Age, Sex, Intelligence, and Parents' Occupation and the Moral Development of the Preschool Child

Summary

In order to determine whether the moral judgments in the areas of guilt-innocence and apology-restitution are related to the preschool child's age, sex, intelligence, and parents' occupation, 29 boys and 29 girls ranging in age from 35 to 70 months with a mean age of 51 months were studied. The multiple linear regression technique was used to determine whether a relationship existed between the child's score on the apology-restitution and then on the guilt-innocence tests. The results indicate that preschool children are capable of making moral judgments in both apology-restitution and guilt-innocence. Age and sex are significantly (p ≤ .05) related to both moral-judgment measures, while intelligence and parents' occupation are unrelated to both measures of moral judgment.