Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Department

Psychology

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

A sample ofl 04 boys and girls from three grade levels (second, fourth, and sixth) were read stories depicting acts of victimization and questioned about how both the victim and victimizer in the story would be feeling. In one interview, children were asked to pretend that they were the victimizer and in another interview 3-4 weeks later, a hypothetical victimizer was used. Order of interviews (self as victimizer first or second) was assigned randomly. Acts of both physical and psychological harm were portrayed in which the victimizer either obtained a tangible gain or no gain was received. Participants of all ages attributed primarilynegative emotions to victimizers in the self condition. In the hypothetical condition, younger children required more questioning before they would attribute negative emotions to victimizers than did older children across all story types (physical/psychological) and gain conditions (gain/no gain). Also, younger children required more probing to attribute negative emotions to victiniizers for stories of physical harm resulting in gain than for stories of physical harm in which no gain was received.

Advisor(s) or Committee Chair

Dr. Elizabeth Limerise

Disciplines

Psychology

Included in

Psychology Commons

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