Chinese Malaysian Adolescents' Social‐Cognitive Reasoning Regarding Filial Piety Dilemmas

This study examined the social‐cognitive reasoning of 52 Chinese Malaysian preadolescents (9–12 years old; M = 11.02, SD = 0.94) and 68 adolescents (13–18 years old; M = 14.76, SD = 1.39) in resolving filial dilemmas within the personal and moral domain. Preadolescents deferred to parental authority, whereas adolescents endorsed filial obligation reasoning to justify compliance in the personal domain. Both appealed to filial obligation, pragmatic, or welfare and safety reasoning to justify compliance but fairness or rights reasoning to justify their noncompliance, for the moral issue. Distinctions between authoritarian and reciprocal filial piety reasoning were revealed. Findings demonstrated complex decision‐making and cognitive reasoning processes among Chinese Malaysian adolescents as they negotiate their filial obligations and autonomy development.     

Adolescent-Parent Conflict among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong

Adolescent-parent conflict was examined in 120 lower-class Chinese early, mid-, and late adolescents in Hong Kong. Individually interviewed adolescents described actual family conflicts, rated their frequency and intensity, justified their own and their parents' perspective on disputes, described how conflicts were resolved, and rated their parents' parenting styles. Conflicts were primarily with mothers, of moderate frequency and severity, and occurred over everyday issues. Chinese adolescents reasoned about conflicts primarily in terms of personal jurisdiction; personal reasoning decreased with age and was more frequent among males than females. Parents' reasoning was seen as primarily pragmatic. Adolescents wanted greater autonomy in decision making than their parents granted them, but parents' views prevailed less with age. Chinese parents were described as relatively warm and controlling; greater parental control and lower warmth were significantly related to conflict frequency and intensity. The findings are seen as reflecting autonomy development in a different cultural context.     

Chinese adolescents' reasoning about democratic and authority-based decision making in peer,family, and school contexts

This study explored the judgments and reasoning of Chinese adolescents (13-18 years of age) from 3 regions of mainland China (N = 574) regarding procedures for making decisions involving children in peer, family, and school contexts. Participants evaluated 2 democratic decision-making procedures (majority rule and consensus) and decision making by adult authorities for 2 decisions embedded in each social context. Judgments and reasoning about decision-making procedures varied by social context and by the decision under consideration, and evaluations of procedures became more differentiated with increasing age. The findings reveal that concepts of rights, individual autonomy, and democratic norms (majority rule) are salient aspects of Chinese adolescents' social reasoning and are used to evaluate critically existing social practices.     

Adolescents' and parents' conceptions of parental authority

This study assessed adolescents' and parents' conceptions of parental authority. Subjects were 102 children ranging from fifth to twelfth grade (age range = 10.2-18.3 years) from 2-parent families and their parents. They were divided into 4 groups according to children's grade level. Subjects were presented with 15 items pertaining to family transgressions (4 moral, 4 conventional, 3 personal, and 4 multifaceted, containing conventional and personal components). For each act, subjects were asked to judge the legitimacy of parental jurisdiction, justify its wrongness or permissibility, and assess its contingency on parental authority. As expected, all family members treated both moral and conventional issues as more legitimately subject to parental jurisdiction than multifaceted and personal issues. With increasing age of the adolescent, both parents and children became less likely to reason about the multifaceted and personal issues as conventional and sort them as contingent on parental authority; they became more likely to reason about and sort them as under the adolescents' personal jurisdiction. Adolescents at all ages, however, were more likely to reason about the multifaceted and personal issues as personal and sort them as under personal jurisdiction than were parents. Parents were more likely to reason conventionally and sort them as contingent on parental authority than were adolescents. These findings are discussed in terms of research on adolescent development, individuation, and social-cognitive development.     

Adolescents' and Parents' Conceptions of Parental Authority and Personal Autonomy

Conceptions of parental authority and ratings of adolescent-parent conflict were assessed in 68 sixth, eighth, and tenth graders and their parents. Boundaries of adolescent personal jurisdiction and conflict over these boundaries were examined. Participants judged the legitimacy of parental authority and rated the frequency and intensity of conflict regarding 24 hypothetical moral, conventional, personal, multifaceted (e.g., containing conventional and personal components), prudential, and friendship issues. Adolescents and parents agreed that parents should retain authority regarding moral and conventional issues. Parents treated multifaceted, friendship, prudential, and personal issues as more contingent on parental authority than did adolescents, based on conventional, prudential, and psychological reasons, whereas adolescents treated these issues as under personal jurisdiction, based on personal concerns. Personal reasoning and judgments increased with age. Multifaceted issues were discussed more than all other issues, but moral and conventional conflicts were more intense than all other conflicts. The findings are discussed in terms of previous research on parental authority and adolescent-parent conflict during adolescence.     

Developing High Quality Decision‐Making Discussions About Biological Conservation in a Normal Classroom Setting

The conservation of biodiversity is an important socio‐scientific issue that is often regarded as a precondition to sustainable development. The foundation for citizens’ understanding of conservation issues can be laid down in formal school education. This research focuses on decision‐making discussions about biological conservation issues among 131 15–16‐year‐old students, to address two main research questions:

1. Can peer group decision‐making discussions, in a normal science lesson setting, help develop students’ personal reasoning in relation to conservation issues?

2. Are there features common to high quality discussions about conservation which might be readily identified by classroom teachers?

Findings indicate the positive value of students taking part in these short decision‐making discussions guided by a structured framework and as part of their normal science classroom activities. Students increase their quality of personal reasoning, and modify their solutions to the issues. The study begins to uncover features about students both as individuals and as members of discussion groups, which can be associated with high quality decision‐making about conservation issues, and which teachers might realistically identify. The work calls for the need to cultivate these features and to integrate them appropriately with learning about the scientific concepts that underpin the theory and practice of conservation management. Such integration will facilitate the development of teaching strategies for dealing effectively with the complex topic of biological conservation; not just in terms of science content, but also in terms of how students are expected to engage with the issues.     

Social Class Effects on Northeastern Brazilian Children's Conceptions of Areas of Personal Choice and Social Regulation

2 studies examined middle- and lower-class Brazilian children's concepts of personal choice and social regulation. In Study 1, interviews of 40 middle- and lower-class children (9 and 15 years old) revealed that children across classes distinguished moral from conventional issues on the bases of rule contingency and act generalizability criteria. Lower-class children, however, were less likely to view conventions as rule contingent and more likely to generalize conventional acts. In Study 2, interviews of 240 middle- and lower-class children (ages 8, 12, 16 years) found that across classes, children distinguished prudential issues from matters they treated as personal. Prudential issues were seen as subject to parental authority. Middle-class children were more likely to treat personal issues as matters of choice. With age, lower-class children increasingly tended to treat personal items as matters of choice, and by adolescence there were no class differences. Findings show that Brazilian children maintain a heterogeneous orientation to rules and authority which includes a domain of personal choice. Class differences indicate that hierarchical social structures affect children's sense of autonomy. However, developmental effects indicate that a domain of personal choice emerges among children across social classes.     

WHY ARE NONPROTOTYICAL EVENTS So DIFFICULT, AND WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL-DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY?

The findings of Turiel, Hildebrandt, and Wainryb's study of reasoning and judgement on nonprototypical issues that seem to span domains are discussed. Opinions were obtained from high school and college students on 1-4 nonprototypical issues (abortion, pornography, homosexuality, and incest), and compared with judgments and reasoning on 2-3 moral issues (killing, rape, and theft), and 1-3 personal issues (nudity at a public beach, smoking marijuana, and men wearing makeup). Those evaluating the nonprototypical issues negatively were placed in 1 group, and those positively in another group. The goal was to determine how opposite positions on nonprototypical issues related to judgments and reasonings on moral and personal issues. 5 explanations are given for nonprototypical thought which are based on Turiel and the author's constructs. 1) Issues like abortion and pornography are of a type where moral principles clash and lead to different judgments, and thus, require higher level moral principles. 2) The greater cognitive complexity of these nonprototypical issues yields domain differences which are manifestations of a decalage in judgement. 3) Nonprototypical issues may be ambiguous as to their proper moral, conventional, or personal category. Judgments are predictable once the proper category is made. Categories may be complex or ambiguous. 4)Ambiguity involves rational determinism, where reasoning on nonprototypical issues derives from the reasoner's understanding and interpretation of the situation, "social construals." 5)Complexity involves different supraordinate structures within which , e.g., morality and social convention operate. The results indicate that judgments on nonprototypical issues could not be predicted on moral or personal positions. The importance of this finding about how group and individual differences cannot be explained is in its exploration of the limits of moral theory and the preeminent need to place moral theory in a broader and deeper supraordinate context. Discussion is directed to fundamental organization of moral and social thought within which a developmental progression must operate, and a more comprehensive approach to the development of social thought. The research defines morality in the context of universal, rational, and absolute thought, which appeals to the author.     

Social Interactions in the Home and the Development of Young Children's Conceptions of the Personal

Observations and interviews of 20 middle-class 3- and 4-year-olds and their mothers were conducted to examine the emergence of the personal domain. Interviews with children showed that 3- and 4-year-olds make a conceptual distinction between personal, and moral or conventional issues. Interviews with mothers indicated that they viewed it as important for young children to have freedom of choice over personal issues to develop a sense of autonomy and individuality. Observations in the home revealed that mothers tended to give direct social messages to children about moral, conventional, and prudential events, and were more likely to give indirect social messages in the form of offered choices to children in response to personal issues. Mothers were more likely to negotiate with children over personal than other social events. These data revealed a pattern of social interactions concordant with event domain, which included a reciprocal system along the border between the personal and the conventional.     

Parenting Styles and Conceptions of Parental Authority during Adolescence

Reports of parenting styles were assessed in 110 primarily white, middle-class sixth, eighth, and tenth graders ( M = 11.98, 13.84, and 16.18 years of age) and their parents (108 mothers and 92 fathers). Parents judged the legitimacy of parental authority and rated family conflict and rules regarding 24 hypothetical moral, conventional, personal, multifaceted (containing conventional and personal components), prudential, and friendship issues. Adolescents viewed their parents as more permissive and more authoritarian than parents viewed themselves, whereas parents viewed themselves as more authoritative than did adolescents. Parents' parenting styles differentiated their conceptions of parental authority, but adolescents' perceptions did not. Differences were primarily over the boundaries of adolescents' personal jurisdiction. Furthermore, conceptions of parental authority and parenting styles both contributed significantly to emotional autonomy and adolescent-parent conflict. The implications of the findings for typological models of parenting and distinct domain views of social-cognitive development are discussed.     

新型城镇化面临的城乡社会危机及其规划策略

当前我国快速城镇化斜率陡悬,压缩了城乡问题释放和缓解的时间,从而快速积聚城乡社会危机。现阶段我国城乡社会危机的焦点分布在特大城市和农村地区两端。我国新型城镇化的总体策略,既要把握好全局的平衡发展,又要着重针对特大城市和广大农村地区两端潜在的社会危机,制定相应的对策。缓解特大城市社会危机的规划策略重点包括:大力推进城市基本公共设施和服务均等化,确保低收入家庭的住房供给"托底",保障老龄化社会为老服务的基本条件,并通过城市社区规划寻求特大城市的社会管理改革与创新;广大农村地区社会危机的规划策略重点包括:注重乡村产业经济"造血机能"的培育,大力推进乡村社会自治,鼓励地方文化保护并加强地方传统特色文化传承,通过促进农村社区规划来探索乡村社会管理改革与创新。     

Reasoning about science-related uncertain issues and epistemological perspectives among children

In order to fulfill social responsibility, one of the goals in science education is to equip students with the competence of scientific reasoning. Nevertheless, psychological studies have found that people in general do not have adequate ability to make scientific arguments in everyday situations. Later studies found that the inadequate ability was associated with the development of personal epistemology. However, the conclusion is drawn mostly from research with adults or adolescents. This study attempted to examine the relation between scientific reasoning in informal contexts and the epistemological perspectives demonstrated by elementary school pupils. Participants of the study were 62 sixth graders who were interviewed to criticize two science-related uncertain issues. Content analysis showed that most children had developed the absolutist form of personal epistemology. Chi-square analyses suggested that the more multiplist view toward the certainty of knowledge and the process of knowing, the better coordination of theory and evidence as well as reflective reasoning. In addition, children’s beliefs about the certainty of knowledge, source of knowledge and concept of justification were seemingly consistent across different issues. Nevertheless, content analysis showed that the criteria used to make judgments varied with problem contexts.     

Adolescent-parent conflict in middle-class African American families

Everyday conflicts between adolescents and parents were examined in 95 middle-class African American families, 44 with preadolescents and 51 with early adolescents, who were further divided into two groups based on family income. The incidence, frequency, and intensity of conflicts were assessed using the Issues Checklist, and content, justifications, and resolutions were coded from individual interviews. Conflicts were relatively frequent, low in intensity, and occurred over issues such as the adolescent's room, chores, choice of activities, and homework. Early adolescents rated conflicts as more intense than did preadolescents, but mothers' ratings of conflict intensity and families' ratings of conflict frequency differed by family income. African American adolescents primarily reasoned about conflicts as issues of personal jurisdiction, whereas their mothers primarily appealed to social conventions. Nearly all conflicts were resolved by adolescents giving in to parents, but adolescent concession declined with age, whereas unresolved conflicts and use of punishment increased. Number and intensity of conflicts and adolescent concession were predicted by both parenting practices and sociodemographic background; conflict frequency and joint resolution were predicted only by parents' educational attainment. Although conflict may reflect normative developmental processes of individuation, the cultural and ecological context of middle-class African American families influences its expression and resolution.     

Collaborative Reasoning: Expanding Ways for Children to Talk and Think in School

This article presents a framework to help teachers facilitate small group discussions about stories children read. Collaborative reasoning discussions are intended to create a forum for children to listen to one another think out loud as they learn to engage in reasoned argumentation. Children use personal experiences and evidence from the stories to support their conclusions and consider each other's points of view. Excerpts from an ongoing study of 12 fourth-grade classrooms in rural, urban, and suburban settings are used to illustrate four characteristics of cognitive reasoning: (1) children's response to text; (2) children's use of text to consider multiple possibilities; (3) children's use of tools for persuading others; and (4) children's control of topic and turn-taking.     

Capturing the Complexity of Moral Development and Education

This article discusses challenges educators face when attempting to sequence moral education. Two factors are identified as primary sources hindering efforts to engage in effective moral education: (a) the premature application of research findings from developmental psychology to classroom practices and (b) the underestimation of the complexity of interactions between development in students' social and moral understandings and their applications in social contexts. Research is reviewed demonstrating that morality develops alongside concepts about societal conventions and zones of personal discretion and privacy. Results of an ongoing study are presented pointing toward a U-shaped pattern in moral development in which frequency of moral choices is higher among younger children and older adolescents than among early adolescents. Research examining contextual moral decision making is discussed in relation to efforts to sequence moral education.     

Informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues: A critical review of research

Socioscientific issues encompass social dilemmas with conceptual or technological links to science. The process of resolving these issues is best characterized by informal reasoning which describes the generation and evaluation of positions in response to complex situations. This article presents a critical review of research related to informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues. The findings reviewed address (a) socioscientific argumentation; (b) relationships between nature of science conceptualizations and socioscientific decision making; (c) the evaluation of information pertaining to socioscientific issues, including student ideas about what counts as evidence; and (d) the influence of an individual's conceptual understanding on his or her informal reasoning. This synthesis of the current state of socioscientific issue research provides a comprehensive framework from which future research can be motivated and decisions about the design and implementation of socioscientific curricula can be made. The implications for future research and classroom applications are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 513–536, 2004     

城乡劳动力双向流动研究

城乡劳动力双向流动是以城市化和城镇化建设为契机,由工业化和技术进步引发的产业结构变化导致的城乡劳动力以城镇为中介,从农村向城市流动和从城市向农村流动并存的态势.而我国现有的农村剩余劳动力的单向流动,给城乡经济社会协调发展带来了不少问题.文章认为,城乡劳动力双向流动,是缓解农村和城市劳动力双重过剩局面,加速城市化进程和推进城镇化建设的重要途径.     

湖州城乡居民社会心态的现实困境及政策疏导

解决好人民最关心、最直接、最现实的利益问题,是社会管理创新的根本目的。笔者通过调研,充分把握了湖州城乡居民最关注的现实问题,分析了城乡居民社会失衡心态较普遍、社会焦虑情绪较突出、公共领域信任感较低等现实困境的成因,提出了解决群众关注的现实问题和消解社会心态困境的政策建议。     

Attitudes toward family obligation among adolescents in contemporary urban and rural China

A sense of obligation to support, assist, and respect the family was examined among approximately 700 urban and rural 10th- (M = 16.6 years) and 12th- (M = 18.9 years) grade students in the People's Republic of China. Urban male adolescents reported a weaker sense of family obligation than did rural male adolescents and both urban and rural female adolescents. Only children did not differ from those with siblings in terms of their attitudes toward family support and respect. A sense of family obligation was generally associated with more positive family relationships and a higher level of academic motivation among Chinese adolescents. Discussion focuses on how the shift to a market economy may influence adolescents' identification with the family in contemporary China.