T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f U t a h G r a d u a t e S c h o o l STATEMENT OF THESIS APPROVAL The thesis of Michelle Sinayobye Twali has been approved by the following supervisory committee members: Cecilia Wainryb , Chair ABSTRACT This study examined whether the different ways that children are prompted to talk about events in which they were the target of harm are related to their judgments about the event, the perpetrator, and the self. Participants (N=92; 10 -11-year-olds) were instructed

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... o narrate about their experience from one of three narrative conditions -the prototypical victim perspective, the consideration of the perpetrator's perspective, and the consideration of the perpetrator's nonmalevolent intentions condition. After providing the narrative accounts, participants reported their judgments about the event, the perpetrator, and the self. Whereas participants' judgments about the self and to a lesser extent, the perpetrator, were associated with the different ways of narrating, judgments about the event were similar across the narrative conditions. Results provided insight into how narratives can shape children's judgments about some features of the conflict event but not others.