Self-control and cooperation in childhood as antecedents of less moral disengagement in adolescence

Gülseven, Zehra; Yu, Mark Vincent B.; Zarrett, Nicole; Vandell, Deborah Lowe; Simpkins, Sandra D.

doi:10.1017/s0954579421000584

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These processes may be related to rapid changes in self‐control which may be difficult to capture without very frequent measurements along this period. A few previous studies in the field have shown more frequent measurements of self‐control along preadolescence to early adolescence (e.g., NICHD SECCYD: Gülseven, Liu, et al., 2021; Gülseven, Yu, et al., 2021), but lacked the genetical perspective which the current study provides. Future twin studies with more measurement points (e.g., each year, or every 6 months) along preadolescence to early adolescence may shed more light on this matter.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

The special role of middle childhood in self‐control development: Longitudinal and genetic evidence

Pener-Tessler

Markovitch

Knafo‐Noam

2022

Developmental Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite the importance of self‐control for well‐being and adjustment, its development from early childhood to early adolescence has been relatively understudied. We addressed the development of mother‐reported self‐control in what is likely the largest and longest longitudinal twin study of the topic to this day (N = 1889 individual children with data from at least one of five waves: ages 3, 5, 6.5, 8–9 and 11 years). We examined rank‐order change in self‐control from early childhood to early adolescence, genetic and environmental contributions to variance in the trait and differential developmental trajectories. The relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to change and stability was also examined. Results point at middle childhood as a period of potential transition and change. During this period the rank‐order stability of self‐control increases, heritability rates substantially rise, and a cross‐over occurs in two of the self‐control trajectories. Nonadditive genetic effects contribute to both stability and change in self‐control while the nonshared environment contributes mostly to change, with no effect for the shared environment. Our findings suggest that new genetic factors, that emerge around age 6.5 and whose effect on self‐control is carried on along development, may partially account for changes in self‐control around late middle childhood, and explain the growing stability in the trait approaching early adolescence. We discuss the implications of the special role of middle childhood for self‐control development.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

The special role of middle childhood in self‐control development: Longitudinal and genetic evidence

Pener-Tessler

Markovitch

Knafo‐Noam

2022

Developmental Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In line with the organism–environment interaction model, adolescents who are bound to groups conducive to deviance and have low self‐control are more likely to develop MD. One possible explanation is that high self‐control adolescents have internalized more moral values and have more standards in their moral understanding, and a mature moral self‐identity (Gülseven et al, 2021). Thus, they are less likely to have MD.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In other words, adolescents with low self‐control are more likely to be short‐sighted, self‐centered, and risk‐seeking and more biased toward minimizing adolescents' responsibility in aggressive behaviors. Therefore, they are more likely to lose control and bully others online compared with adolescents with high self‐control, even if they have similar levels of MD (Gülseven et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does deviant peer affiliation accelerate adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration? Roles of moral disengagement and self‐control

Wang

Zeng

2023

Psychology in the Schools

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cyberbullying perpetration has become an international public health concern among adolescents. Based on the general aggression model, the present study sought to examine whether deviant peer affiliation was significantly related to adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration, and whether moral disengagement mediated this association and self‐control moderated this mediation process. A total of 2286 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 13.46, SD = 0.93) completed a series of anonymous questionnaires regarding deviant peer affiliation, cyberbullying perpetration, moral disengagement, and self‐control. Results showed that adolescents who interacted with deviant peers were more likely to cyberbully others, which was mediated by moral disengagement. Self‐control moderated the association between deviant peer affiliation and moral disengagement and the relationship between moral disengagement and cyberbullying perpetration, but not the relationship between deviant peer affiliation and cyberbullying perpetration. Specifically, compared to high self‐control adolescents, low self‐control adolescents with high deviant peer affiliation were more likely to develop high moral disengagement and further engage in cyberbullying perpetration. The present study contributes to our understanding of the key mechanisms underlying the association between deviant peer affiliation and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration.

show abstract

“…Early attempts to study the relation between attitudes towards certain moral principles or standards (like respect, justice, benevolence; as measured through self-report questionnaires) and specific cooperative behaviors found, as an overall result, that these behaviors are difficult to predict from such global attitudes 9 (which confirms the general finding in social psychology known as the attitude-behavior inconsistency 10 ). On the other hand, studies that focused on specific moral constructs have shown that inducing moral emotions like gratitude and guilt increases cooperation [11][12][13][14] and that moral disengagement correlates negatively with cooperative behavior 15,16 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moral reasoning and moral competence as predictors of cooperative behavior in a social dilemma

Miranda-Rodríguez¹,

Leenen²,

Han³

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The level of moral development may be crucial to understand behavior when people have to choose between prioritizing individual gains or pursuing general social benefits. This study evaluated whether two different psychological constructs, moral reasoning and moral competence, are associated with cooperative behavior in the context of the prisoner's dilemma game, a two-person social dilemma where individuals choose between cooperation or defection. One hundred and eighty-nine Mexican university students completed the Defining Issues Test (DIT-2; measuring moral reasoning) and the Moral Competence Test (MCT) and played an online version of the prisoner’s dilemma game, once against each participant in a group of 6 to 10 players. Our results indicate that cooperative behavior is strongly affected by the outcomes in previous rounds: Except when both participants cooperated, the probability of cooperation with other participants in subsequent rounds decreased. Both the DIT-2 and MCT independently moderated this effect of previous experiences, particularly in the case of sucker-outcomes. Individuals with high scores on both tests were not affected when in previous rounds the other player defected while they cooperated. Our findings suggest that more sophisticated moral reasoning and moral competence promote the maintenance of cooperative behaviors despite facing adverse situations.

show abstract

Self-control and cooperation in childhood as antecedents of less moral disengagement in adolescence

Cited by 7 publications

References 48 publications

The special role of middle childhood in self‐control development: Longitudinal and genetic evidence

The special role of middle childhood in self‐control development: Longitudinal and genetic evidence

Does deviant peer affiliation accelerate adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration? Roles of moral disengagement and self‐control

Moral reasoning and moral competence as predictors of cooperative behavior in a social dilemma

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About