University of Chicago doctoral student, Allison DiBianca Fasoli, with the guidance of Dr. John Lucy, will undertake research on the mechanisms by which children are socialized into local models of morality through language practices. This study of morality will serve as a case study in socialization more generally by investigating whether or not theories of meaning developed in linguistic pragmatics can be fruitfully applied to child socialization. Linguistic pragmatics research has shown how situated meaning emerges over the course of verbal interaction as language practices index relevant features of social context and higher-order meanings, or models. By showing how meaning is achieved, linguistic pragmatics perspectives offer a theoretical position from which to investigate how children can acquire general frameworks of interpretation through participation in everyday practices.
The researcher will employ a comparative research design by analyzing the language socialization processes of children in two communities, one of which self-identifies as conservative Protestant and the other of which self-identifies as liberal Protestant. The researcher will collect data through recording of spontaneous interactions, through participant observation and interviews, and by eliciting interactions in a semi-structured activity. The core data will be analyzed using discourse analytical techniques.
The research will make an original contribution to child socialization theory through its focus on language practices as mechanism of socialization. It will also contribute to the disciplines of cultural psychology and psychological anthropology more broadly by illuminating how local models are produced and reproduced ontogenetically. The study has the potential to inform educational and clinical practices in dealing with children's behavior problems and disorders because it will enhance our understanding of the moral meanings that guide children's talk and actions. The research also supports the education of a social scientist.
Anthropological research has shown that moral psychology varies across and within societies. This evidence suggests that morality is learned, but it is not yet clear how it is learned. To better understand how children learn local understandings of morality, this project investigated the role that communicative practices play as mechanisms of moral socialization among children being raised in a conservative Christian faith. What is "morality" for evangelical Christians and how does it derive its local meanings for children through communicative practices? Research focused on the morality of helping and giving, enacted and understood as Christian "service." I analyzed transcripts of video-recordings of children’s weekly Sunday school classes and their family mealtimes, as well as interviews with parents and children, and teachers. I focused on: communicative patterns of giving interactions; ethnotheories of children’s moral and spiritual development; and the meaning of "service." Results show that these evangelical Christians used moral principles of harm, welfare, and rights as well as obedience to God, intimacy with God, spiritual duties, scriptural authority, and emulation of Jesus Christ. In the religious education setting, morality of helping and giving usually came up indirectly; not as the topic of conversation but as an examples of relating to God. Giving and helping actions were conveyed as desirable not because they fulfilled such ends as individual welfare or justice, though they may have, but rather because they fulfilled a relationship with God. Consistent with this socialization practice, adults interpreted giving interactions as opportunities from God to serve others and as opportunities to serve and obey God. In this way, giving to others—as an opportunity rather than an obligation—created space for the choice to cultivate one’s self as a servant of God. Children, by contrast, constituted giving interactions as matters of reciprocity or ownership, and as moral obligations. One way that adults helped children learn to interpret actions and circumstances as opportunities to obey God’s authority (rather than as obligations of reciprocity between giver and receiver) was by articulating comparisons with their own authority as parents or teachers in relation to children. This project, through an analysis of how discursive interactions cultivate children as servants of God, contributes to psychological anthropology by showing how local models are produced and reproduced ontogenetically in one specific community. It also theoretically expands our understanding of moral autonomy and moral authority and inspires re-analysis of moral development. Dominant theories of moral development in developmental psychology view moral autonomy as replacing a morality based on authority, or as outside the moral domain altogether. The current findings suggest a sequence of moral development wherein authority is not to be overcome but to be learned in new ways. Finally, this project contributes to studies of morality in social psychology and cognitive science by suggesting a broader approach to how we define and study moral psychology. The majority of this research studies moral functioning as moral judgment in the context of life-or-death dilemmas. But the processes by which individuals "solve dilemmas" does not exhaust our moral functioning, in fact, it is only a small portion and excludes such aspects as moral interpretation, moral character, and moral practices (including behaviors and talk). If we want to create a more moral society, it is important to understand not only how people judge extraordinary situations of life-or-death dilemmas, but also how people enact morality in everyday situations, detailing how they build and rebuild relationships and communities through talk. This project, through a discursive analysis of everyday moral interaction, contributes to such understanding by bringing an anthropological perspective to the study of human morality. The broader impacts of this project include a better understanding of the moral codes of conservative Christian groups within the United States. By using the tools of anthropology, most notably ethnography, to understand the local morality of conservative Christian groups on its own terms, these findings provide a corrective to the common treatment of such morality as either non-moral or inferior. This is important given the accelerating differentiation between religiously liberal and religiously conservative groups, and the resulting tensions that arise in political and educational spheres. By showing the moral concepts that are relevant for evangelical Christians, this project help reveal the moral reasoning that supports the positions conservatives take in political debates. Recognizing these positions as moral (rather than signs of moral deficiency or stunted developmental growth) could help to facilitate political discussions that are more productive. Additionally, this project is expected to enhance public understanding of science among the congregation where research was conducted, by sharing conclusions, discussing research practices, and distributing copies of the completed dissertation. Finally, this NSF-supported research enabled the Co-PI, a graduate student, to develop her skills as a social scientist.
