Children’s reactions to moral transgression

Research into moral development in children was for many years based upon the theories of Piaget and Freud. The former emphasised the cognitive aspects of development, seeing the formation of mature moral judgments largely as a function of the mental age of the child. Freud, on the other hand, concentrated upon the child's early dependence on the parents and consequent identification with them which led to the assimilation of their prohibitions and ideals. Later the proponents of Learning Theory suggested that the basis of moral behaviour was the establishment of conditioned reflexes which were generalised by the child to apply to many situations. The present study reviews recent work in these fields and examines such concepts as internalisation, conscience and guilt which are inherent in contemporary theories. An investigation was undertaken into the different responses to transgression made by groups of boys and girls aged 9, 12, and 14 years. The method used was a story-completion test administered to a total sample of 322 children. The story-endings were then statistically analysed. The most frequently occurring response was the anticipation of discovery and punishment, which was taken to indicate the effectiveness of early conditioning. As the age of the child increased there was a marked decline in the consistency of individual responses. The explanation offered for this phenomenon is that the child develops from unilateral respect to a morality based on cooperation, and in so doing becomes aware of more subtle aspects of each situation so that a greater variety of behaviour can be justified. In the higher age groups significantly more reference to confession, apology and reparative techniques were made by girls than by boys. It is suggested that one of the main reasons for this is the girls' particular social experience which seems to indicate to them the appropriateness of certain actions

Emma Jackson on Employment

Emma Jackson Full Interview Emma Jackson was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1941. She and her husband John Isaac Jackson had three children, and at the time of the interview she had been living in the Lewiston-Auburn area for forty five years. She spent the first ten years of her life in Maine doing domestic work, and then worked in the nursing field for thirty years, at a number of different facilities owned by Central Maine Medical Center. She discusses her life in Lewiston, challenges in finding housing she and her husband faced when they first moved to the area, prominent African American citizens and businesses in Lewiston, her husband’s career in area shoe factories, and her religious life and family history with Christ’s Temple Church. On Employment: Quote 1 Interviewer: Does anyone else come to mind? Emma Jackson: “I didn\u27t know that many -- no, because we were church people.” Interviewer: Right. Emma Jackson: “So we were involved a lot in the church and, ah –“ Interviewer: Anyone you remember through the church who had their own businesses or, um, prominent in-- Emma Jackson: “I can remember the Richardson\u27s but they were in Portland. They owned some kind of a cleaning service.” Interviewer: Right. The Kippy\u27s. Quote 2 “But, ah, they seemed to be prominent. But I don\u27t -- don\u27t really know because we really didn\u27t know that many blacks at that time…“there wasn\u27t that many. And we didn\u27t -- we only knew that were involved mainly in church…One of our members owns a, ah, beauty shop…Crystal. Uncle Q\u27s. Do I know any other black owned – you know, I don\u27t know any other black-owned businesses.” Quote 3 “So that worked out. And my husband was in the shoe factory. To get in the shoe factory -- you could get in the fact -- or get in the mills. But any other jobs, they weren\u27t that plentiful.”https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/we5quotes/1008/thumbnail.jp

Mr. James Mathews on Leisure

Interviewer: Maureen Elgersman Lee Interviewee: Mr. James Mathews (age 59; born 1941 in Portland Maine; married with five children; lived in Maine all his life – lived in South Portland for over 26 years) “Well, when we talk about the Mathews family reunions and also the Fisher family reunions, because they\u27re a part of our family. We all evolved from the Mathews really, and, of course, my name is Mathews. We had a family reunion in Nova Scotia that I went to in 1998. It was July; I think it was the 14th thru the 16th, or something like that, that we had a reunion up there in Nova Scotia. Shelbyville, I believe it was. And that\u27s where our family came from. And then we had a family reunion in 1995 also; it was the first Mathews reunion that we had, and that was held in South Portland at the Sheraton. [side B] Okay, like I said, we had our first reunion in 1995, and then we had another one that was held in Shelbyville, Nova Scotia in 1998 in July. And that one was very good because we had to all go over on the Scotia Prince to get to Nova Scotia. So that was an interesting trip.” “I live in a very nice neighborhood. I enjoy it very, very much. Like I say we moved there twenty-six years ago-October of \u27 74-and, you know, we had a new house built and so on. We\u27ve added some rooms and so on that we did ourselves. We have another unattached garage. I love it. My wife has a beautiful garden and animals and stuff outside; just quite the thing. We have enough room where we can have a lot of people over there. The kids like to play basketball; I like to play basketball myself. You know, so we got a hoop out. But the area that we live in: once you get off Broadway into there, it\u27s like another world. You know, there\u27s a lot of trees there; still really sticks. [laughter] It\u27s really nice. I like it all year long, but I really like it in the summer time.”https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/we4_leisurequotes/1011/thumbnail.jp

Mr. James Mathews on Employment

Mr. James Mathews Full Interview James Mathews was born at Maine General Hospital in Portland, Maine, in 1941. He had four siblings; his father, Oscar Mathews, Jr., was a cook for the railroad that ran between Portland and Boston, and his mother, Llewena Hill Mathews, was one of the first graduates of the Gorham Normal School. His father’s family emigrated from Nova Scotia. As a child, he lived with his aunt and uncle in South Portland; the family moved to another home in South Portland when the state took their home to build I-295. Mathews graduated from Portland High School in 1960, and graduated from Southern Maine Vocational Technical Institute with an associate’s degree in electronics. He worked for AT&T for thirty seven years. He married Lorene Mathews and had five children. At the time of the interview, he had been a member of the NAACP for thirty five years, serving as the president in the early 1970s, and was an active member of the Green Memorial AME Zion Church. He discusses raising children, family traditions, and what makes the Portland African American community special. On Employment: “…I guess, you know, life is a challenge. Coming up as a child, you know, we had a problem with a lack of finance. My uncle acted as my father. He was held back financially because he had the skills of an electrician, but he wasn\u27t able to use them. And so I believe that that would be a challenge; you know. We were held back from being financially able to fund our needs on his standpoint.”https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/we5quotes/1005/thumbnail.jp

Reverend Albert Jackson and Mrs. Clemmie Jackson on Leisure

Interviewer: Maureen Elgersman Lee Interviewees: Reverend Albert Jackson (born in Slabfork, Virginia; age 61; lived in Maine for 43 years) and Mrs. Clemmie Jackson (born March 1948 in Marengo County, Alabama; age 55; lived in Maine for 3.5 years) “Well I like it. You know, I describe it as, ah, a place where you can shop. I notice when it rain, a lot of people go out to eat. They like to eat here in Maine. And I\u27ve noticed -- I\u27ve (inaudible) –but this is a good area to live in.” Interviewer: “Are there any events in Lewiston and Auburn\u27s history that stand out in your memories? Some people talk about when, um, Mohammed Ali came to fight in Lewiston. Is that something that, ah, either stands out in your memory, or is that something that still people talk about?” Rev. Jackson: “Actually, when, ah, um, ah, um, Cassius Clay, as that was his name at the time…It was in the \u2760s. He actually put Maine on the map. And, ah, ah -- and -- and that\u27s, ah, about the only -- actually event that I – I can really, ah, ah, acquaint myself to thinking…I didn\u27t have a chance to go inside the, ah, building -- I was there though…But it was, ah -- it was so crowded. Ah, people, you know -- but I did -- I did -- I experienced that -- that highlight at that time. I can get -- get into the building but I was -- I was on the outside…It was very exciting. It was -- it was something that -- that Maine wasn\u27t, you know, accustomed to and -- and everything was just -everyone\u27s excited and the people, you see, that they interviewed. Some people working with their cameras and they were flashing and people were excited. And it was just an exciting event at that”https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/we4_leisurequotes/1006/thumbnail.jp

Ms. Joanna Boley-Lee on Leisure

Interviewer: Maureen Elgersman Lee. Interviewee: Ms. Joanna Boley-Lee (age 66; born 1937 in Newark, New Jersey; lived in Maine for 8 ½ years) “I think my closing reflections would be that when I came to Lewiston I remember walking across the bridge that goes across the Androscoggin, the extension of Main Street, just sort of looking out, and there was a black man with a camera and I thought, good, there\u27s a black person. So I went up to him and I introduced myself, told him I was new in the area and he tells me he was visiting. I don\u27t think I saw another black person for at least a month, and I was going out to the supermarkets, et cetera. But within the, maybe three or four years after I moved here, or maybe less, I saw a marked increase in the presence of black people, and this is before the Somalians and the Togolese.”https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/we4_leisurequotes/1001/thumbnail.jp

Mrs. Emma Jackson on Leisure

Interviewer: Maureen Elgersman Lee Interviewee: Mrs. Emma Jackson (age 62; born 1941 in Atlanta Georgia; lived in Maine for 46 years; has three children) “Because it wasn\u27t ever in the - the -- the, ah, club scenes, or any scenes like that. Actually, we live, ah, a really sheltered life. We went to church. We were involved. But the church was our main focus and our main goal. And I -- and -- and our lives were wrapped -- revolved around that. So that might be -- which would be a reason why we didn\u27t--”https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/we4_leisurequotes/1002/thumbnail.jp

Reverend Albert Jackson and Mrs. Clemmie Jackson on Education

Reverend Albert Jackson and Mrs. Clemmie Jackson Full Interview Rev. Albert Jackson was born in Slabfork, West Virginia, in 1942. At the time of this interview, he had been living in the Lewiston Auburn area for around forty three years. Clemmie Jackson, Rev. Jackson’s wife, was born in Marengo County, Alabama, in 1948; at the time of this interview, she had been living in Lewiston Auburn for around three years. The couple had three sons. Rev. Jackson graduated from high school in Lewiston Auburn; Mrs. Jackson graduated high school in Alabama, and received a degree in sociology with a minor in social work from Miles College, where she worked as a counselor for a number of years after her graduation. Rev. Jackson served as an assistant pastor at Christ Temple Church, and as of this interview had just been installed as the church’s pastor. On Education: “Harrison loves it…He don\u27t want to live in no place but in Maine…And, ah, my son Randy was born here and, ah, he --he\u27s been exposed to Maine I guess ever since -- he\u27s born here. Ah, he doesn\u27t know any other place that, ah, -- or actually he hasn\u27t moved but he has, ah, been here. He went to high school here, went to college. And, ah, he\u27s, ah -- he\u27s raising two children, him and his wife. And he -- he seems to be very satisfied -- very stable. So, you know.”https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/we5quotes/1001/thumbnail.jp

Mr. James Mathews on Education and Employment

Mr. James Mathews Full Interview James Mathews was born at Maine General Hospital in Portland, Maine, in 1941. He had four siblings; his father, Oscar Mathews, Jr., was a cook for the railroad that ran between Portland and Boston, and his mother, Llewena Hill Mathews, was one of the first graduates of the Gorham Normal School. His father’s family emigrated from Nova Scotia. As a child, he lived with his aunt and uncle in South Portland; the family moved to another home in South Portland when the state took their home to build I-295. Mathews graduated from Portland High School in 1960, and graduated from Southern Maine Vocational Technical Institute with an associate’s degree in electronics. He worked for AT&T for thirty seven years. He married Lorene Mathews and had five children. At the time of the interview, he had been a member of the NAACP for thirty five years, serving as the president in the early 1970s, and was an active member of the Green Memorial AME Zion Church. He discusses raising children, family traditions, and what makes the Portland African American community special. Quote transcript: Quote 1 “My father\u27s name was Oscar Mathews, Jr., and he worked for the railroad. Not like a chef, but he was a cook on the railroad, and he traveled between Boston, Massachusetts, and Portland for a number of years. And my mother, her name was Llewena Hill Mathews, and she was one of the first graduates of Gorham Normal School which is now the University of Southern Maine. And she was an accomplished pianist, and she also was attempting to become a school teacher, but at the time Black school teachers were not hired.” Quote 2 “I believe as far as their schooling is concerned, they did not choose to go to school. Like my son is a firefighter, so when he finally decided what he wanted to do, he was able to go to school on his own to become qualified. I have another daughter that when she was living in Florida she went to school down there. In fact, I have two children that lived in Florida for a while and they went to school in Florida for other education, to gain knowledge in that sense. So basically I haven\u27t really provided college education for them because they at the time didn\u27t require it or didn\u27t seem to be needing it at the moment.”https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/we5quotes/1014/thumbnail.jp

Boley-Lee, Joanna

Joanna Boley-Lee was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1937. She graduated from California College of Art in the late 1960s with a degree in art education; she later received a master’s degree from Howard University. She worked as a graphic artist, a flight attendant, and a public school teacher. As of this interview, she had spent eight years as the Director of Affirmative Action at Bates College. In this interview, she discusses the details of her work and accomplishments at Bates, the Many and One rally, her experience moving to Maine and becoming part of the Lewiston community, racial and economic disparities in the Lewiston area, her experience working with the Black Panthers’ Breakfast Program in Oakland during the civil rights movement, prominent African American citizens and businesses in Lewiston, and the history of African American mill workers in Lewiston.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/aa_hiwimi/1006/thumbnail.jp