisbett R., Peng K., Choi I., Norenzayan A. Kul’tura i sistemy myshleniya: sravnenie holisticheskogo i analiticheskogo poznaniya [Culture and systems of thought: holistic and analytical system of thinking]. Psikhologicheskij zhurnal [Psychological journal], 2011. Vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 55—86.
15. Panov V.I. Ekopsihologiya: paradigmal’nyj poisk [Ecopsychology: paradigmatic search]. Moscow; St. Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriya Publ., 2014. 296 p.
16. Piazhe Zh. Moral’noe suzhdenie u rebenka [Moral reasoning in children]. Moscow: Akademicheskij proekt Publ., 2006. 480 p.
17. Porshnev B.F. Social’naya psihologiya i istoriya [Social psychology and history]. Moscow: Nauka Publ, 1979. 235 p.
18. Preodolenie razlichij mezhdu gorodom i derevnej [Overcoming differences between city and country]. In Rumyantsev A.M. (ed.) Nauchnyj kommunizm: Slovar’ [ Scientific communism]. Moscow: Politizdat Publ., 1983. 352 p. P. 231.
19. Sergienko E.A., Lebedeva E.I., Prusakova O.A. Model’ psihicheskogo v ontogeneze cheloveka [Theory of mind in humal ontogenesis]. Moscow: Institut psihologii RAN Publ., 2009. 431 p.
20. Sozinova I.M., Znamenskaya I.I., Alexandrov Yu.I. Nravstvennoe otnoshenie k «chuzhomu» u detej 3—11 let. Reshenie moral’nyh dilemm: predubezhdeniya i predpochteniya [Moral relation to the “stranger” in children aged 3 to 11 years old. Solution of moral dilemmas: prejudices and preferences]. Teoreticheskaya i eksperimental’naya psihologiya [Theoretical and experimental psychology], 2013. Vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 44—57.
21. Shamionov R.M. Basic Beliefs and Cultural Attitudes as Predictors of Emotional and Psychological Well-Being in Urban and Rural Populations. Sotsial’naia psikhologiia i obshchestvo [Social Psychology and Society], 2015. Vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 109—122. doi:10.17759/ sps.2015060408. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)
22. Shvyrkov V.B. Sistemno-evolyucionnyj podhod k izucheniyu mozga, povedeniya, psihiki i soznaniya [System-evolutionary approach to brain, behavior, psychic and consciousness researches]. Psikhologicheskii zhurnal [Psychological journal], 1988. Vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 132—148.
23. Yasvin V.A. Osobennosti lichnostnogo otnosheniya k prirode v podrostkovom i yunosheskom vozraste [Peculiarities of personal attitudes to nature in teenagers and adolescents]. Voprosy psihologii [Questions of psychology], 1995, no. 4, pp. 19—28.
24. Arutyunova K.R., Alexandrov Yu.I., Hauser M.D. Sociocultural Influences on Moral Judgments: East—West, Male—Female, and Young—Old. Frontiers in Psychology, 2016. Vol. 7, Art. 1334.
25. Baek H.-J. A comparative study of moral development of Korean and British children. Journal of Moral Education, 2002. Vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 373—391.
26. Choi J.K., Bowles S. The coevolution of parochial altruism and war. Science, 2007. Vol. 318, no. 5850, pp. 636—640.
27. Fehr E., Bernhard H., Rockenbach B. Egalitarianism in young children. Nature, 2008. Vol. 454 (28), pp. 1079—1083.
28. Hamlin J. K., Wynn K, Bloom P. Social evaluation by preverbal infants. Nature, 2007. Vol. 450, pp. 557—559.
29. Hamlin J.K., Wynn K., Bloom P. Three-month-olds show a negativity bias in their social evaluations. Developmental science, 2010. Vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 923—929.
30. Hamlin J.K., Mahajan N., Liberman Z., Wynn K. Not like me = bad: infants prefer those who harm dissimilar others. Psychological science, 2013. Vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 589—594.
31. Kolbeneva M.G., Alexandrov Yu.I. Mental reactivation and pleasantness judgment of experience related to vision, hearing, skin sensations, taste and olfaction. PLoS ONE, 2016. Vol. 11, no. 7, e0159036.
32. Loo G.M.W. Moral judgment and collectivism: a cultural comparison among community and university college students: PhD thesis. University of British Columbia, 2004. 89 p.
33. Madsen M.C., Yi S. Cooperation and competition of urban and rural children in the Republic of South Korea. International Journal of Psychology, 1975. Vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 269—274.
34. Oppenheimer L. Are Children’s views of the “enemy” shaped by highly-publicized negative event? International Journal of Behavior Development, 2010. Vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 345—353.
35. Park J.Y., Johnson R.C. Moral development in rural and urban Korea. Journal of cross-cultural psychology, 1984. Vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 35—46.
36. Poresky R.H., Daniels A.M. Demographics of Pet Presence and Attachment. Anthrozoös, 1998. Vol. 11, issue 4, pp. 236—241.
37. Tomasello M., Warneken F. Share and share alike. Nature, 2008. Vol. 454 (29), pp. 1057—1058.
38. Walsh F. Human-animal bonds I: The relational significance of companion animals. Family process, 2009. Vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 462—480.