Abstract
Self-serving cognitive distortions are biased or rationalizing beliefs and thoughts that originate from the individual persistence into immature moral judgment stages during adolescence and adulthood, increasing the individual’s engagement in antisocial or immoral conducts. To date, the literature examining trajectories of cognitive distortions over time and their precursors is limited. This study sought to fill this gap, by examining effortful control and community violence exposure as individual and environmental precursors to developmental trajectories of cognitive distortions in adolescence. The sample consisted of 803 Italian high school students (349 males; Mage = 14.19, SD = 0.57). Three trajectories of cognitive distortions were identified: (1) moderately high and stable cognitive distortions (N = 311), (2) moderate and decreasing cognitive distortions (N = 363), and (3) low and decreasing cognitive distortions (N = 129). Both low effortful control and high exposure to community violence were significant predictors for moderately high and stable trajectory of cognitive distortions. These results point to the importance of considering moral development as a process involving multiple levels of individual ecology, highlighting the need to further explore how dispositional and environmental factors might undermine developmental processes of morality.
Highlights
Social-cognitive theories posit that people act upon their interpretation of social events (Crick and Dodge 1994)
Self-serving cognitive distortions have been described as thinking errors that originate from the individual persistence into immature moral judgment stages during adolescence and adulthood, increasing the risk of individual’s engagement in antisocial or immoral conducts (Gibbs 2013)
The aim of the current study was to investigate the trajectories of moral cognitive distortions in adolescence, and the simultaneous contribution of effortful control and community violence exposure as individual- and environmental-level factors, respectively, in making adolescents more vulnerable to use cognitive distortions when interpreting social situations
Summary
Social-cognitive theories posit that people act upon their interpretation of social events (Crick and Dodge 1994). Growing up in a violent environment may lead children to see the world as a hostile and dangerous place (Guerra et al.2003; Schwartz et al 2000), and that violence itself is a useful means for conflict resolution (Dodge et al 2006). The internalization of these schemas of the world, along with the development of normative beliefs about violence, amplify the risk for behaving aggressively. A number of studies have suggested a key-role of self-regulatory abilities
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
