Children's attention and emotions during ethical transgressions.

What is it about?

We read children hypothetical ethnical transgressions--such as pushing another child to take their treat--and asked them to imagine themselves committing those acts. During the stories, we observed how much children paid attention to parts of an illustration depicting the benefit of transgressing (e.g., a stolen treat) or the feelings of the victim (i.e., the victim's sad facial expression). We found that children who spent relatively more time looking at the victim than the benefit of transgressing were more likely to report feeling negative emotions, such as sadness or guilt, over their wrongdoing.

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Why is it important?

This study suggests that what children pay attention to during ethical transgressions, such as hurting or stealing from others, is related to whether children subsequently feel bad for having behaved that way. It aligns with recommendations to disciplinine children by highlighting how their transgressions hurt other people.