Immoral Actions Research Articles

Brief Remarks on Sterba’s Moral Argument from Evil

We pose two challenges to Sterba’s position. First, we show that Sterba fails to consider alternative historical positions such as Leibniz’s (who argues that God knows that the actual world is the best of all possible worlds) or Kant’s (who suggests that God does not necessarily know what free agents would choose or would have chosen, had God not intervened), both of which bear direct relevance to some major aspects of Sterba’s argument. Second, we show that Sterba neither rules out the possibility that God has always intervened in history when his not intervening would have led to significant and horrendous evils, nor the possibility that every immoral action (and its consequences) might have led to significant and horrendous evils.

Moral judgements reflect default representations of possibility.

Moral judgement requires representing what is possible: judging that someone ought to do something implies that they actually can do that thing; and if they cannot do that thing, then it is not the case that they ought to have done it. Moral judgements are often made quickly and effortlessly, suggesting that they may rely on default, rather than deliberative, representations of what is possible. To investigate this possibility, we asked participants to make 10 different kinds of moral judgements either very fast or more slowly about 240 different actions across 12 contexts. We found that these moral judgements were more similar to one another when participants were forced to quickly assess the morality of immoral actions, suggesting a common default template for moral judgement that becomes more differentiated upon reflection. When making moral permissibility judgements quickly, participants were more likely to judge that improbable, irrational and impossible actions were not permissible, indicating that default representations of permissibility may be reflecting default representations of possibility. A direct investigation revealed a close relationship between default representations of possibility and fast judgements of moral permissibility. These findings demonstrate the role of default representations of possibility in moral cognition. This article is part of the theme issue 'Thinking about possibilities: mechanisms, ontogeny, functions and phylogeny'.

The Problem of Interpreting Cluster B Personality Disorders: at the Intersection of Psychiatry and Morality

In medicine, some personality traits, involving specific patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior, are considered to be pathological. Personality types, characteristic of such pervasive and maladaptive traits, are known under the term “personality disorders.” However, some of these pathological traits, diagnostic of so-called Cluster B personality disorders, largely describe immoral behavior. Hence, the question arises as to how such immoral behavior could be framed also as a medical problem. Moreover, it is not immediately clear whether persons with these disorders could be held responsible for their immoral actions. By drawing on virtue ethics and the concept of responsibility without blame, the article demonstrates how the problem of compatibility between medicalization, cultivation of moral character, and responsibility could be resolved. Thereby, it is suggested that Cluster B personality disorders are best understood as both a moral and medical problem.

Island of Spies by Sheila Turnage

Reviewed by: Island of Spies by Sheila Turnage Natalie Berglind Turnage, Sheila Island of Spies. Dial, 2022 [384p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780735231252 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780735231269 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad Gr. 4-6 No mystery goes unsolved on Hatteras Island in 1942 because the Dime Novel Kids are always on the case. These aspiring FBI agents—scientific-minded Stick Lawson, artistic Rain, and strait-laced Neb—work together to investigate suspicious phenomena and people on the island using their encyclopedic knowledge of dime novels. The real world, however, is more dramatic than fiction right now: it's the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, tensions are high, boys of age are enlisting in the military, and the government is covering up U-boat attacks just off the shore of North Carolina. Anyone could be a spy, especially bitter postal worker Miss Agnes, and the Dime Novel Kids are going to get to the bottom of it. The plot gently unfurls the island's complex dynamics, starting the Dime Novel Kids out with smaller issues like a bully stealing from lunch pails and growing until they actually apprehend German spies. While this setup is engaging, the core mystery is withheld too long, as clues that lead nowhere pile up and the arrival of newcomers unnecessarily overstuffs the suspect list. More successful is Turnage's use of the setting; rather than just capitalizing on the aesthetic of the setting, she also address issues of race in both the treatment of biracial Rain on the island and allusions to immoral actions of the U.S. government, such as Japanese internment camps. However, the Dimes' defense of Rain as an "outsider" to the rest of the island and their simultaneuos perpetuating of suspicion toward neighbors and newcomers alike at times serve incongruent functions. Still, readers who stick around for the end will get a huge explanation in a Scooby Doo-esque resolution that answers all. Copyright © 2022 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Политическая мораль современной российской молодежи: ценности, представления, установки

In modern socio-humanitarian science, there is a certain lack of research on the moral priorities of young Russian citizens as regulators of their life in the state and society. The study presented in the article was aimed at identifying the political values, ethical representations and attitudes of young people that guide them in assessing the sphere of politics and in their relationships with the state and other political actors. The theo-retical and methodological basis of the study was the political-psychological ap-proach, in which values, ideas and attitudes are considered from psychological posi-tions in the structure of moral and political consciousness. The empirical basis of the study was the materials of the All-Russian questionnaire survey and focus group dis-cussions with young people conducted in 2020-21. The results of the study show that young people consider moral values and norms to be a measure of political relations, albeit a rather relative one. It imposes on politicians the moral demands of sincerity, honesty, work for the benefit of citizens, concern for the public interest. Young peo-ple leave politicians the right to make mistakes, they are ready to forgive politicians for many mistakes, except for those that are associated with a threat to life and health of people and have serious consequences. Young people consider corruption, wars and violence, violation of laws and rights of citizens to be immoral actions in politics themselves. The meaning-forming foundations of the moral assessment of the sphere of politics by young people are the political values of freedom, human rights, justice, security, self-realization. Young people's representations about duty are differentiat-ed: they recognize the duty of a person, but reject the duty of a citizen. Young people are not ready to take responsibility for others, and sometimes for themselves too. They place the responsibility for providing public goods and satisfying their needs on the state. This reflects paternalistic attitudes, traditional for our political culture. The political morality of youth is contradictory and often relativistic.

A Dilemma for Sterba

James Sterba argues that a good God is not logically possible. He argues that what he calls the Pauline Principle, which says that we should never do evil that good may come of it, implies that a good God would prevent horrendous evil consequences of immoral actions. However, there are plenty of examples of such actions in our world. So, a good God does not exist. I offer an example from Derek Parfit, and one of my own, that calls the Pauline Principle into question. Sterba believes that what he calls Moral Evil Prevention Requirements (MEPRs) follow from the Pauline Principle, and that they are necessary truths which imply that a good God would prevent horrendous evil consequences of immoral actions. Whether these (MEPRs) follow from the Pauline Principle or do not, they may be necessary truths that could form the basis of Sterba’s argument. However, I argue that they are not necessary truths. If modified to become such, Sterba faces a challenge from the Skeptical Theists that can only be met by turning his argument into an evidential version of the problem of evil. I compare Sterba’s argument with my version of the evidential argument from evil that says that if God exists, there is not excessive, unnecessary suffering and whose second premise says there is. I argue that it is easier to establish that there is excessive, unnecessary suffering than to establish Sterba’s second premise (once his principles are modified). That second premise will say that there are no goods that logically require God to allow immoral actions that have horrendous evil consequences. Sterba faces a dilemma: either he has an unsound logical argument or a weak evidential argument for the non-existence of God. In either case, he does not have a good logical argument for atheism.

EEG evidence that morally relevant autobiographical memories can be suppressed

Remembering unpleasant events can trigger negative feelings. Fortunately, research indicates that unwanted retrieval can be suppressed to prevent memories from intruding into awareness, improving our mental state. The current scientific understanding of retrieval suppression, however, is based mostly on simpler memories, such as associations between words or pictures, which may not reflect how people control unpleasant memory intrusions in everyday life. Here, we investigated the neural and behavioural dynamics of suppressing personal and emotional autobiographical memories using a modified version of the Think/No-Think task. We asked participants to suppress memories of their own past immoral actions, which were hypothesised to be both highly intrusive and motivating to suppress. We report novel evidence from behavioural, ERP, and EEG oscillation measures that autobiographical memory retrieval can be suppressed and suggest that autobiographical suppression recruits similar neurocognitive mechanisms as suppression of simple laboratory associations. Suppression did fail sometimes, and EEG oscillations indicated that such memory intrusions occurred from lapses in sustained control. Importantly, however, participants improved at limiting intrusions with repeated practice. Furthermore, both behavioural and EEG evidence indicated that intentional suppression may be more difficult for memories of our morally wrong actions than memories of our morally right actions. The findings elucidate the neurocognitive correlates of autobiographical retrieval suppression and have implications for theories of morally motivated memory control.

Role of Legislation, Need of Strong Legal Framework and Procedures to Contest Effectively with Cybercrime and Money Laundering

There is need for a robust and strong legislation to tackle white Collar-crime is stressed, which is on the rise in both the public and private sectors. The effect of immoral and unlawful actions in government, notably high-level bribes, has crippled the financial and legislative bodies in their normal functioning. Bank frauds, money laundering, and cybercrimes are also on the rise, due to the widespread use of digital gadgets and the internet. The absence of strong network-security systems especially in the banking sector has caused great losses indeed. The goal of this study is multidimensional; more about the importance of applying strong regulations as well as morality and ethical principles. It has been argued in this paper that morality and ethical norms positively influence minimizing such crimes; if morality and ethics are coupled with strong legislation, it works as a Deterrence Force. It will undoubtedly be one of the most momentous global occurrences in recent history, long-term impacting culture, government operations, crime, economics, politics, and social relationships. The major role in combating the crime depends upon the existence of strong legislation capable of causing a reduction in the crime rate, which allows the investigators vast powers and collaboration with the prosecution and safeguarding the witnesses. The criminals are very well organized and use the most modern technology and IT equipment, therefore, the police, investigators, and prosecutors must have and be highly trained and equipped, similarly. appropriate methods and algorithms are required. We create a new method, a dynamic atomic shared memory for message communication. A properly stated method is proposed for message communication and then implemented. According to this method, owners can be changed dynamically, and their access to read and write also changes.

See something, say something? exploring the gap between real and imagined moral courage

ABSTRACT Research shows that people often do not intervene to stop immoral action from happening. However, limited information is available on why people fail to intervene. Two preregistered studies (Ns = 248, 131) explored this gap in the literature by staging a theft in front of participants and immediately interviewing them to inquire about their reasons for intervening or not intervening. Across both studies, most participants did not try to stop the theft or even report it to the experimenter afterward. Furthermore, many participants reported confusion and inattention as precursors to nonintervention, yielding insight into what inhibits moral courage.

Brand betrayal and moral judgment: consumers’ responses to M&A of local foodservice brands

Purpose Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are typical corporate strategies that provide hospitality business competitiveness. However, some recent evidence shows that when the merged and acquired (M&Aed) restaurants have strong local characteristics, consumers feel betrayed and perceive the M&As, legitimate business activities, as immoral actions. Building upon expectancy violation theory and moral foundation theory, this study aims to examine the moderating role of locavorism on the indirect effects of preexisting relationship quality on desire for avoidance and psychological loss through brand betrayal and moral judgment. Design/methodology/approach This study used the M&A of Whataburger chain restaurant as the scenario and recruited 399 Texas Whataburger consumers. A moderated mediation model was developed to examine the mechanisms through which preexisting relationship quality on negative responses to M&A of local restaurants. Findings The results showed preexisting relationship quality influences desire for avoidance and psychological loss negatively through brand betrayal and moral judgment. The indirect effects of relationship quality on the desire for avoidance and psychological loss become more accentuated among locavores. Practical implications The results implied that merging and acquiring (M&Aing) companies should closely monitor consumer dialogues to promptly respond to post-M&A uncertainties when M&Aed company has a strong local identity. Originality/value The unique contribution of this study is showing why consumers have extreme negative emotions and judgment of immorality when M&A decisions are made for local hospitality brands through the lens of brand betrayal and moral foundation theory. The results can help M&Aing companies mitigate consumers’ negative responses to M&A of local restaurants.

JUVENILE INVOLVEMENT INTO ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES AND USE OF A MINOR CHILD FOR BEGGING: CRIMINAL AND LEGAL DUALISM

The article is devoted to the research of crimes in Art. 304 «Involvement of juvenile in illegal activities» and Art. 150-1 «Use of a minor child for begging» of the current Criminal Code of Ukraine. The purpose and the relevance of the research topic are determined by the growing number of cases involving of juveniles and use of minors in criminal activities, begging business, alcohol drinking, gambling in Ukraine. The authors analyze the concepts of «juvenile», «minor child», «involvement», «use», which are enshrined in these articles and consider differences in their legal interpretation. The research also covers the study of the terms «begging», «alcohol drinking», «gambling». The authors found imperfection of the norms of the Criminal Code of Ukraine that establish criminal liability for the involvement and use of juveniles (minor children) in criminal offenses and in the above-listed immoral actions. Based on the analysis the authors propose to introduce to the current Criminal Code of Ukraine the following legislative amendments: 1) to define the terms «juvenile» and «minor child» in Section I of the General Part – «General provisions» of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, namely, «a minor child is an individual who is under the age of 14», «a juvenile is an individual who is above the age of 14 but under the age of 18»; 2) to consolidate the term «minor child» in paragraph 9, Part 1 of Art. 67 of the Criminal code of Ukraine while characterizing the circumstances aggravating the punishment; 3) to provide the term «minor child» in the other provisions of the General and Special Parts of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which use the terms «child», «minor»; 4) to amend Art. 304 of the Criminal code of Ukraine incorporating into it two forms of actus reus - involvement and use of the juvenile (minor child) in criminal activity; 5) to formulate new Article 304-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which will establish criminal liability for involvement and use of a juvenile (minor child) in immoral actions such as begging, alcohol drinking, gambling; to clarify the meaning of the above-listed immoral actions in the note to this article; 6) to exclude Art. 150-1 from the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Mental contamination among people in China: A replication of a moral manipulation experiment

Background and objectivesMental contamination can be evoked by thoughts, images, and memories without having physically contacted any contaminants. Although several experiments have investigated the mechanism of mental contamination, none has been conducted in the Chinese socio-cultural context. Considering the potential cultural-sensitivity of mental contamination we replicated Elliott and Radomsky's experiment (2009) to examine whether an imagined immoral act would prompt mental contamination among female university students in China. MethodsWe assigned participants (n = 148) to 4 conditions in which they listened to an audio recording asking them to imagine that they had (a) shared a consensual kiss with a moral man, (b) shared a consensual kiss with an immoral man, (c) received a non-consensual kiss from a moral man, (d) or received a non-consensual kiss from an immoral man. Afterwards, they completed questionnaires, and their personal hygiene behaviours were recorded. ResultsAs in the precedent study, participants who imagined a non-consensual kiss reported greater feelings of mental contamination than ones who imagined a consensual kiss. Unlike in that study, however, imagining a consensual kiss from a moral man also aroused strong mental contamination. LimitationsIt remains unclear which aspect of immoral acts (information or behaviour) weigh more in evoking mental contamination. ConclusionsThe results suggest that imagining sexually immoral acts can evoke feelings of mental contamination among people in China. Nevertheless, cultural beliefs and attitude towards sexuality may play a role of causing the discrepancies.

Exploring the grammar of othering and antagonism as enacted in terrorist discourse: verbal aggression in service of radicalisation

The social, discursive practice of othering in violent extremist discourse serves to present outgroups as distant yet real threats to the ideological and physical territories of an ingroup which a terrorist claims to represent. However, the role of grammatical choices (namely, non/transactive construction, voice, and mood) in enacting the othering act within the context of radicalisation to terrorism remains to be empirically verified. This paper explores the patterning and pragmatic functions—namely in framing situations, coercing into violence, and legitimising hostile actions against Others—of the syntactic structure of the othering utterances. The othering utterances, as realized in a set of eight public statements produced by former al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, were sorted manually and analysed qualitatively to help understand and showcase how grammar was strategically leveraged in the process of radicalisation. Results show that the act of othering in the dataset operates within the victimization and injustice frameworks to morally sanction antagonism and aggression via: (i) overt othering, where transactive construction, only declarative mood and active voice are used, and (ii) covert othering, in which nontransactive construction, any mood type, and passive voice are utilized. Overt othering foregrounds, through assertions and statements of presumed facts, the negative agentive role of Others and the diagnostic framing of the causal relationships between Others and negative experiences. Covert othering backgrounds this agentive role to place prominence on immoral actions and to serve in the motivational function of framing. The grammatical patterns provide evidence of the strategic character of OBL’s verbal aggression and how different mood types tend to construct the directive, illocutionary point of the utterances and to enact prognostic framing. The analytical strategy aids in threat assessment and preventing radicalisation by sensitizing assessors to, first, the kind of semiotic clues to engagement in the social and discursive process of radicalisation where utterances count as calls for action and activators of a reality of deontology, and, second, to the social functioning of terrorist texts in: (i) promoting putative readers’ awareness of particular outgroups, and (ii) ideological positioning and encouraging and legitimating violence that is liberty, loyalty and care metavalues-based.

Преимплантационное генетическое тестирование: православно-христианская рефлексия этических проблем метода

Background: Preimplantation genetic testing is used in In Vitro Fertilization to identify genetic abnormalities in embryos. Genetically defective embryos are not transferred to the uterus, resulting in a higher percentage of healthy babies born. Aim: to study the ethical problems of using preimplantation genetic testing in Orthodox Christian discourse. Materials and methods: An analysis of the provisions of Orthodox ethics, expressed in the church resolutions of the Russian Orthodox Church and the general church teaching on morality, was carried out in the context of their application for the biotic analysis of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT). Results: Despite the fact that PGT can have positive implications for the choice of the mode of delivery later on and for the earliest possible initiation of intrauterine treatment, this practice meets with certain ethical objections in Orthodox Christian discourse. Identified genetic abnormalities of embryos in PGT encourage women to refuse to transfer the "diseased" embryo, leading ultimately to its death. The absence of intrauterine interaction between a mother and an embryo makes such a choice easily feasible. Given that Orthodox Christianity affirms the beginning of human life from the moment of conception, refusing to become pregnant with a "sick embryo" would be tantamount to its murder. In addition, among the ethical problems of PGT is the possibility of the use thereof for the embryo selection according to sex or other chosen characteristics, which also belongs to immoral actions in Orthodox Christianity. Conclusion: Thus, the possibility for Orthodox couples to participate in assisted reproductive technology must exclude the use of pre-implantation genetic testing, which is ethically unacceptable within Orthodox Christianity. The couple starting IVF should be ready to give birth and bring up such a child, who will be the result of the fertilization in vitro.

WOMEN AND GENDER IN CORRUPTION IN INDONESIA

This paper examines the involvement of women in corruption in Indonesia. Today people who commit corruption no longer recognize gender. The perpetratorsare of corruption are no longer men, but also the perpetrators are women. The number is not as much as men, but the number is increasing from year to year, with various professionals backgrounds. Even sadly, women are objects of gratification to facilitate affairs. Based on this, by researching normative law, and using a statutory approach as well as a conceptual approach. The results of the study indicate that women who occupy strategic positions are able to be a balancer because women have more sensitive to taste, refinement of mind, and can play a central role with its natural nature. Corruption is an immoral act that is used to carry out actions with institutional integrity standards. Increased involvement of women not as victims of corruption but as agents of change involved is very important to solve problems. But on the other hand, it is known that the factors that cause corruption can be seen from factors that come from within the perpetrators of corruption, but can also come from outside the perpetrators. Prevention of corruption can be done by means of the extent to which anti-corruption values can be internalized within oneself and changes through an integral approach to fighting corruption.

Beyond the Armchair: Defying the Myth of 1950s Fatherhood From Outside of the Household

A strong, well-balanced family doesn’t always have to be driven by an equally strong and well-balanced father. However, the all too recognizable idealization of the media-perfected, everpresent, firm-but-fair father of the 1950s continues to resonate with us even after 70 years of his evolution and progressive change. It is assumed that he governs the household with a stern, yet not iron fist, he comes home after a long day of honest work with poise, and he cares for his wife and kids with an equal reserve—not affectionate but not cruel. The father is supposed to be the rock of the 1950s home, and he does this in the way in which society believes he should. In Taylor Sheridan’s Hell or High Water, divorced father and disconnected brother Toby Howard provides none of these characteristics for his family, and it would be impossible for him to follow this mythological lead. Unlike the traditional ‘50s father figure, Toby robs banks with his ex-con brother, Tanner, in an attempt to save his recently deceased mother’s ranch to secure a prosperous future for his children. Yet despite his deviation from what cultural tradition demands, Toby does for his family what a father of that era would never think to do: provide for his family even in separation, maintain his loyalty to his brother even after his tumultuous past, and remain a father figure to his sons despite the unorthodox model he presents. Through his endeavors, Toby breaks the mold of the nuclear father that the nuclear family demands by displaying how a father can be just as virtuous, admirable, and worthy of reverence by not taking on this memorable role. Instead, Toby defines this role through what he is willing to do in pursuit of supporting his family, his commitment to his brother despite his turbulent history, and the position as a role model he is able to maintain despite the immoral actions that accompany his mission.

Procedural-criminal characteristics of juvenile crim

Juvenile delinquency has always aroused some interest among researchers, as young people are a growing new generation, a generation in which many hope, and immoral and antisocial actions by young people suggest that parents, guardians, employees of educational institutions and other people who may be involved in the formation of a personality in one way or another pay little attention to the educational process. This article is dedicated to the problems of juvenile delinquency, the characteristics of criminal behavior being determined. In pursuit of this purpose and objectives, the author used the method of analyzing the subject of the article through the legislation of the Republic of Moldova, as well as examining the scientific opinions offered to the general public by publishing on web pages or in printed form various guides, articles, explanatory notes. A theoretical and legal analysis of the concepts of legal regulation of juvenile delinquency prevention in the implementation of the modern criminal policy of the Republic of Moldova is carried out in detail. The author highlights one of the factors of juvenile delinquency - family problems. Possible law enforcement issues are being considered, ways of resolving them are proposed in order to prevent crime. The objective factors for the fight against juvenile delinquency are indicated, - among them are the rapid increase in crime and delinquency among adolescents and the low efficiency of court decisions.

Morality extracted under crowding impairs face identification.

We investigated whether morality associated with faces is perceptible even under less optimal visual conditions such as crowding. A facial image was paired with a sentence describing an immoral act or a neutral act. Participants imagined the person performing the actions described in the sentence during the learning phase. Then, in the crowding phase, the target face was briefly presented in the left or right peripheral visual fields. Participants were required to judge the gender or morality of the target face in Experiment 1 and to choose the target face from two faces in Experiment 2. In both experiments, flankers were presented around the target face in the flanker condition, whereas no flankers were presented in the no-flanker condition. Experiment 1 indicated that the accuracy of judgments about the morality of a crowded face was higher for immoral faces than for neutral faces. This demonstrates that morality is preferentially extracted even when conscious access to facial representations is limited. Experiment 2 showed that the accuracy of selecting the flanked face from two faces was higher for neutral faces than for immoral faces. These indicated that the morality processed under the crowding impaired the discrimination of the facial identity.

The contribution of the regional child protection commission of Bangka Belitung in dealing with children victims of sexual violence

Over the last two decades, the government has paid much more attention through imposing laws to minimize sexual violence against children. This mostly has been perpetrated by people close to them or extended family members. Accordingly, detrimental effects of such an immoral act case lead to physical problem and psychological disorder in children. Many cases are just the tip of the iceberg whereby disclosure has not been made because perpetrators fully know victims who always face threat in their lives. The interview was conducted with three counselors and key person or supervisor in the Regional Child Protection Commission (KPAD) to raise a concern about victims and to investigate the contribution of the KPAD in dealing with children victims of sexual violence. This study is undertaken as a result of the phenomena of sexual violence occurring in the Bangka Belitung Islands Province. Field research with qualitative descriptive-analysis method was employed in this study, and technique for data analysis applied a model of Miles et al. (2014). The findings showed that the contribution of KPAD in handling with victims of sexual violence against children includes providing assistance and advocacy, recovering trauma, boosting motivation, offering counseling, and giving assistance for legal justice technically and substantively. With the treatment, the KPAD of the Bangka Belitung Islands Province also provide the opportunity to assist the provincial government in facilitating the needs of the community who are able to contribute considerably to deal with the issues of sexual violence against children.

Navigating between punishment, avoidance, and instruction: The form and function of responses to moral violations varies across adult and child transgressors

Immoral actions can elicit a wide array of responses, ranging from pugnacious confrontation to passive distancing. What leads onlookers to react so differently to various violations? Across four studies (N = 2085), we investigated how responses vary depending on whether moral transgressions are committed by adults or by children. Findings reliably demonstrated that adult participants were more likely to avoid adult transgressors, and more likely to instruct child transgressors about why their actions were wrong. These patterns arose from varying cost-benefit structures, derived in part from asymmetries in interpersonal power between adults and children, rendering adults' direct confrontation of children both less costly and more beneficial. Although adults' transgressions were judged to be relatively more wrong, participants had greater anxiety about the negative consequences of confronting adults, and they viewed adults' personalities as less malleable, thus diminishing the effectiveness of confrontation. In contrast, 4- to 9-year-old children did not differ in their willingness to avoid or instruct adult and child transgressors. Across studies, the content of transgressions (e.g., being harmful or impure) mattered little for determining the nature of responses. Overall, diverse responses to moral transgressions were uniquely tailored to the different costs and benefits associated with confronting adult and child transgressors.