Zhao Li, Yan Weihao, Peng Junjie, Harris Paul L
Zhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory for Research in Early Development and Childcare, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, P.R. China.
Department of Psychology, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, P.R. China.
Child Dev. 2025 Jul-Aug;96(4):1306-1325. doi: 10.1111/cdev.14243. Epub 2025 Apr 10.
This research with two studies examined whether young children's moral judgments of honesty and dishonesty predict their actual cheating behavior. Participants were 200 children aged 3-6 years (2021-2022. Study 1: N = 80, M = 4.96, 40 girls; Study 2: N = 120, M = 4.98, 60 girls; all middle-class Han Chinese). Children completed a temptation resistance paradigm assessing honest or cheating behaviors. They also made moral judgments about story characters who cheated or acted honestly on school tests. Results showed that the more negatively children judged cheating, the less likely they were to cheat. This finding indicates a knowledge-behavior link regarding cheating behavior. It underscores the importance of studying the connection between moral cognition and action in early childhood.
这项包含两项研究的调查探讨了幼儿对诚实与不诚实行为的道德判断是否能够预测他们实际的作弊行为。参与者为200名3至6岁的儿童（2021年至2022年。研究1：N = 80，M = 4.96，40名女孩；研究2：N = 120，M = 4.98，60名女孩；均为中产阶级汉族儿童）。孩子们完成了一个评估诚实或作弊行为的抗诱惑范式。他们还对在学校考试中作弊或诚实作答的故事角色做出了道德判断。结果表明，孩子们对作弊行为的判断越负面，他们就越不可能作弊。这一发现表明了关于作弊行为的知识与行为之间的联系。它强调了研究幼儿期道德认知与行为之间联系的重要性。
