1. Personal and Social Development
Chapter 3
Personal and Social Development

2. Personality Development

3. Factors Influencing Personality
Biological
temperament
Environmental
parenting
culture

4. Temperament
General predisposition to respond in particular ways to one’s physical and social environments
genetically based
persist across lifespan
includes effortful control: ability to inhibit impulses in order to think/act more productively

5. Parents’ Behaviors Attachment Parenting style
strong, affectionate bond between child and caregiver
Parenting style
authoritative
authoritarian
permissive
neglectful or abusive

6. Cultural Expectations & Socialization
Children learn behaviors and belief systems of a long-standing social group
from parents
from teachers
Cultures endorse different values and behaviors
culture shock

7. Personality Traits: The “Big 5”
OCEAN
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism

8. Sense of Self

9. Self-Assessment Self-concept Self-esteem
assessments of one’s own characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses
Self-esteem
judgments and feelings about one’s own value and worth

10. Factors Influencing Sense of Self
Previous performance
self-efficacy based on success and failure
Behaviors of others
comparison of self with peers
others’ expectations and feedback
Group memberships and achievements
peers, family, culture

11. Developmental Progression
Childhood
describe physical, concrete characteristics
positive sense of self, high self-efficacy
Early adolescence
describe abstract traits
self-esteem often drops
imaginary audience, personal fable
Late adolescence
multifaceted sense of self, identity

12. Erikson: Stages of Psychosocial Development
Trust vs. mistrust (infancy)
Is the world a trustworthy place?
Autonomy vs. shame and doubt (toddler)
Am I capable of doing things on my own?
Initiative vs. guilt (preschool)
Is my growing independence supported?

13. Erikson: Stages of Psychosocial Development
Industry vs. inferiority (elementary school)
Am I encouraged to make and do things, and then praised for my accomplishments?
Identity vs. role confusion (adolescence)
Who am I? What do I believe in? What path will I choose for myself?

14. Erikson: Stages of Psychosocial Development
Intimacy vs. isolation (young adulthood)
Can I fully commit to another person?
Generativity vs. stagnation (middle adulthood)
What can I contribute to the next generation?
Integrity vs. despair (late adulthood)
Do I have regrets, or am I satisfied with how my life went?

15. Identity Status Based on patterns of behavior (Marcia) diffusion
no commitments to career or belief system, little exploratory behavior
foreclosure
firm commitment to occupation and belief system, no exploration of other alternatives
moratorium
searching for an identity, considering options available for career and belief system
identity achievement
commitment to career and belief system following period of moratorium

16. Diversity in Development
Gender
boys may have higher self-esteem
tend to reflect stereotypes
Culture and ethnicity
group vs individual identity
ethnic identity

17. Peer Relationships and Interpersonal Understanding

18. Peers Arena for learning & practicing social skills
Provide companionship & emotional support
Serve as socialization agents
peer influence can be good and bad
self-socialization also occurs

19. Friends Emotionally invested in relationship Similar in age & sex
Similar interests
Friendship helps develop perspective-taking and other social skills

20. Larger Social Groups Cliques Crowds Gangs exclusive in nature
3 to 10 members
Crowds
larger than cliques, not as exclusive
share activities, attitudes, or background
can take form of subculture
Gangs
cohesive group
characterized by initiation rites, distinctive clothing, & other markers

21. Romantic Relationships
Usually evolve from crush to real love
Often based on attractiveness, social status
Benefits
companionship, affection, and security
opportunities to experiment with new social skills and interpersonal behaviors
May be confusing in adolescence
sexual feelings & intimacy
gay, lesbian, & bisexual teens

22. Popularity & Social Isolation
Popular students
may or may not have high status
considered kind, trustworthy by peers
Rejected students
considered undesirable social partners
Controversial students
some peers like, some dislike
Neglected students
almost seem “invisible” to peers

23. Social Cognition
Ability to think about how other people are likely to think, act, and react
Perspective-taking
involves mirror neurons
theory of mind
social information processing

24. Development of Theory of Mind
Childhood
some awareness of others’ “inner worlds”
desires, beliefs, intentions can differ
people can mask true feelings, thoughts
Early adolescence
people can have mixed feelings
recursive thinking
Late adolescence
“budding psychologist”

25. Aggression Actions intended to harm others
physical vs. relational
proactive vs. reactive
Factors influencing aggression
genetic predisposition
poor perspective-taking skills
misinterpretation of social cues
prevalence of self-serving goals
ineffective social problem-solving strategies
beliefs about appropriateness and effectiveness of aggression

26. Technology & Peer Relationships
Cell phones, texting, social networking sites
Benefits
can enhance self-esteem
provides connectedness with peers
increase in psychological well-being
Risks
relational aggression & cyberbullying
misrepresentation of identity

27. Diversity Issues Students with disabilities Gender
may be delayed in development of social cognition
Gender
differences in group composition, aggression style, reading social cues
Culture and ethnicity
teasing as teaching tool
emphasis on group harmony

28. Promoting Healthy Relationships
Provide opportunities for social interaction, cooperation
Help students interpret social situations
Teach specific social skills, provide opportunities for practice, give feedback
Promote understanding, communication, interaction
Explain what bullying is and why it cannot be tolerated
Help change the reputations of formerly antisocial students
Create a general climate of respect for others

29. Moral and Prosocial Development

30. Moral & Prosocial Development
Prosocial behavior
aimed at benefiting others more than oneself
sharing, helping, comforting
Morality
general standards about right and wrong
honesty, fairness, concern for others

31. Developmental Trends
Early use of internal standards to evaluate behavior
Increasing distinction between moral and conventional transgressions
Increasing ability to respond emotionally to others’ harm and distress
Reasoning about moral issues becomes increasingly abstract and flexible

32. Kohlberg’s Theory Children construct standards for right & wrong
Moral dilemma: In Europe, a woman was near death from a rare form of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her, a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The druggist was charging $2,000, ten times what the drug cost him to make. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about half of what the drug cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said no. So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife. (Kohlberg, 1984, p. 186)

33. Level & Stage Age Range Examples
Preconventional
Stage 1: Avoidance of punishment
Stage 2: Exchange of favors
Preschool – elementary; some junior high; few high school students
Stage 1: “I would cheat if I knew I wouldn‘t get caught.”
Stage 2: “I’ll let you copy mine if you do my homework.”
Conventional
Stage 3: Good child
Stage 4: Law and order
Few older elementary children, some junior high, many high school students
(Stage 4 does not typically appear until high school)
Stage 3: “I’m not going to tell because I want her to like me.”
Stage 4: “You can’t do that because the teacher said no.”
Postconventional
Stage 5: Social contract
Stage 6: Universal ethical principle
Rarely seen before college (stage 6 is extremely rare)
Stage 5: “In this case, the rule may be wrong.”
Stage 6: “You shouldn’t lie because it violates the Golden Rule.”

34. Weaknesses in Kohlberg’s Theory
Moral issues (e.g., causing harm) conflated with social conventions (e.g., having rules to help society run smoothly)
Helping and showing compassion for others overlooked
Underestimation of young children’s abilities
Importance of situational factors overlooked

35. Factors Affecting Moral Development
Level of moral reasoning
People who exhibit more advanced moral reasoning behave more morally.
Guilt, perspective-taking, empathy
Prosocial children are often very empathic and have
above-average perspective-taking skills.
Personal motives
Children’s needs and goals come into play.
Self-perceptions
Commitment to moral values is integrated into the overall identity.

36. Factors Affecting Development
General cognitive development
perspective-taking ability
Adults’ reasons and rationales
inductive discipline
Disequilibrium
exposure to moral issues and dilemmas
Sense of self
high self-efficacy for helping behaviors
Personal needs & goals

37. Diversity in Development
Gender
girls more likely to experience guilt, shame, empathy
care vs. justice orientation (C. Gilligan)
Culture & ethnicity
most value individual rights and concern for others
different expectations for duty to help
different definitions of moral/conventional transgressions

38. In the Classroom
Encourage perspective taking, empathy, prosocial behaviors
Explain why some behaviors are unacceptable
actively explain and discourage cheating
Model moral and prosocial behavior
Incorporate moral issues and dilemmas into classroom discussions
Encourage involvement in community service

39. The Big Picture

40. The Big Picture
Students’ personal, social, and moral understandings are self-constructed.
Development involves changes in behavior, social cognition, emotional reactions.
Social interaction provides the impetus for advancement.
Development is best fostered within a warm, structured, supportive environment.