1. Social and Personality Development in Middle Childhood
Chapter 10:
Social and Personality Development in Middle Childhood

2. In This Chapter Theories of social and personality development
Self-concept
Advances in social cognition
The social world of the school-aged child
Influences beyond family and peers

3. Theories of Social and Personality Development Psychoanalytic Theories
Freud: challenge is to form emotional bonds with peers and move beyond sole earlier formed bonds
Erikson: challenge is to develop a sense of competence and willingness to work toward goal
Industry versus Inferiority Stage
Failure leads to feelings of inferiority in school or social settings

4. Theories of Social and Personality Development Trait Approach
What trait or traits describe you best?
Trait: stable pattern of responses across situations
Longitudinal research suggests some stability
Emerge during middle childhood

5. The Big Five Personality Traits
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Conscientiousness
Neuroticism
Openness

6. These three mutually influence one another
Theories of Social and Personality Development Social-Cognitive Perspectives
Bandura and reciprocal determinism
Three components
Person component (traits)
Behavior
Environment
These three mutually influence one another
Longitudinal research suggests some stability
Traits emerge during middle childhood

7. Figure 10.1 Bandura’s Determinism Model

8. Self-Concept The Psychological Self
Psychological self: Person’s understanding of his or her enduring psychological characteristics
More complex
Comparisons in self-descriptions
Less tied to external features
Comparisons in self-descriptions – “I’m smarter than most kids.”
A person’s understanding of his or her enduring psychological characteristics
Emerges from early to middle childhood
Becomes more complex
Uses comparisons in self-descriptions
Less tied to external features
More centered on feelings and ideas

9. Self-Concept Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy: Individual’s belief in their capacity to cause intended events
Social comparisons
Encouragement from valued sources
Actual experiences
Social comparisons are important
Encouragement from valued sources, such as parents
Actual experiences have the greatest impact

10. Self-Concept The Valued Self
Self-esteem
Global evaluative component of self-worth
Begins to develop by age 7
Nature of self-esteem

11. Self-Concept Self-Esteem
Key components
Discrepancy between what desires and perceived achievement
Perceived support from important people
Key components
The amount of discrepancy between what a child desires and what child thinks he has achieved
Overall support the child feels she receives from important people, especially parents and peers
Self-esteem is stable in the short term but somewhat less so over periods of several years

12. Self-Concept Origins of Self-Esteem
Direct experience with success or failure
Labels and judgments from others
Value attached to some skill or quality affected by peers’ and parents’ attitudes
Child’s own direct experience with success or failure
Labels and judgments from others
Value a child attaches to some skill or quality is affected by peers’ and parents’ attitudes

13. Figure 10.2 Harter’s Research on Social Support, Domain Values and Self Esteem

14. Advances in Social Cognition Self-Concept
The Child as Psychologist
Focuses on internal traits and motivations of others
Better understanding that same person plays different roles in life
Less emphasis on external appearance
Begins about age 7
Better understanding that same person plays different roles in life, such as parent and spouse

15. Figure 10.3 Changes in Children’s Descriptions of Others

16. Self-Concept Moral Reasoning: Piaget
Moral reasoning: Judgments about rightness and wrongness of specific actions
Moral realism
Moral relativism
Moral reasoning is the process of making judgments about the rightness or wrongness of specific acts.
Piaget studied children playing games to help understand moral development.
Moral realism – beginning of the middle childhood period.
Moral realism:
Belief that rules can’t be changed because they come from authority figures
Belief that violating rules leads to punishment
Moral relativism:
Realization that rules can be changed if all agree
Punishment doesn’t come by rules violations—but by being caught!
Accidents are not caused by “naughty” behavior
Moral relativism begins at age 8. Children make up rules to games – but everyone follows the same rules when playing the game.
8-year-olds do weigh intentionality when making moral judgments.
12-year-olds tend to remain egocentric in their moral reasoning.

17. The Social World of the School-Aged Child Family Relationships
Parental Expectations
Parents recognize children’s increasing abilities to self-regulate
Culture may play a role in the age of expected behaviors
Parental Expectations
Parents recognize children’s increasing abilities to self-regulate
Ability to conform to parental standards of behavior without direct supervision
Parents must be good at self-regulations
Higher expectations with parental monitoring increases self-regulation
Culture may play a role in the age of expected behaviors

18. The Social World of the School-Aged Child Family Relationships
Parental Expectations
Boys given more autonomy
Girls held more accountable
Parental authoritative style more often produces socially competent children
Parental authoritative style more often produces socially competent children
Children both assertive and responsible in relationships

19. The Social World of the School-Aged Child Family Relationships
Only Children and Siblings
Only children
As well adjusted as children with siblings
Siblings
Positively contribute to children’s social and emotional understanding
Caregiver relationship – one sibling is a quasi-parent for the other.
Buddy relationship – both members of pair try to be like each other.
Critical or conflicting relationship – teasing, quarreling, and attempts at domination.
Only children
As well adjusted as children with siblings
Tend to have higher achievement test scores
Siblings
Affectionate sibling relationships mitigate stressful events such as parental divorce
Positively contribute to children’s social and emotional understanding
Rival relationship – low in any form of friendliness or support.
Casual relationship – siblings have relatively little to do with each other.

20. The Social World of the School-Aged Child
Friendships
Peer importance increases in middle childhood
“Best Friend” emerges
Friendships depend on reciprocal trust by age 10
Friends help with problem solving and conflict management
Children are open, supportive and cooperative with friends

21. Figure 10.4 A 10-Year-Old’s Explanation of Friendship

22. Gender Segregation Cultural influence Age of appearance
Playmate preference
Playmate style by gender
Appears in every culture
Visible as early as 3 or 4
Preference for same-sex playmates increases across middle childhood.
Rough and tumble play occurs in boys and is avoided by girls
Boys establish stable peer groups with dominance hierarchies
Girls develop social skills based on self-disclosure

23. The Social World of the School-Aged Child Gender Segregation
Boundary violations
Play group composition by gender
Play focus
Cooperative play
Boundary Violations
Ritualized situations where boys and girls play together, such as chasing games
Girls are more often play in pairs or small, fairly exclusive groups.
Boys appear to focus on competition and dominance
Girls include more agreement, compliance, and self-disclosure
However cooperative play most common among both sexes

24. The Social World of the School-Aged Child Patterns of Aggression
Physical aggression declines
Verbal aggression continues to increase
Anger increasingly disguised
Aggression increasingly controlled
Gender differences over time
See Table 10.1
In all boy groups, physical aggression remains high
School-age boys often show approval for aggression

25. The Social World of the School-Aged Child Patterns of Aggression
Girls display more relational aggression Both boys and girls increase retaliatory aggression Can you think of examples to illustrate each kind of aggression?
Relational aggression – ostracism, cruel gossip, facial expressions of disdain.
Girls display more relational aggression
Aggression aimed at damaging the other person’s self-esteem or peer relationships, ostracism, cruel gossip
Directed more at other girls
Both boys and girls increase retaliatory aggression
Aggression to get back at someone who has hurt you
Peers support retaliatory aggression while parents find it unacceptable

26. The Social World of the School-Aged Child Social Status
Social status: Degree to which children are accepted by peers
Popular children
Attractive and physically larger
Take turns in conversation
Explain things
Regulate strong emotions
Perceptive and empathetic
Popular children
Attractive and physically larger
Display positive, supporting, nonpunitive, and nonaggressive social behaviors toward most other children
Take turns in conversation
Explain things
Regulate strong emotions
Perceptive and empathetic

27. The Social World of the School-Aged Child Two Types of Rejected Children
How are these types of rejected children alike? How are do they differ?
Withdrawn/rejected children
Aggressive/rejected children
Withdrawn/rejected
Realize they are disliked by peers
Eventually give up trying for peer acceptance and become socially withdrawn
Experience feelings of loneliness
Aggressive/rejected
Disruptive and uncooperative but think peers like them
Unable to control expression of strong emotions
Interrupt peers more and fail to take turns
Boys may be rejected for aggression, or it may make them more popular

28. Very different from peers, shy, highly creative
The Social World of the School-Aged Child Two Types of Rejected Children
Neglected or rejected
Very different from peers, shy, highly creative
The invisible child
Neglected or rejected
Being very different from peers
Shy children
Highly creative children
Neglected children may be lonely and depressed

29. Influences Beyond Family and Peers After-School Care Pros and Cons
PROS/ADVANTAGES
CONS/DISADVANTAGES
To be input by students.
7.5 million children at home by themselves at least an hour each weekday
Effects depend on behavioral history, age, gender, neighborhood, and parental monitoring
More poorly adjusted peer relationships and school performance but behavior may precede self-care
May be vulnerable to abuse by older children
Self-care children in low-income neighborhoods experience more negative effects
Parental monitoring critical for effective outcomes
Children under age 9 or 10 should not care for themselves.

30. Influences Beyond Family and Peers Poverty
Childhood poverty rate
Rate is higher for younger children
Characteristics of parents in poverty
Figure 10.5
Characteristics of parents in poverty
Talk to children less
Provide fewer age-appropriate toys
Spend less time providing educational opportunities
Stricter discipline and emphasis on obedience
Reduces options for parents – may not be able to afford prenatal care, fewer choices for affordable child care, living in smaller and less-than-adequate housing.

31. Figure 10.5 Poverty, Age and Time

32. Influences Beyond Family and Peers Poverty
Children in poverty
More often ill
Lower average IQ scores
Perform poorly in school
Exhibit more behavior problems

33. Influences beyond Family and Peers Inner-City Poverty
Protective Factors for Resiliency
High IQ of child
Competent adult parenting
Effective schools
Secure initial attachments
Strong community helping network
Stable parental employment
Strong sense of ethnic identity

34. Influences beyond Family and Peers Inner-City Poverty
Children of inner-city poverty may grow up
Exposed to street gangs and street violence
In over-crowded homes
Subject to more abuse and drug use
Witnessing or becoming victims of more violent crimes
Subject to PTSD
These children more often show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder—sleep disturbances, angry outbursts
High rates of school failure

35. ? ?
Questions To Ponder
What are three factors that schools can focus on to help a student develop their sense of industry? Since we know poverty is a major factor in poor developmental outcomes for education, what can we do to encourage poor students to be successful?

36. True or False?
There is a causal link between viewing violent television and aggressive behavior in children.
False.
See Figure 10.6
Causal link between violent television and aggressive behavior
Significant short-term aggression in children who watched aggressive programs
Those who watch more television more aggressive long term
Leads to emotional desensitization
Prosocial behavior enhanced by quality programs that teach children moral and social values
Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood
Sesame Street

37. Television Prosocial behavior
Enhanced by quality programs that teach children moral and social values
Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood
Sesame Street
See Figure 10.6 (page 285)
8-year-old boys who watched a lot of violent television were already more aggressive with peers.

38. Computers and the Internet
Economic differences
Uses
Gender differences
Wealthier children more often have and use computers at home
Use for school work, games, , chat rooms
Boys become more verbal communicators on mixed-sex computer messaging

39. Video Games Influences on child behavior
Violent content and game preferences

40. Influences Beyond Family and Peers Policy Question Test-Based Reform
National Assessment of Educational Progress
NAEP: “The Nation’s Report Card”
Assessment of educational improvement
“Teaching to the test”
Student efforts
Assessment of educational improvement
BUT—teachers end up “teaching to the test”
Textbooks become geared to the tests
However students may try harder and there are signs of improvement too

41. Figure 10.6 NAEP Average Scores Over Time