Theageatwhichyoungchildrenbegintomakemoraldiscriminationsaboutharmfulactionscommittedagainstthemselvesorothershasbeenthefocusofrecentresearchintothemoraldevelopmentofchildren.Untilrecently,childpsychologistssupportedpioneerdevelopmentalistJeanPiagetinhishypothesisthatbecauseoftheirimmaturity,childrenunderagesevendonottakeintoaccounttheintentionsofapersoncommittingaccidentalordeliberateharm,butrathersimplyassignpunishmentfortransgressionsonthebasisofthemagnitudeofthenegativeconsequencescaused.AccordingtoPiaget,childrenunderagesevenoccupythefirststageofmoraldevelopment,whichischaracterizedbymoralabsolutism(rulesmadebyauthoritiesmustbeobeyed)andimminentjustice(ifrulesarebroken,punishmentwillbemetedout).Untilyoungchildrenmature,theirmoraljudgmentsarebasedentirelyontheeffectratherthanthecauseofatransgression.However,inrecentresearch,Keaseyfoundthatsix-year-oldchildrennotonlydistinguishbetweenaccidentalandintentionalharm,butalsojudgeintentionalharmasnaughtier,regardlessoftheamountofdamageproduced.Bothofthesefindingsseemtoindicatethatchildren,atanearlieragethanPiagetclaimed,advanceintothesecondstageofmoraldevelopment,moralautonomy,inwhichtheyacceptsocialrulesbutviewthemasmorearbitrarythandochildreninthefirststage. Keasey’sresearchraisestwokeyquestionsfordevelopmentalpsychologistsaboutchildrenunderageseven:dotheyrecognizejustificationsforharmfulactions,anddotheymakedistinctionsbetweenharmfulactsthatarepreventableandthoseactsthathaveunforeseenharmfulconsequences?Studiesindicatethatjustificationsexcusingharmfulactionsmightinclude?public?duty,self-defense,andprovocation.Forexample,NesdaleandRuleconcludedthatchildrenwerecapableofconsideringwhetherornotanaggressor’sactionwasjustifiedbypublicduty:fiveyearoldsreactedverydifferentlyto“BonniewrecksArm’spretendhouse”dependingonwhetherBonniedidit“sosomebodywon’tfalloverit”orbecauseBonniewanted“tomakeAnnfeelbad”.Thus,achildoffivebeginstounderstandthatcertainharmfulactions,thoughintentional,canbejustified;theconstraintsofmoralabsolutismnolongersolelyguidetheirjudgments. Psychologistshavedeterminedthatduringkindergartenchildrenlearntomakesubtledistinctionsinvolvingharm.Darleyobservedthatamong-actsinvolvingunintentionalharm,six-year-oldchildrenjustenteringkindergartencouldnotdifferentiatebetweenforeseeable,andthuspreventable,harmandunforeseeableharmforwhichtheperpetratorcannotbeblamed.Sevenmonthslater,however,Darleyfoundthatthesesamechildrencouldmakebothdistinctions,thusdemonstratingthattheyhadbecomemorallyautonomous. Accordingtothepassage,Keasey’sfindingssupportwhichofthefollowingconclusionsaboutsix-year-oldchildren?
A.They have the ability to make autonomous moral judgments.
B.They regard moral absolutism as a threat to their moral autonomy.
C.They do not understand the concept of public duty.
D.They accept moral judgments made by their peers more easily than do older children.
正确答案是A