ABSTRACT

The roles of culture and age in Canadian and Persian children’s moral evaluations of lie- and truth-telling in modest situations, as well as the impacts of parenting disciplinary methods, were assessed in this study. Data were collected from 360 children total: 180 children from both Canada and Iran. Participants’ were 5, 7, 9, and 11 years of age (M = 7.99 years, SD = 2.25 years), 55.2% males and 44.8% females. Parents completed a demographic form and a parenting disciplinary methods questionnaire. Children were read four vignettes about characters facing moral dilemmas in modest situations. For each vignette, children were instructed to rate how bad or good the lie or truth told was by using a six-point Likert scale. Hierarchical linear regression model analyses revealed that the major cultural differences lay in children’s moral evaluations of modest false statements in both cultures. Results showed that Persian children rated modesty lies more positively compared to their Canadian counterparts. Also, with age, Persian children became more likely to evaluate modesty lies positively compared to Canadian children. Lastly, hierarchical regression analyses showed that children whose parents used power assertion discipline more often rated modesty lies more negatively. These current findings suggest that societal factors contribute significantly to children’s moral understanding of lie- and truth-telling.

摘要

本研究评估了文化和年龄在加拿大和波斯儿童在适度情况下对说谎和说真话的道德评价中的作用，以及育儿纪律方法的影响。数据来自总共 360 名儿童：180 名来自加拿大和伊朗的儿童。参与者的年龄分别为 5、7、9和 11 岁（M = 7.99 岁，SD = 2.25 岁），55.2% 的男性和 44.8% 的女性。家长完成了人口统计表和育儿纪律方法问卷。孩子们阅读了四个关于人物在适度情况下面临道德困境的小插曲。对于每个小插曲，孩子们被要求使用李克特六点量表来评估谎言或真相的好坏。分层线性回归模型分析表明，主要的文化差异在于两种文化中儿童对适度虚假陈述的道德评价。结果表明，与加拿大儿童相比，波斯儿童对谦虚谎言的评价更为积极。此外，随着年龄的增长，与加拿大儿童相比，波斯儿童更有可能积极评价谦虚的谎言。最后，层次回归分析表明，父母使用权力主张管教的孩子更经常对谦虚说谎给予更负面的评价。目前的这些发现表明，社会因素对儿童对说谎和说真话的道德理解有显着影响。