NCJ Number
246457
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 43 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2014 Pages: 583-596
Date Published
April 2014
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This longitudinal study investigated anticipated moral emotions and decisionmaking between the ages of 15 and 21 in a representative sample of Swiss adolescents.
Abstract
Adolescents' emotions in the context of moral decisionmaking repeatedly have been shown to predict actual behavior. However, little systematic information on developmental change regarding these emotion expectancies has been available thus far. This longitudinal study investigated anticipated moral emotions and decisionmaking between the ages of 15 and 21 in a representative sample of Swiss adolescents (N = 1,258; 54 percent female; M = 15.30 years). Anticipated moral emotions and decisionmaking were assessed through a semi-structured interview procedure. Using Bernoulli hierarchical linear modeling, it was found that positive feelings after a moral transgression (i.e., "happy victimizer" responses) decreased over time, whereas positive feelings after a moral decision (i.e., "happy moralist" responses) increased. However, this pattern was contingent upon the moral scenario presented. Systematic relationships between anticipated moral emotions and moral personality characteristics of sympathy, conscientiousness, and agreeableness were found, even when controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and cognitive ability. Overall, this study demonstrates that the development of anticipated moral emotions is not limited to childhood. Furthermore, our findings suggest that moral emotions serve as an important link between moral personality development and decisionmaking processes that are more proximal to everyday moral behavior. Abstract published by arrangement with Springer.