Drawing on the framework of social domain theory, this multi-method, multi-informant longitudinal study examined whether callous–unemotional (CU) tendencies moderated the association between U.S. 4 to 7 year olds’ (n = 135; M_age = 5.65, 50% male; 75% White) ability to differentiate hypothetical, prototypical moral and conventional transgressions along theoretical criteria and teacher (n = 49) and parent (n = 128, 91% mothers) ratings of physical aggression. Deficits in domain distinction ability were associated with greater teacher-reported aggression both concurrently and 9 months later, but only for children high in CU traits. No main effects or interactions were found for parent reports. These findings build on a growing body of research demonstrating that children who use aggression in a deliberate and callous manner show deficits in their basic understanding of moral norms.

Decades of research have documented that deficits in children’s social judgments and reasoning contribute to the development of aggressive tendencies (Eisner & Malti, 2015). Considerably less is known regarding the role of moral judgments in the emergence of aggression during early childhood (Arsenio & Lemerise, 2004). Drawing on recent theoretical and methodological advances in the study of early moral judgments and the heterogeneity of aggressive behavior, this short-term longitudinal study examined whether callous–unemotional traits moderated the association between preschool and early school-age children’s understanding of moral norms and changes in physical aggression over time.

Research drawing on social domain theory (Smetana, Jambon, & Ball, 2014; Turiel, 1983) has shown that young children differentiate moral issues that involve others’ welfare, justice, and rights from social–conventional norms that entail contextually relative, agreed-upon rules and expectations....