Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine.
Department of Psychology, University of Bologna.
Dev Psychol. 2023 Dec;59(12):2320-2332. doi: 10.1037/dev0001613. Epub 2023 Sep 21.
Moral pride is a key component of virtue development. This study provides developmental insight into children's moral pride across cultures, and the potential for moral pride to underlie prosocial behavior. Participants included children and adolescents ages 6, 9, and 12 years from Canada ( = 186; 50% girls; ethnically diverse sample), Japan ( = 180; 48% girls), and a subsample from Italy ( = 86; 54% girls), as well as their primary caregivers or teachers. Moral pride was measured using a vignette procedure wherein children reported their emotions, emotion intensities, and reasoning following moral actions (harm omission and prosocial contexts). Global prosocial behavior was assessed via caregiver reports. Results revealed that moral pride increased from 6 to 9 years of age in Japanese and Canadian children (some similar trends were found in the Italian subsample) and that Canadian children reported stronger feelings of moral pride than Japanese children (Italian children's moral pride intensities were akin to those of Canadian children). Moral pride was positively associated with global prosocial behavior in Japanese children (and marginally in Italian children) but not in the Canadian children. These novel findings showcase the role of culture in shaping children's moral pride, and the potential for this moral emotion to reinforce children's commitment to prosocial action in childhood and early adolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
道德自豪感是美德发展的关键组成部分。本研究从跨文化的角度深入了解了儿童的道德自豪感，以及道德自豪感在促进亲社会行为方面的潜在作用。参与者包括来自加拿大（=186；50%为女孩；样本具有多种族性）、日本（=180；48%为女孩）和意大利的一个子样本（=86；54%为女孩）的 6、9 和 12 岁的儿童和青少年及其主要照顾者或教师。道德自豪感通过情景描述程序进行衡量，在该程序中，儿童报告他们在道德行为（伤害回避和亲社会情境）后的情绪、情绪强度和推理。全球亲社会行为通过照顾者报告进行评估。结果表明，日本和加拿大儿童的道德自豪感从 6 岁到 9 岁有所增加（意大利子样本中也出现了类似的趋势），而且加拿大儿童的道德自豪感比日本儿童更强（意大利儿童的道德自豪感强度与加拿大儿童相似）。道德自豪感与日本儿童的全球亲社会行为呈正相关（意大利儿童呈边缘相关），但与加拿大儿童无关。这些新发现展示了文化在塑造儿童道德自豪感方面的作用，以及这种道德情感在儿童和青少年时期强化儿童对亲社会行为的承诺的潜力。
