Young Children’s Mental Negotiations Between Selves and Others in Dilemma Situations

Abstract

  The present study aimed to examine young children’s mental negotiations between themselves and others, and their development.  In interviews, the participants in the study, 115 children (61 girls, 54 boys, ages 3: 8 to 6:1), were told to imagine that they were in dilemma situations in which their own needs and the needs of others were in conflict, and asked, “If you were...”.  Four scenes were presented to each child, 2 of them were with a friend; the other 2 were with the child’s mother.  In addition, the children’s cognitive and social development was assessed.  The results suggested the following: (a) the children placed more priority on themselves in more serious situations, such as when a friend asked to borrow a treasured item, (b) the 6-year-olds prioritized others and inhibited their own needs more than the 3 to 4-year-old children did, (c) more of the children in the older group considered both themselves and others in the “treasure” scenario, compared to the younger children, and (d) both cognitive and social development influenced the children’s capacity to consider both themselves and others.