Copyright Malvin Porter, Jr. 2010 - acumen - The University of ...

whether the story character was a bystander or a victim. However, when the story character was
a victim, children were less likely to select Prosocial/Care Justifications (but more than when the
story character was a bystander), and least likely to select Aggressive/Retribution (but less than
when the story character was a bystander).
Children were as likely to choose Justice/Fair Justifications when the story character role
is a bystander as when the story character role is a victim. Whether a victim or bystander,
children are often at a loss for how to respond to peer victimization even when advised to be
assertive, refrain from retaliating against bullies, and to seek peer or adult support (Rigby,
2002a). As mentioned in Chapter III, the CBVS model assumes that moral justifications represent
generalizable moral norms based on schemas about the welfare, fairness, and rights of others that
regulate social relationships (Helwig & Turiel, 2003; Turiel, 1983, 1998). Findings suggest the
possibility that children in this study may be well aware of the action choices that are often
offered by school counselors, other adults, and advice books about how to deal with peer
victimization. Children may be responding to their sense of empathy for the victim or the
bystander by reflecting on their moral responsibility to preserve social justice, fairness, and
equality between the bully and the victim; thus, engaging predominantly more in prosocial
actions. Similarly, this same sense of moral responsibility to protect the victim and the bystander
for from harm may override a child’s sense of self protection in service to a peer being
physically or emotionally harmed.
Interestingly, participant children were less likely to select Prosocial/Care Justifications
when the story character role was a victim than when the story character was a bystander, which
may a reflection his or her ability to affect a positive outcome in the face of personal
victimization. It may be that after a victim reflects on the moral justice of the bully treatment, he
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