Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Concept of War
Concept of War
Concept of War
By
PETER COOPER
University of Winchester, England
’War’, said the seven-year-old, ’is to do the scope of studies of child development.
with "Goodies" and "Baddies", and it’s all Probably the nearest approach to the pres-
right to make War so long as you don’t start ent subject is to be found in the works of
it first. A "Goodie" is someone who does not
start a War, he just joins in if he didn’t, he
—
Jean Piaget.2 Working with children,
would be nothing.’ To which his mate adds, Piaget has devised a systematic psychology
’Come on lazy-bones, it’s only a fight not—
adult, on the grounds that the examination Operational systems emerge with the
of the adult’s political views often confirms formation of invariants, whereby the child
little more than the diversity of opinions appreciates the constancy of aspects of his
which exist and the degree of conviction environment and the necessary relations
with which they are held. Inflexibility, between these aspects. The very young
suspicion and prejudice are variously at- child merely forms the invariant of per-
tributed to the adult, but all of them may manence of objects. Later, other invariants
begin their careers in earlier stages of emerge, for example, the invariants of
thought and under certain types of edu- space, time, weight, causality, and so forth.
cational influence.’ We might, therefore, Broadly the child passes through three
reasonably turn to the child in the hope stages: (i) sensori-motor stage (birth-2 years)
that he or she may betray the nature of where fundamental invariants such as
political reasoning in its infancy. permanence are formed; (ii) stage of con-
Political thinking usually lies outside crete reasoning (2-11 or 12 years) . The
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2
formation of
operations is facilitated necessarily in a linear or straightforward
through language. Schemata tend to exist manner. Finally, we may enquire whether
independently of one another and then the stages involved are necessary parts of
towards the end of this stage separate struc- development or whether they are subject
tures are knitted into wholes. The child’s to deviation by cultural, educational or
reasoning escapes limitations of perception other influences.
and fantasy and he becomes capable of
forming hypotheses. (iii) Stage of abstract 2. Method and sample
reasoning (11-12 years and onwards). The present results are based upon in-
Schema and invariants become related to vestigations with a sample of English
one another in a complex way. The child schoolchildren and certain comparisons
is capable of hypothetico-deductive rea- are made with findings from a smaller
soning and propositional logic. In partic- study with a sample of Japanese school
ular he appreciates the reciprocity of judge- children. This is the first stage of a larger
ment and perception, that is, he is not enquiry with children from a number of
preoccupied by single perspectives but by countries representing different social,
the relativity of actions, causes and effects. economic and educational climates.44
Piaget is primarily concerned with in- For the English study, schoolchildren
tellectual development, as instanced by were used as respondents to an interview
the growth of ideas about space, time, schedule. Their ages were distributed be-
causality and number, but he has also tween the ranges, 7-8 years (64 subjects),
dealt at some length with moral judgement 10-12 years (94 subjects) and 14-16 years
and ideas about rules and justice in the (63 subjects). Both sexes were included.
child.3 In this area, it is clear that rules All children were pupils at State Prim-
(invariants) are imposed by adult con- ary and Secondary Schools, in classes
straint the young child. Later the child
on selected for their superior intelligence.õ
questions this authority and moves to The main study was conducted at schools
stages of reciprocity and equity whereby in the Manchester area of England, and
rules and justice are not applied indiscrim- supplementary material was obtained in
inately but understood for their own sake the Birmingham and London areas. The
and related to the total circumstances of socio-economic origin of children was the
judged events. same at each age level, being mainly lower
Whilst these concepts cannot be directly professional with small proportions (10
applied to the present topic, they are per cent) in both skilled manual and higher
introduced in order to demonstrate a use- professional groups.
ful method of treating the child’s reasoning Children were taken in class-groups,
and capacities at different ages. Using the and a series of questions posed to which
ideas which they involve we may be able they gave written replies. The interview
to go some way towards formulating a schedule which was drawn up included
working model of politico-moral develop- mainly open-ended questions on the fol-
ment. Like intellectual reasoning, it is lowing items: Verbal associations to the
assumed that adult reasoning concerning words ’War’ and ’Peace’, the definition of
war and its politico-moral implications is War, interpretation of historical events,
based upon an evolution from childhood ideas about nuclear War, the future War,
and does not make a sudden appearance. the circumstances which might provoke
Further, by determining aspects of that War, the justification for War, the moral
evolution, we may be in a position to ex- and psychological effects of War. The
trapolate later stages and the possible subjects were required not merely to state
limits to adult reasoning, although not their opinions, but also to give explana-
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3
tions of what they had said. The schedule available, together with the 113 Japanese
is set out in the Appendix. children.
All age-groups answered basically the The results stated are based upon re-
same questions, although certain questions sponses to the interview schedule, the
demanded fuller explanations with the tape-recordings of individuals, and data
younger age-groups. Forty per cent of the from the gang groups. From these an at-
younger children (up to 12 years) and 20 tempt is made to identify significant age
trends and major patterns of reasoning.
per cent of the older, were then inter-
viewed individually and tape-recordings Naturally, the small sample sizes of the
taken of their elaborations on what they classification cells at this stage exclude any
had written. Additional recorded data powerful statistical analysis. The full
were obtained from 25 infant schoolchil- enquiry is planned to contrast in detail
dren, aged 5-7 years and four gang groups, members of criterion groups and subse-
total membership 20, from two of the quently to relate the child results to adult
11-year-old classes. opinion in prevailing cultural and edu-
In the smaller Japanese study, children cational influences.
participated at the age-groups 7-8 years The main results and discussions may
(65 subjects) and 13-14 years (48 sub- be taken to refer to all subjects, but in
jects). The intellectual and socio-eco- order to preserve consistency, only the
nomic criteria for the selection of the male responses are quoted in the Tables
Japanese children were the same as those and Figures. Subsequently, points of dif-
for the English children.6 It was only pos- ference between the sexes are noted, to-
sible to administer the Word Associations to gether with certain differences associated
the Japanese children, hence the data for with the Arts and Science students. The
any cross-cultural comparison is restricted comparative Japanese data on the ’images’
to the verbal imagery which the words of War and Peace are considered sepa-
’War’ and ’Peace’ prompt. rately.
The full sample of subjects according
to country of origin, age, sex and the 3. Results and discussions
Arts-Science division of the English chil- (i) The images of ‘War and Peace’
dren at the later ages, is set out in Table 1. Coherent utterances on the subjects of
War and Peace first occur around the age
Table 1. Main interuieut schedule sample by age,
of six years, and by the time a child is seven
sex and subjects speciality, English and Japanese
children or eight he, and most of his friends, have
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aeroplanes, and ships and to a lesser ex- (b) Peace
tent with the participants of war, soldiers, ’Peace’ prompts fewer responses than
sailors, and countries. As the child grows ’War’. Ideas about it, as measured by
older, these are displaced in favour of a facility of expression, lag behind War in
recognition of the consequences and actions development. Four distinct meanings of
of War. There is, however, little evidence ’Peace’ may be separated in the data: (i)
that this is due to an explicit awareness of Inactivity, freedom from stimuli,I tran-
nuclear warfare. quility, relaxation, silence, etc., (ii) Res-
pite and an end to hostile activity, a state
of no fighting, no War, (iii) Sociable
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’peace of mind’ and the occasional men- The younger children are less prone to
tion of ’boredom’ and ’uninteresting’. relate the actions of the two countries.
Sociable connotations would appear to be This may be due to the young child’s
in a decline, after a sharp rise at 12 years. ignorance of the conflicting parties in the
The two international measures of Peace, Second World War. When, however, we
Respite and Reconciliation, appear to be consider the fifteen-year-olds, whose ex-
reciprocally related to one another such planations demonstrate their awareness
that the notion of Reconciliation develops that Japan and England were in conflict,
later than that of Respite.$9 Thus, the then the reciprocal relationship is clear.
image of Peace which emerges is domin- It is, as it were, that the teenager conceives
ated by the inactive and personal consider- of only a finite amount of morality which
ations of Quiet and Silence, but with some he must distribute amongst the conflicting
contribution of Peace as an international parties; since he believes England to be
movement. In all events, the idea of right, Japan must be wrong. This effect
’Peace’ to these English children scarcely may be analogous to the way in which the
represents a vigorous drive towards inter- child learns how to relate the components
national co-operation, but corresponds to of volume or weight. That is, the ability
a state of mind, or ’inner peace’. to perceive the relationships between the
countries appears to bring about an ’in-
(ii)Moral judgement variant of morality’. Hence the possibility
As samples of the countries engaged in of both being right or wrong escapes the
the Second World War, England and Ja- teenager.
pan were singled out for moral evaluation.
Subjects were asked to judge whether each (iii) Causes and justification for conflict
country was right or wrong, on the whole, Respondents were asked to state, or
in going to War. guess, the reasons why the two countries
. The fifteen-year-olds were unanimous entered the War. The analysis of their
in acclaiming England right in going to explanations sheds light upon what are
War; Japan, however, was condemned by regarded as causes for War, and in turn
the majority as being wrong. The younger the justifications for War. The reasons
children were also committed to England given fall into three categories: (a) De-
and hostile to Japan, but less so. fence of country, (b) Friendship and
The interaction between subjects en- Honour, (c) Aggressive attack. As may
ables us to see the extent to which the be expected, this is a relationship between
moral evaluations are related, that is, approval and the alleged ’defence’ or
whether England being right means by ’friendship/honour’ motives.
implication that Japan is wrong, and vice Unprovoked aggression is only recog-
versa. nized after the age of 11I years. Thus
Table 2. Children judging Japan and England to Japan is increasingly accused, with age,
be right or wrong in entering the Second World War of attack based upon ’national pride’,
Percentages ’feelings of inferiority’, and ’a wish to
expand’. England on the other hand, being
morally correct, was merely defending
herself. She was ’provoked’ by ’Germany’s
aggression’, ’rallied to help her friends’,
and conducted her War ’with honour’.
Associated with the recognition of ag-
gressive motives goes an acceptance of the
justification of War. Whereas 70 per cent
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of the eight-year-olds argue that War has circumstances (or his
’provocability’) an
no justification, only a mere 10 per cent 11-point scale used, varying from ’0’
was
of the fifteen-year-olds share this view. (positively would not go to War) through
The fifteen-year-olds are firm in their ’5’ (not sure) to ’10’ (definitely would go
belief that War is justified to ’punish’ an to War).
aggressor in order to demonstrate to him
his ’immorality’, and as we have seen the Table 3. Provocability ratings (0 =
low, 10 =
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man psychology. The teenager grows to Fig. 3. Subjective
appreciate the motivation for actions, Probabilities of Sur-
which may be either ’good’ or ’bad’. vival (a) of the self,
and (b) of other pu-
Hence, greed, lust, hate, desire for power,
pils, in the event of
etc., are recognized as instinctive human a Nuclear War.
motivations, along with love, comradeship, (Males)
etc. The former are largely responsible for
War, and as they multiply in number and
subtlety with age, so fewer restrictions are
placed on justifications of War. Hence
War becomes more ’necessary’ with age.
For peaceful co-existence each party must
hold its feelings ’in check’ and respect the
probability of ’innocents being killed’.
(vi) The future
Turning to the future, the younger
children, up to the age of 12, believe that theirs; he is probably incapable
of conceiving of himself as one
there will be a Nuclear War within the of number, subject to the same
a
next fifteen years. The majority of older experiences and hazards.
boys, however, claim that War will never (ii) 11-13 years, a stage of ’social
occur. Whilst appreciating the ’bad’ identification’ where the child
links his own fate with that of his
motives, they believe that morality will fellows; by-products are observ-
outweigh them. able in the close gang relations
The children were asked to indicate and homosexual liaisons at these
whether they would be alive at the end ages.
of a Nuclear War, should one occur, and (iii) 14-16 years, a stage of ‘social op-
timism’ where again the child
also how many of the children in their
school would be alive. Their responses
distinguishes himself from the
fate of his fellows. The previous
may be converted into subjective proba- stages will have brought the in-
bilities of survival through the ratio of dividual into close social contact
number dead: total number. At eight with his fellows, but he appar-
ently rejects the link in favour of
years the children on the average believe his own difference and integrity.
that they, personally, have an 0.5 chance
of survival. By the time the children reach From the steep decline in the estimates
11, the probability drops to 0.4, at 12, of surviving, it is evident that the indi-
0.2 and at 15, 0.15. The fate of their fel- vidual learns at 11-13 years of the destruc-
lows is even grimmer; for the eight-year- tive effects of a Nuclear conflict but, nev-
old, at the end of the War, only one third ertheless, feels that somehow he will
(0.3) of the school will be alive, and by escape it. The thought processes of the
the age of fifteen a mere one per cent last stage bear some resemblance to those
(0.01 )’. found in studies of gambling behaviour.l~
Thus, when the objective probability of
The curvesFig. 3 may be thought
in
losing in gambling is high the majority of
of demonstrating three stages of devel-
as
subjects can be shown to overestimate
opment in the child’s relationship with his their chances of success, and vice versa
fellows.
when the probability of losing is low. In
(i) up to 11 years, a stage of ’social
where the child the present case the ’prize’ is not a fortune
egocentricity’
distinguished his own fate from but death, and although we are not in
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a position to define the objective proba- cognized and retaliatory justifications for
bility, the same optimism appears to occur War follow. Interest in and knowledge of
if the fates of other people are taken as an international matters increases but with-
indication. out any apparent change in his view of
War. Indeed, the justifications for War
(vii) War, play, and the ‘big fight’ concept are multiplied.
An examination of the younger child’s
scrap books reveals that they are filled (viii)Sex difference
with the objects of War; his playtime is As may be expected certain of the re-
often devoted to it. Indeed, his definition sponses of the girls differ from those of
of War is as a ’big fight,’ and a fight is boys: .
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and are more articulate in their condem- (a) War
nation of War. (I) The Japanese children begin with
(3) Arts students are rather more con- a relatively more concrete concern with
cerned with Peace in the sociable sense War weapons, and maintain it at the age
(Friendship). The Science students are of 14 years.
relatively more orientated towards Peace (2) The older Japanese children are
as an international activity. relatively more aware of contemporary
events, people, countries, and personali-
(x) Japanese responses ties than the corresponding English chil-
The Japanese word associations to ’War’ dren. The younger English children are
(senso) and ’Peace’ (heiwa) allow us to historically more conscious.
compare their imagery with that of the (3) In general, the Japanese are more
English subjects. Tables 4 and 5 set out outward (international) looking than the
the frequency with which their associations English, and less concerned with fighting,
fall into various categories; the data from killing and dying, and the effects of War.
the nearest age groups of English children (4) In their emotional response older
are shown for comparative purposes (cf. Japanese children express relatively more
Figs. 1 and 2). ’protest’ and ’anti-war’ associations.
Table 4. Japanese ’~ English associations to the (b) Peace
word ’war’
( 1 ) Whereas the personal element is
strong in English children, in Japanese
children it is replaced by sociable, and at
older ages, international associations.
(2) The ideas both of respite and of
reconciliation are stronger in Japanese
children.
(3) Older Japanese children respond
with Peace Symbols of an international
kind, mainly, ’dove’.
(4) There is an absence of ideas of ’inner
peace’ or ’peace of mind’ amongst Japa-
nese children.
The comparison permits us to go little
further than these semantic differences.
It seems that the older Japanese are
more vehement in their protest against
Table 5. Japanese ~’ English associations to the
word ‘peace’ War, and more preoccupied with Peace
as an international movement; throughout
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the future, and suspected of being less (i) Towards theory of politico-moral
a
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interchange between ideas about The model described in Figure 4 pos-
them; this organization of ideas is sesses certain constants or, at least, social
termed the ’schema of conflict’.
standards, and a number of clear variables
Some of these aspects may be considered which bring about variation in the degree
in more detail. The stage of equilibrium of equilibrium achieved. The same applies
which is reached in the schema of conflict to the other effects noted. The influence
is maintained to be critical to the over-all of the variables has been noted in the sex,
structure of thought on conflict. In the subject of speciality, and cultural differ-
English children the ’schema’ embraces ence, but at this stage in the research their
a variety of situations and from it re- effect could only be guessed at. It is hypo-
sponses are extrapolated. The result is a thesized, however, that the general for-
body of thinking which, when collected mation of a schema of conflict at some stage
together, provides a basis for personal, at least is inevitable, due to the constants
social and international reasoning about and to natural phenomena of intellectual
conflict. growth.
Fig. 4. Sequence of’ influences leading to the formation o, f the Schema of con, f’lict
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12
In the general case the schema may vary undertaken, these processes are probably
from a close-knit equilibrium where there inevitable. As a consequence, attempts at
is virtual isomorphism between personal, bringing about understanding amongst
social and international conflicts, to a adults are fraught with difficulties.16 When
loose-knit equilibrium where the arenas there are genuine differences in economic,
of conflict are virtually independent of one political or religious interest, we,,can ap-
another. The close-knit mechanism may parently learn too much about one an-
account for both pacifism and belicosity, other, acquire too much information, and
since passive and aggressive ideas,14 re- understand one another too well. Certainly
spectively, are carried over to the inter- communication for its own sake may be
national scene. A loose-knit schema may irresponsible, unless there are genuine
lead to the cool rationality of political misunderstandings. What seems probable
strategy, since the international settings is that there is a limited optimum level of
are often readily divorced from personal communication between any two parties
or social considerations. which can lead to a reduction of differ-
A further implication of the research ences between them and mutual sympathy.
relates to the notion of reciprocity, since it This problem of the amount of communi-
permits us to develop Piaget’s considera- cation or information, quite apart from
tion of the process. Reciprocity, crudely its content, presents a fascinating topic for
the ability to perceive relationships, makes research in conflict resolution.17
a significant contribution to any mature
human liberties and rights, it appears that educational experiments based upon the
he does, at the same time, understand, following themes:
or assume, more of man’s evils and ’Ori-
1. We may confidently predict that
ginal Sin’. In other words the noted act whatever proposals are made
of maturing which enables the child to
children will continue to fight
divorce himself from a restricted perspec-
amongst themselves, and, indeed,
tive also fosters an attitude more disposed it mightbe thought intolerable to
towards War. His new-found reciprocity save the child from this fate, even
of thought which might ideally permit him if it were practically possible. It
to gain sympathy with other people, to
is, however, the rules of play, and
the roles taken by the participants,
appreciate their motives and not only his that are significant to the present
own, also leads to an understanding of subject. The absence of a game of
undesirable motives. It is on these grounds Peace or reconciliation is notice-
that War can be justified as a defence able, as of any interested or active
concern. for it. Equally absent in
against supposed undesirable intentions.15 child games are rules of play re-
Although educational measures may be sembling the strategies of Nuclear
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13
War: the design of such games should not be confined to the
may be educationally stimulating adult student, but should also be
since nuclear effects demand a imposed upon the pre-adolescent.
different conception of time and 4. Movement from one stage of
space from conventional effects. development to another usually
2. It is immediately obvious that the involves a reorganization of ideas
teaching of History and Geogra- through perception. The limited
phy influences the child’s patriot- ideas about morality and about
ism and conception of motiva- the causes of other people’s actions
tions. In so far as primary-school may respond to the same experi-
children savour something of the ence. In this case, a new
perception
delights of War, historical data of the self and of others is required,
will be interpreted dramatically for which certain procedures are
and patriotically. The solution available, namely, role-reversal
may not lie in removing bias from and role-inspection .18
literature, but in introducing the
child through the many ’con-
demned’ examples to the fact that Returning to our present research, it is
there is inevitable bias. evident that there likely limits to adult
are
3. It is striking that the child devel- logic and morality, and further that some
ops his own theory of innate be- effects are necessary whilst others are
haviour after the ages of 11 or 12 ephemeral. The prime consideration for
years. We appear to be drawn to this work on child development is the
the conclusion that the debates
about psychological theory and extent to which a reasonable mobility in
APPENDIX
The items in the interview schedule cate by ’right’ or ’wrong’ if you think
below required answers written on paper, JAPAN was right or wrong to do so.
and tape-recordings were later made with
(b) Repeat for ENGLAND.
a proportion of the respondents on what (3) Now I would like you to think
about the next nuclear war. In how
they had written. The questions listed are
many years time, if ever, do you think
merely prompts, and respondents were told there will be such a war? Again just
and encouraged to give detailed reasons
guess if you wish.
for their responses.
(4) Still thinking about the next nu-
(1) I am
going to say some words, and clear war, guess the answer to these
you must write down as many things questions:
as possible which each word makes (a) Will you be alive or dead, yes or
you think of. For example, I might no, at the end of it ?
say ’baseball’ and you must write (b) How many of your school’s chil-
down all that that makes you think of. dren (x/y) will be alive ? (y stated for
(a) ‘BASEBALL’ them)
(b) ’SHIP’
(c) ’ROCKET’ JI
Trial words
(e) The fifth word is ’PEACE’ (5) Suppose you were grown up, and
a number of things are happening
(2) (a) Now I would like you to which might make you want to go
write down what you think the was to war. For instance:
reason why JAPAN went to war in (a) imagine that English Trade was
the last World War. If you are not in grave danger from a foreign power,
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14
would you want to go to war? To not know what a war is. Write down
start with, ’Yes’ or ’No’. Then,
answer what you would tell him a war is.
if you certainly would want to,
write the number 10; if you certainly (7) Imagine that your friend does not
would not want to, then write the know whether to go to war or not.
number 0; and you can use all the What would you say to him to per-
numbers between 0 and 10 to repre- suade him to go?
sent how much you would want to
(8) (a) Do people like to have a war
go to war. sometimes ? Yes or No. Explain.
-
(b) Now imagine that your mother, (b) Is war good or bad? Explain.
-
father, brothers and sisters were in danger (c) When is war justified ? Explain.
-
Response as
(9) Finally, explain in what way a
(6) Now imagine that you have a nuclear war is different, if at all, from
friend younger than yourself who does an ordinary war.
NOTES
* The
early results of this study were first discussed at the Annual Conference of the Medical
Association for the Prevention of War (Cambridge, England, 1963). Subsequently papers were
delivered at the Annual Conference of the British Psychological Society (Leicester, England,
1964), and the XV International Congress of Applied Psychology (Llubljana, Yugoslavia, 1964).
The research is now supported by a grant from the Aquinas Fund, New York. I am indebted to
Mr. Akio Ono for his collation and translation of the Japanese material presented, to Mr. Alan
Branthwaite and to Mr. Michael Spencer for their assistance in coding and analysing the inter-
view protocols, and to the schools who participated in the inquiry.
1
The striking homogeneity in educational background of British Members of Parliament is
demonstrated and discussed in a paper written with Professor John Cohen, ’The 1959 House of
Commons’, Occupational Psychology, 1961, 35, pp. 181-212.
2
A selection of Piaget’s works would include: Piaget, Jean, The Origins of Intelligence in the Child
(New York: International Universities Press, 1952); Piaget, Jean, Le développement de la motion de
temps chez l’enfant (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1946); Inhelder, Barbel, and Piaget,
Jean, The Growth of Logical Thinking from Childhood to Adolescence (New York: Basic Books, 1958) ;
Piaget, Jean, Traité de Logique (Paris: Collin, 1949). For a brief treatment of his application of
logical models, Piaget, Jean, Logic and Psychology (Manchester: Manchester University Press,
1953), and for an introduction to his works, Inhelder, B., ’Some Aspects of Piaget’s Genetic
Approach to Cognition’, in Readings in Psychology, ed. John Cohen (London: George Allen &
Unwin, 1964).
3
Piaget, Jean, The Moral Judgement of the Child (London : Kegan Paul, 1932), in particular Ch. 1.
4
Contacts have been, or are being, made with collaborators in Japan, the U.S.A., Israel,
France, Iceland, and one of the East European States and one of the African States.
5
Under the present English State Educational System, children change schools at the age of
11from ’Primary’ Schools to ’Secondary’ Schools. The primary Schools are usually streamed
according to apparent ability, and all respondents aged 11years or less in this study were drawn
from the highest stream. The Secondary School pupils were drawn from ’Grammar’ Schools
which tend to take members of the highest Primary streams. The transition from Primary School
to Secondary School obviously affects the child in many ways, and in the ensuing discussion of
results it is sometimes found useful to distinguish the responses of Primary School and Grammar
School pupils in the 10-12 years-old age-group.
6
The Japanese children were drawn from a lower professional and skilled working class area
of Tokyo. I am grateful to Mr. Tsuruji Sinohara for his assistance in collecting material.
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15
7
The English breakdown according to Primary and Secondary Schools (see 5 above) is:
8
Responses were classified into one of the various categories stated in Figures 1 (War) and
2 (Peace) and later in Tables 4 (War) and 5 (Peace). Near-perfect concordance was achieved by
two judges. In the case of ’War’ less than five per cent of any age group’s associations did not
fit into the categories stated. Associations to ’Peace’ were more heterogeneous: 20 per cent of the
7-8 year-olds’, 5 per cent of the 10-12 year-olds’, and 9 per cent of the 14-16 year-olds’, associ-
ations could not be fitted into the stated categories.
9
In their classic English study of child lore and language, The Lore and Language of School-
children, (London: Oxford University Press, 1959) Iona and Peter Opie draw attention (pp.
141-53) to the absence of a term for surrender in children’s vocabulary, compared with the
variety existing for respite or truce. The two most popular terms for ’truce’ in England are
’Barley’ and ’Fainites’. These terms are interesting because there is no exact equivalent in adult
speech. They refer properly to a break or brief respite in fighting or some other activity and by
no means imply surrender. The origins of the terms lie in mediaeval history and their usage is
confined to particular parts of the country. Thus, ’Barley’ is characteristic of the Manchester
area, and ’Fainites’ is to be found in the London area.
The schoolchild’s retention of historical Wars and particular personalities is also recorded by
the Opies, pp. 98-106. Historical dramas are recapitulated by the children of today, from which
we might predict that current events will contribute to the rhymes and epithets of future
children.
10
Walworth, A, School Histories at War (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard U.P., 1938). Quite apart
from the teaching of History and Geography common observations would also suggest that the
child’s creativity is often stimulated by setting War subjects for Art and Composition classes.
11
Rank-disequilibrium on the individual and international scene is discussed in Galtung,
Johan, ’A Structural Theory of Aggression’, JPR, 1964, pp. 95-119. From the child’s point of
view it must seem that progressive equilibrium and disequilibrium are natural phenomena.
Indeed, his adaptation may be regarded as a function of his ability to cope with inevitable changes
in rank with age, school, performance, etc.
12
For example, Cohen, John and Cooper, Peter, ’Patterns of Preference in Equiprobable
Situations’, Nature, 1961, 190, pp. 231-32, and ’A Model for Choice in Equiprobable Situations’,
Acta Psychol., 1961, 18, pp. 181-200. The changes in the curves of Fig. 3 also prompt wider con-
siderations. A form of learning of how to deal with a hazardous situation is taking place which
the adult may recapitulate in many other circumstances. If so the individual passes through a
stage in response to hazards where he is loftily removed from those dangers which beset his
fellows; subsequently he learns through information and experience that he is no less vulnerable
than anybody else; finally in order to cope with the threat he is compelled to deny the risks. As
a general characteristic of reasoning, the last stage may account for the lack of success of any
campaign which stresses horror (e.g. lung cancer or road accidents) above a certain point, for
it is automatically removed from personal probability.
13
Galtung, Johan, ’Atoms for Peace’, a chapter in, Social Implications of the Peaceful Users of
Nuclear Energy, ed. Otto Klineberg (Paris: UNESCO, 1964). The countries involved were Brazil,
France, Japan, Norway, Poland and the U.S.A.
14
Nazi attempts at Genocide might be thought of as an example of the isomorphism between
personal aggression and international aggression. In general, hostile prejudices have been shown
to be generalized (Adorno, T. et W. al., The Authoritarian Personality, New York : Harper Row,
1950), and we might suppose the same to be true of ’Negative Prejudices’ or phillias.
15
Professor Otto Klineberg, in The Human Dimension in International Relations (New York :
Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1964), draws attention (p. 148) to this effect and emphasizes the
causative role of fear in the build up of armaments.
16
In the same volume, Klineberg, op. cit., gives an account (pp. 110-21) of some of the
methods for improving International Relations and the difficulties which beset them.
17
There are indications that optimum levels of communication, lower than those observed,
should obtain in Governmental relations (Paul Smoker, ’Sino-Indian Relations: A Study of
Trade, Communication and Defence’, JPR, 1964, pp. 65-76). One possible important source
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16
for research lies in the fact that different individuals have different views on what they consider
to be sufficient information about a topic or sufficient information to solve a problem. There is
not necessarily a drive to acquire more and more information. Some individuals are content
with, or prepared to act upon, a small amount of information; they may be described as possessing
an ’insufficient’ intelligence. Other individuals seek out excessive information, and may withhold
a decision; they possess a ’redundant’ intelligence. The difference in enthusiasm between coun-
tries for acquiring information about one another would suggest that a similar dimension can be
applied internationally. The advantage of redundancy internationally is, presumably, that it
leads to procrastination.
18
’Role-reversal’ determines that each party in a dispute must present the view with which
it may disagree to the satisfaction of those who hold it. It was proposed for political and legal
differences which may be due to genuine misunderstandings (Cohen, John, ’The Technique of
Role-Reversal’, Occupational Psychology, 1951, 25, pp. 64-66, and later in the same journal, Cohen,
John and Cooper, Peter, ’The 1959 House of Commons’, 1961, 35, pp. 181-212), although the
intellectual struggle to fulfil the conditions may be the beginning of true reconciliation. ’Role-
inspection’ involves those in apparent agreement satisfying themselves that they are in fact agreed,
and may be incorporated into the role-reversal procedure. The need for what we are terming
’role-inspection’ was prompted by Jonathan Swift’s comments on British Members of Parliament
in his own day. The ’nourishment’ which the member receives, he claimed, ’has not only been
chewed, but digested, before it enters his mouth’. This he attributes to the influence of one upon
many. He offered an alternative to role-inspection, by reminding his readers of the ancient Syb-
arite statute,’ whereby those men who seek to control others, to gratify their pride, malice and
ambition, must step out and make their propositions with a rope around their neck; if the matter
proposed is generally approved then it would pass into Law; if it goes in the negative, the pro-
poser to be immediately hanged’. (Jonathan Swift, ’Contests and Dissensions in Athens and
Rome’, Works, Vol. 1, 7th Edition, Dublin: 1752) His remedy was not incorporated into British
Parliamentary procedure.
SUMMARY
Ideas about War and its implications are investigated amongst a sample of 300 English
schoolchildren at different ages between six years and 16 years. A cross-cultural com-
parison is made with a sample of 110 Japanese children in a limited part of the inquiry.
It is found that the English children pass through a series of stages in their development
and are subject to long and short term influences in their thinking. A number of hypo-
theses are proposed to account for aspects of development and for the apparent limi-
tations placed upon adult thought:
1. There is a close connection between reasoning about War and the roles, strategies
and logistics learned earlier in games and play. Nuclear War appears late in the scene,
and is subjected to qualitatively similar thought as conventional War.
2. Understanding of the actions of others leans heavily upon an interpretation of
their psychology as motivated by hostile instincts. This perception demands at least
the cognitive skill of the teenager.
3. Hostile patriotism develops out of defence against potential opponents, and retal-
iatory attack follows as a means of punishing them.
4. Physical hazards to the self are denied. When faced with a provocative situation,
the individual lacks the temporal or spatial imagination to conceive of the consequences,
which he knows are likely, as affecting himself.
5. Reasoning about Personal, Social and International conflict is linked together
into a coherent whole under certain conditions and with a common structure. There
is an interchange between ideas about them; this organization of ideas is termed the
’schema of conflict’.
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