Sibling Socialisation of Moral Orientation: 'Share with me!' 'No, it's mine!'

Abstract

Sibling socialisation of moral orientation was investigated in 40 dual-parent families with two children, aged 2 and 4 years. Of particular interest were: (a) the prevalence of use of care and justice moral orientations by the children during real-life dilemmas with siblings, (b) the ability of the children to combine both care and justice orientations in resolving the dilemmas, and (c) the presence of sex differences in the use of the two orientations. Data consisted of transcripts of sibling interactions during sibling property disputes. Children's verbal statements to each other were coded for justice and care orientations. Siblings preferred the use of justice orientation when justifying the manner in which disputes should be resolved, a preference that increased with the age of the sibling. Care and justice were at times combined by individual children within disputes, again a finding that increased with the age of the sibling. No sex difference in the use of the two moral orientations was found; both girls and boys preferred justice over care. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.