Study challenges widely held view about children's moral judgement

Children's ability to make moral judgements has often been substantially underestimated, new research indicates. When making moral judgements, adults tend to focus on people's intentions rather than on the outcomes of their actions: hurting someone intentionally is much worse than hurting them accidentally. However, the prevailing view in developmental psychology is that younger children's moral judgements are mainly based on the outcomes of actions, rather than the intentions of those involved.