REASONING ABOUT SOCIAL CONFLICTS IN DIFFERENT CULTURES - DRUZE AND JEWISH CHILDREN IN ISRAEL

This study examined how children of different cultural backgrounds weigh competing considerations in complex social situations. 351 children from Druze and Jewish communities in Israel (mean ages 8-10, 10-9, 12-11, 14-11, and 16-8) were presented with conflicts between 2 concerns: (a) Justice-Authority, (b) Justice-Interpersonal, (c) Personal-Interpersonal, and (d) Personal-Authority. For each conflict, subjects selected the course of action to be followed and evaluated the desirability of each behavioral alternative. Both similarities and differences were found in the ways children from each group weigh social concerns and change their priorities with age. Furthermore, judgments in both groups were complex and heterogeneous. These findings demonstrated that the weighing of social concerns in conflict situations is not done solely according to an overriding cultural orientation.