Emotions, Aggression, and Morality in Children: Bridging Development and Psychopathology

Why do some children's emerging affective tendencies and abilities make them more aggressive over time, while similar processes make most children less aggressive and more morally mature? Furthermore, what kinds of interventions are effective for altering these pathways? To answer these critical questions, this book takes a unique, integrative approach in two important ways. First, it integrates the psychopathology perspective with the developmental perspective, arguing that aggression and morality are two sides of the same basic developmental story. Second, it integrates research on cognitive processes with research on emotional processes.

Drawing largely from social information processing and moral domain theories, the chapters demonstrate how early affective experiences and relationships provide a foundation for children's subsequent social cognitive understanding of victimisation, harm, and moral intentionality.

The book consists of three parts.

• Part I provides theoretical foundations, including the role of emotion in early conscience, empathic tendencies, and how principles of fairness and concern emerge from early parent-child and peer-peer interactions.
• Part II discusses factors influencing aggression and morality, from neuroscience to culture.
• Part III discusses implications for assessment and intervention.

Bringing together a number of international scholars, this book will appeal to all researchers, clinicians, educators, and policy experts interested in understanding how emotions affect the development of children's morality and aggression.

Table of Contents

Contributors

Introduction: An Integrative Approach to Emotions, Aggression, and Morality. William F. Arsenio and Elizabeth A. Lemerise

I. Theoretical Foundations

1. Emotion in Early Conscience. Ross A. Thompson and Emily K. Newton
2. Taking Emotions Seriously: The Role of Emotions in Moral Development. Elliot Turiel and Melanie Killen
3. Rage, Revenge, and Precious Pride: Emotions in Information Processing by Children With Aggressive Behavior Problems. Bram Orobio de Castro
4. Integrating Emotion Attributions, Morality, and Aggression: Research and Theoretical Foundations. William F. Arsenio

II. From Neuroscience to Culture: Factors Influencing Aggression and Morality

5. Empathy, Moral Development and Aggression: A Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective. R. J. R. Blair
6. Empathy-Related Responding and Moral Development. Nancy Eisenberg, Natalie D. Eggum, and Alison Edwards
7. Callous-Unemotional Traits and Aggression in Youth. Monica A. Marsee and Paul J. Frick
8. Emotions and Social Information Processing: Implications for Understanding Aggressive (and Nonaggressive) Children. Elizabeth A. Lemerise and Jennifer Maulden
9. The Development of Moral Emotions in a Cultural Context. Tina Malti and Monika Keller

III. Assessment, Interventions, and Clinical Perspectives

10. The Role of Anger in Children's Reactive Versus Proactive Aggression: Review of Findings, Issues of Measurement, and Implications for Intervention. Julie A. Hubbard, Michael T. Morrow, Lydia J. Romano, and Meghan D. McAuliffe
11. The Etiology of Youth Violence: A Cognitive–Emotional Model. Jason Gold and Michael Lewis
12. The Coping Power Program for Anger and Aggression in Children: Targeting Arousal and Cognition. Nicole P. Powell, John E. Lochman, Caroline L. Boxmeyer, Tammy D. Barry, and Laura Young

Index

About the Editors