Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

thinks he will try to kidnap him or rape him.” Clearly, the child understands the sexual implications of the
inappropriate touch: he quickly evaluates and assesses the situation and determines the direction in which it
headed.
Not only does the child participant understand the reality of the situation, but he also is able to
predict the likelihood of Tommy to fall for the ploy: while he thinks Tommy should, hypothetically, “run
away from the problem and go get his mom or dad,” and should “[not do what the man said and look at the
picture of the puppy] because he is a stranger and he doesn’t know what he might do to him.” On the other
hand, the participant thinks Tommy will, empirically, “help the man. Because he thinks the man is nice and
may be able to help him find his dog.” The child also predicted that, upon being touched, Tommy “wanted
to go tell:” a healthy prediction.
Likewise, the eleven-year-old child understands when authority is exerted appropriately by an adult
versus when it is exerted inappropriately. The participant understands that it is not appropriate for the man
to tell Tommy to look at the picture, or to touch Tommy’s bottom, nor for a man walking down to street
to tell children what to do “because [he] is not their parent, and a random man cannot tell kids what to do.”
Upon indicating an encompassing view of non-compliance as an alternative, the child was asked the
additional questions: “Does Tommy have the right to disobey the man?” to which the participant smartly
responded, “Yes, because he is not his parent;” “Do kids have the right to disobey sometimes? Like when?,” yielding
“Yes, if someone is not their parent, or [if it’s] someone they don’t know.” The child was able to generalize
the situation in the vignette to a universal standard—demonstrating a deep and accurate understanding of
the concept.
Upon being asked, “What is the difference between [looking at the picture and touching Tommy]?,” the
eleven-year-old child responded: “The difference is he is looking at a picture, looking at a nameless picture
with a drawing. The difference is between looking and touching. [You] can’t feel anything if looking, but
can if touching.” The participant is conveying a lot of meaning into these words. While his idea is not
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