The "Black Sheep Effect" in moral judgments among children aged 5–8: The impact of repetitive violations and representative violations

In children's moral judgments, there are two opposing phenomena: in-group favoritism and the "black sheep effect". It is crucial to understand the different conditions and motivations behind these phenomena. The “black sheep effect” refers to the phenomenon where individuals are more severe in punishing those who violate norms within their own group, rather than those from external groups. The study involved children aged 5 to 8 years old. Three experiments were conducted to examine how children judge the moral behavior of members of both internal and external groups, as well as the characteristics of punishment and the motives behind it, in situations where violations occur repeatedly or representatively. The experiments used video presentations of instances of violation, and children were given tasks to punish by taking away stickers, while also having to attribute their actions to certain motives. The results showed that: (1) Violations…