Journal of School Violence
Volume 12, 2013 - Issue 2
The Influence of Moral Disengagement, Morally Based Self-Esteem, Age, and Gender on Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying
ABSTRACT: The current study investigated moral disengagement, morally based self-esteem, age, and gender as predictors of traditional bullying and cyberbullying. The participants were 210 Australian school students aged 12 to 15, evenly split between males and females. Salient predictors of traditional bullying were overall moral disengagement, and the specific practices of moral justification and diffusion of responsibility. Furthermore, overall moral disengagement and the specific practices of diffusion of responsibility and attribution of blame predicted cyberbullying. Morally based self-esteem did not influence either form of bullying. Age predicted cyberbullying, with a greater tendency for older students to bully than younger students, while gender predicted involvement in traditional bullying, with boys more likely to bully than girls. Implications for antibullying interventions in schools are suggested.
Journal of Moral Education
Volume 36, 2007 - Issue 4
The moral dimension of children's and adolescents' conceptualisation of tolerance to human diversity
ABSTRACT This study examined the kinds of justifications children and adolescents used to support tolerant and intolerant judgements about human diversity. For the tolerant responses, three main belief categories emerged, based on the beliefs that others should be treated fairly (fairness), empathetically (empathy) and that reason/logic ought to govern judgements (reasonableness). Fairness emerged as the most used belief to support tolerant judgements and the most commonly used combination of beliefs was found to be fairness/empathy, linking tolerance to moral reasoning, rules and values. Specifically noticeable was that 6–7‐year‐olds appealed to fairness more often in comparison to the 11–12 and 15–16‐year‐olds. Older students used a larger repertoire of beliefs to support tolerance, indicating developing cognitive maturity. There was also a tendency for females to appeal to fairness/empathy more often than males. The major constraint to positive tolerance was not prejudice toward the target groups but the adolescents' beliefs in freedom of speech as a democratic right, pointing to a conflict in values between tolerance and other human rights.
Australian Psychologist
Volume 48, Issue 4
August 2013
Pages 290–298
Some Personality Predictors of Tolerance to Human Diversity: The Roles of Openness, Agreeableness, and Empathy
ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to determine the most salient predictors of tolerance to human diversity. A total of 118 individuals (M = 32.93 years, standard deviation = 13.80) responded to dilemma-like stories involving holding prejudicial beliefs (beliefs), talking about them (speech) and acting on them (acts). Participants also completed the openness and agreeableness scales from the Big Five Inventory and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. Differences in tolerance judgements were found to be related to differences in personality characteristics. Results showed that openness and agreeableness were predictors of tolerance in the belief dimension, whereas the most salient predictor of tolerance in the speech and act dimensions was empathic concern, which also mediated the relationships between agreeableness and tolerance for these dimensions. These findings are not unexpected because holding intolerant beliefs is inconsistent with having an open mind, and intolerant speech and actions are inconsistent with pro-social behaviour, of which tolerance is arguably one form.
Journal of College and Character
Volume 1, 2000 - Issue 5
Do Unto Others: Toward Understanding Racial Tolerance and Acceptance
ABSTRACT The ultimate, practical objective of understanding both prejudice and tolerance is to reduce discrimination. No where is this more important than in diverse societies where differences exist in culture, colour and creed. Tolerance is only necessary when difference or diversity is present and entails endurance at the most basic level and acceptance at its best. Racial tolerance has been under-researched and is largely unexplored from a psychological perspective and there are both definitional and conceptual issues needing further clarification. This paper will discuss definitional and conceptual issues surrounding tolerance in general and racial tolerance in particular and report on the fledgling literature about racial tolerance.
Australian Psychologist
Volume 39, 2004 - Issue 2
Subordination of racial tolerance to freedom of speech: Some considerations for education in contemporary multicultural societies
ABSTRACT Of particular importance for contemporary multicultural societies are basic human rights such as freedom of speech and tolerance. Studies show that children as young as 6 years of age can conceptualise such basic human rights as freedom of speech and tolerance. However, when freedom of speech is in conflict with other human rights or with tolerance, older adolescents and adults subordinated tolerance to freedom of speech. More specifically, students between 15 and 24 years subordinated racial tolerance to freedom of speech, with appeal to free speech increasing with age. In contrast, students between 9 and 12 years rarely subordinated tolerance to free speech, and this was never observed among students between 6 and 7 years. The findings have implications for education.
Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment
March 2015, Volume 37, Issue 1- pp 12–26
The Relationships between Five-Factor Model Personality Traits and Personality Disorder Features in an Australian Non-Clinical Sample
ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between personality traits from the Five-Factor Model (FFM) and personality disorder (PD) features in order to better understand personality disorders (PDs) from a dimensional perspective. An Australian non-clinical sample of 313 participants (M = 26.50 years, SD = 10.10, age range = 18–72 years) completed several self-report measures, including the NEO Personality Inventory–Revised and the Wisconsin Personality Disorders Inventory–IV. Correlations revealed unique and theoretically-meaningful relationships between FFM traits and PD features. Regressions clarified these relationships by identifying the most salient FFM trait predictors of PD features. These results have important theoretical and practical implications for understanding PDs from a dimensional perspective.