Are Infants Moral?

Arthur Dobrin, DSW, reviews the research of Yale professor Karen Wyn, who concludes that morality begins in infancy. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...-infants-moral

The review is short. I include it here since Dobrin asserts:

Wyn's research by itself is suggestive but doesn't prove much. It is, though, part of a growing body of research that makes the same point. Infants offer help, comfort those in distress and prefer those who do the same.

These tendencies, however, can be overridden by parenting that doesn't build on these propensities; the same can be said of peers who can override these instincts and larger culturally messages that convey very different values.

Being aware of tendencies gives parents the opportunity to choose between reenforcing or undermining them.

I do think that most infants, toddlers are by nature kind. I think this kindness continues until they start school, at which point peer pressure and the need to fit in makes them do things that they would have never dreamed of the year before.

I have never understood how the bully obtains the power. I do not understand that process at all. Even older mature children that should know better are so afraid of being seen as different that they will either join in or look the other way.

When my youngest was in his senior year, one of his classmates attempted to humiliate him in front of his peers because he was not sexually active. I was shocked when I overheard this because I know her older sister very well. She was one of my daughter's best friends. Her older sister is gay and was bullied so much because of her sexuality that she actually had to drop out of school.

I confronted her about this (much to my son's dismay). I asked her what the difference was between what she was actively doing and what those idiots had done to her beloved sister! She saw first hand how devastating this treatment was to her sister. She was mortified when she realized what she was doing but.... in the future, when her bff's started this she did not say a thing to stop them, she just did not participate in the harrassment. In my opinion she remained part of the problem, but I think her fear of being left out far outweighed the compassion she felt for the victim.