Social and Personality Development in Early Childhood Chapter 8: Social and Personality Development in Early Childhood

IN THIS CHAPTER Theories of Social and Personality Development Personality and Self-Concept Gender Development Family Relationships and Structure Peer Relationships

LEARNING OBJECTIVES 8.1  What major themes of development did the psychoanalytic theorists propose for the early childhood period? 8.2  What are the findings of social-cognitive theorists with respect to young children’s understanding of the social world? 8.3  How does temperament change in early childhood? 8.4  What changes take place in a young child’s categorical, emotional, and social selves during the preschool years? 8.5 How do the major theoretical orientations explain gender development? 8.6 What are the characteristics of young children’s sex-role knowledge? 8.7 How is the behavior of young children sex-typed? 8.8 How does attachment change during the early childhood years?

LEARNING OBJECTIVES (con’t) 8.9 How do parenting styles affect children’s development? 8.10 How are ethnicity and socioeconomic status related to parenting style? 8.11 How is family structure related to children’s development? 8.12 How does divorce affect children’s behavior in early childhood and in later years? 8.13 What are some possible reasons for the relationship between family structure and development? 8.14 What are the various kinds of play exhibited by preschoolers? 8.15 What types of aggression do children display during early childhood? 8.16 How do prosocial behavior and friendship patterns change during early childhood?

THEORIES OF SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT Psychoanalytic Perspectives Freud: gain control over bodily functions and renegotiate parent relationships Anal stage Phallic stage Freud: Gain control over bodily functions and renegotiate parent relationships Anal Stage Toilet training battles Control over bodily functions Phallic Stage Oedipus or Electra Complex Identification with the same-sex parent

THEORIES OF SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT Psychoanalytic Perspectives Erikson: agreed with Freud concerning added focus on social-skill development Autonomy versus shame and doubt Initiative versus guilt Freud and Erikson saw the changing role of the parent as the child exerts more control on the environment. Freud and Erikson did not talk about peers or their significance in development. Erikson: agreed with Freud concerning added focus on social-skill development Autonomy versus shame and doubt Centered around toddler’s new mobility and desire for autonomy Initiative versus guilt Ushered in by new cognitive skills A child’s developing conscience dictates boundaries.

THEORIES OF SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT Social-Cognitive Perspectives Person perception: increasing ability to classify others Use category trait labels. Describe others’ behavior patterns of others. Categorize based on observation characteristics. Preschoolers’ perceptions are inconsistent because they base them on their most recent interactions with individuals. Preschoolers categorize based on race, gender, and age. Cross-race effect: individuals are more likely to remember faces of people of their own race than those of a different race. Preschoolers talk about “big kids” and “little kids.” Preschoolers self-segregate by gender; this begins as early as age two. They also sometimes segregate themselves according to race. Cross race effect phenomena are seen by five years of age.

THEORIES OF SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT Social-Cognitive Perspectives Understanding Rule Categories Social conventions Moral rules Differentiation of response Increased cognitive capabilities and adult emphasis Social conventions Rules that serve to regulate behavior Moral rules Regulations based on individual or society’s sense of right and wrong Preschoolers respond differently to social rules and moral rules between ages two and three. Understanding develops on the basis of increased cognitive capabilities and adult emphasis on moral transgressions.

RACISM IN THE PRESCHOOL CLASSROOM Research Young children use developing race schemas to make judgments about others; this is influenced by egocentrism. By age five, white children in English-speaking countries have an understanding of their culture’s stereotypes and prejudices. Very early in life, minority children experience and learn about race-based negative behaviors. Strategies for Preventing Racism Discuss race openly. Make conscious efforts to help children develop nonprejudiced attitudes. Provide opportunities for mixed-race group activities. Help children to evaluate behavior by individual criteria.

Critical Analysis How would you explain white preschool teachers’ failure to notice race-based behaviors in their classrooms? How would information-processing theory explain the influence of historical knowledge regarding slavery, discrimination, and the civil rights movement on the development of preschoolers’ ideas about race?

THEORIES OF SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT Social-Cognitive Perspectives Racism in the Preschool Classroom Early judgments reflect ego thinking and cognitive immaturity, not true racism. Judgment of others is related to race schemas. Understanding of cultural racial stereotypes and prejudices is slowly acquired. Early judgments reflect ego thinking and immature cognitive structures rather than true racism. Understanding of cultural racial stereotypes and prejudices slowly acquired by age five.

THEORIES OF SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT Social-Cognitive Perspectives Understanding Others’ Intentions Children do understand intentions to some degree: Punishment is for intentional acts. Actors’ intentions matter. Choices are bound by consequences. A child saying, “It was an accident . . . . I didn‘t mean to do it,” when about to be punished indicates an understanding that intentional wrongdoing is punished more severely than unintentional transgressions of the rules. Recent research suggests that children do understand intentions to some degree. They understand that punishment is for intentional acts. They can make judgments about actors’ intentions when faced with abstract problems and with punishment. But they still can be bound by consequences in their judgments.

TRUE OR FALSE? Children know more about intentions than Piaget theorized, but they still have limited ability to base their judgments entirely on intentions True

A TEST OF CHILDREN’S UNDERSTANDING OF INTENTIONALITY Figure 8.1 (p. 183): A Test of Children’s Understanding of Intentionality The playmate is “good” if she failed to hit the other child with the ball. Suggests that children know more about intentions than Piaget thought Pictures like these have been used to assess young children’s understanding of an actor’s intentions.

PERSONALITY AND SELF-CONCEPT A Brief Overview Gains in social environment understanding contribute to the emergence of distinctive personality. Self-concept becomes more complex. Exercise of greater control over behavior is aided.

PERSONALITY AND SELF-CONCEPT Transition from Temperament to Personality Personality represents a combination of temperament at birth and knowledge about temperament-related behavior acquired during childhood. Social rewards encourage impulse control and behavior is modified.

PERSONALITY AND SELF-CONCEPT Me, Myself, and More Components of Self-Concept Categorical Self Emotional Self Social Self Self-concept Categorical self Focus on visible characteristics Emotional self Acquisition of emotional self-regulation Associated with peer popularity Lack of control associated with aggression Ability to obey moral rules Associated with the emergence of empathy Social self The child sees him- or herself as a player in social games. Learns many social scripts, which provide appropriate situational behaviors Personality begins to replace temperament as children interact with peers and family. Control of emotions shifts from parental control to the child. Children begin to internalize the values of the parent. Parents who expect age-related behaviors increase the switch to self control.

PERSONALITY AND SELF-CONCEPT Me, Myself, and More The Emotional Self Emotional Regulation Relationship temperament Aspects of empathy Apprehending emotional state of others Matching that state to self Cultural differences Moral emotions

STAGES IN DEVELOPMENT OF EMPATHY PROPOSED BY HOFFMAN Table 8.1 (p. 185)

GENDER DEVELOPMENT Explanations and Theories Psychoanalytic explanations Social-cognitive explanations Gender schema theory Psychoanalytic explanations: identification with same-sex parent Social-cognitive explanations: linked to gender-related behavior; the child becomes motivated to exhibit same-sex behaviors. Parents shape sex role behaviors and attitudes Gender schema theory: the child learns gender scripts; learns the likes and dislikes of his or her own gender; and develops a complex view of the other gender.

GENDER DEVELOPMENT Gender Concept Sequence Gender understanding develops in stages. Gender identity Gender stability Gender constancy Gender understanding develops in stages: Gender identity Child’s ability to label his or her own sex correctly Gender stability Understanding that you are the same gender throughout life Gender constancy Recognition that someone stays the same gender even though appearances may change with clothing

GENDER STEREOTYPING IN A CHILD’S DRAWING “This is how I will look when I grow up.” Figure 8.2 (p. 187): In describing this self-portrait, the five-year-old artist said, “This is how I will look when I get married to a boy. I am under a rainbow, so beautiful with a bride hat, a belt, and a purse.” The girl knows she will always be female and associates gender with externals such as clothing (gender stability). She is also already quite knowledgeable about gender role expectations. (Source: Courtesy of Jerry and Denise Boyd. Used with permission.) What is this five-year-old conveying about her understanding of gender?

GENDER DEVELOPMENT Information-Processing Approach Gender schema theory: development of gender schema underlies gender development and occurs with recognition of gender differences. Schema organization First primitive gender schema and assimilation Gender schema theory: development of gender schema underlies gender development and occurs with recognition of gender differences Schema organize the process of thinking and remembering. The first primitive gender schema is assimilation of experiences.

GENDER DEVELOPMENT Sex-Role Knowledge Gender stereotypes: Men Gender stereotypes: Women Women are associated with gentleness, weakness, appreciativeness, and soft-heartedness. Men are associated with aggression, strength, cruelty, and coarseness. Children learn these stereotypes by age three or four. Can assign stereotypical behaviors to jobs, toys, and activities By age five, children begin to associate personality traits with gender. What are the stereotypes?

GENDER DEVELOPMENT Sex-Typed Behavior Sex-Type Behavior . . . Develops earlier than ideas about gender Is learned from older same-sex children Is learned differently by gender Develops earlier than ideas about gender 18–24 months: children prefer sex-stereotyped toys Age three: children prefer same-sex friends Learn from older same-sex children Sex-typed behaviors are learned differently. Girls use an enabling style. Supporting a friend, expressing agreement, making suggestions Boys use a constricting or restrictive style. Derails inappropriate interactions, bringing them to an end

GENDER AND PLAYMATE PREFERENCES How would you structure preschooler play opportunities? Figure 8.3 (p. 190)

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND STRUCTURE Attachment Securely attached preschoolers exhibit fewer behavior problems. Insecurely attached children display more anger and aggression at daycare and preschool. By age four, children form goal-corrected partnerships. Securely attached preschoolers exhibit fewer behavior problems. Insecurely attached children display more anger and aggression at daycare and preschool. By age four, children form goal-corrected partnerships. Relationships continues to exist even when the partners are apart. An internal model of attachment begins to generalize.

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND STRUCTURE Parenting Styles: Diana Baumrind Dimensions Parenting Styles Diana Baumrind Focused on four dimensions Warmth or nurturance Clarity and consistency of rules Maturity of expectations and demands Communications between child and parent Three parenting styles Authoritarian Permissive Authoritative Maccoby and Miller add uninvolved, neglecting

TO SPANK OR NOT TO SPANK? Consequences Short term: undesirable behavior usually reduced and stopped Long term: models infliction of pain as technique; links spanking parent with pain; creates a family climate of emotional rejection; associated with higher child aggression Higher risk: some genetic factors enhance risk. Recommendations Never appropriate for children under age two It is best not to spank; if it is to be used, spank only when harm to child or others is at stake and provide explanations.

Reflection Look back at the operant-conditioning principle of extinction in Chapter 1. How might it be used to diminish Marie’s daughter’s whining? In what ways does having been spanked as a child influence an adult’s views about the acceptability of spanking as a form of discipline?

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND STRUCTURE Parenting Styles: Authoritarian Parenting Characteristics High levels of demand and control Low levels of warmth and communication Child Consequences Good school performance Lower self-esteem and fewer peer interaction skills Some subdued; others highly aggressive Traits last well into high school.

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND STRUCTURE Parenting Styles: Permissive Parenting Characteristics High in warmth and communication Low in demand and control Child Consequences Poor adolescent school performance More aggressive and immature Less responsible and independent

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND STRUCTURE Parenting Styles: Authoritative Parenting Characteristics High in warmth and communication High in demand and control Child Consequences Higher self-esteem, independence, and altruism More parental compliance Self-confident and achievement oriented Better school performance Most consistently positive outcomes

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND STRUCTURE Parenting Styles: Uninvolved Parenting Characteristics Low in levels of demand and control Low in levels of warmth and communication Child Consequences Disturbances in social relationships More impulsive and antisocial in adolescence Less competent with peers Much less achievement-oriented in school Maccoby and Martin add the uninvolved type, which produces the most consistently negative outcomes.

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND STRUCTURE Effects of Parenting Styles: Overview Authoritative Parents More likely to be involved in child’s school Often use inductive discipline Not equally effective for all children Authoritative Parents More likely to be involved in child’s school Inductive discipline Strategy in which parents explain to the child why a punished behavior is wrong Helps children in preschool to gain control of their behavior and gain perspective of other’s feelings

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND STRUCTURE Effects of Parenting Styles: Spanking Most parents believe spanking is effective if used sparingly. Short-term effects Long-term effects Premack’s principle ST: works; temporarily reduces undesirable behavior LT: models infliction of pain; associates spanking parents with physical pain; leads to a family climate of emotional rejection; higher levels of aggression between children who are spanked and those who are not Premack’s principle: Any high-frequency activity can be used as a reinforcer for any lower-frequency activity.

ETHNICITY, SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS AND PARENTING STYLES Authoritative Pattern Positive outcomes seen in all ethnic groups More common in white families and middle class Usually more common among intact families Least common among Asian Americans See Figure 8.4 (p. 197). White and Hispanic teenagers raised in authoritative households showed more self-reliance and less delinquency. Strong connections between authoritarian pattern and school performance and social competence appear for Asian Americans and African Americans.

ETHNICITY, SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS AND PARENTING STYLES Authoritarian Pattern in Asian-American Families High levels of school achievement in Asian-American children Economic success Maintenance of ethnic identity

ETHNICITY, SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS AND PARENTING STYLES Authoritarian pattern in African-American Families Enhances children’s potential for self-control and success Prepares children to deal with social forces such as racism that impede social success Reduces use of substance abuse More common among poor families

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND STRUCTURE Family Structure: Diversity in Two-Parent and Single-Parent Families Only 70 percent of U.S. children lived with both biological parents in 2007. Many children from two-parent families have experienced single-parenting. Two percent of U.S. children live with custodial grandparents.

ETHNICITY AND FAMILY STRUCTURE Figure 8.5 (p. 198): Household types for U.S. children under 18 years of age. (Source: Aud & Fox, 2010; U.S. Census Bureau, 2012.)

FAMILY STRUCTURE AND ETHNICITY Single Parents Family Structure: Single-Parent Families More common among African Americans and Native Americans Single mothers are less likely to marry. Grandparents and other relatives traditionally help support single mothers. Some single mothers are financially secure. More common among African Americans and Native Americans These groups have higher rates of births to single mothers. Single mothers are less likely to marry.

ETHNICITY AND BIRTHS TO UNMARRIED WOMEN Figure 8.6 (p. 198): Percentage of births to unmarried women across racial/ethnic groups in the United States. The rate of births to unmarried women has increased across all groups in the United States over recent decades. These statistics are one reason for the growing number of school-aged and teenaged children who live in single-parent homes. (Source: National Center for Health Statistics [NCHS], 2010; Martin et al., 2012.)

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND STRUCTURE Other Types of Family Structures Custodial Grandparents Aging and parenting stress cause anxiety and depression. Attempts to measure caregiving effectiveness are often confounded by the traumatic circumstances leading to grandparent placements. Gay and Lesbian Parents There are no expressed social or cognitive developmental differences between the children of gay and lesbian parents and the children of heterosexual couples. Concerns about children’s sex-role identity and orientation are not supported by research.

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND STRUCTURE Divorce: Impact on Children Declines in school performance More aggressive, defiant, or depressed behaviors Higher incidence of adolescent criminal behavior Stepchildren differences Higher risk of mental problems in adulthood Lack financial and emotional support needed for success in college Struggle with fears of intimacy in relationships More likely to divorce themselves Short term: effects are more severe for boys Children in stepparent families have higher rates of delinquency, more behavior problems, and lower grades. Divorce Creates financial hardships Transitions create upheaval lasting several years. Parenting patterns shifts away from authoritative. Extended families can mitigate some difficulties with divorce.

TRUE OR FALSE? When considering the psychological effects on children, the optimal family structure has two biological parents. Use information from your text to support your answer. Supports suggestion that optimal family structure is two biological parents Single parenting when poverty is an issue correlates with negative effects on development. Children of single parents are . . . Twice as likely to drop out of high school Twice as likely to have a child by 20 Less likely to have a steady job Preschoolers are less cognitively and socially advanced.

WHEN DIVORCE IS UNAVOIDABLE: STRATEGIES Keep changes to minimum. Consider placing the child with his or her same-gender parent. Engage the custodial parent to help children stay in touch with the noncustodial parent. Keep open conflict to minimum. Avoid using the child as either a go-between or an emotional support system for his or her parents.

You Decide Decide which of these two statements you most agree with and think about how you would defend your position: Given that divorce is traumatic for children, courts should require parents with children who want to divorce to go through counseling aimed at determining whether reconciliation is possible.

You Decide Courts should not require parents with children who want to divorce to go through counseling aimed at determining whether reconciliation is possible, because a conflict-ridden marriage may be just as harmful to children as divorce is.

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND STRUCTURE Understanding Results from Psychological Research Parenthood after divorce reduces the financial and emotional resources available to a child. Any transition involves upheaval. Authoritative parenting likely diminishes during upheaval. Extended family networks mitigate impact.

PEER RELATIONSHIPS Kinds of Play Successful play is associated with the development of social skills. Solitary play Parallel play Cooperative play Solitary play All ages of children Parallel play 14–18 months Cooperative play three to four years old

CHANGES IN THE FORM AND FREQUENCY OF AGGRESSION FROM AGE 2 TO AGE 8 Table 8.2 (p. 204)

PEER RELATIONSHIPS Group Entry and Play Poor Group Entry Skills Lead to aggressive behaviors Optimize peer rejection May change with social-skills training to help rejected children gain acceptance Three-year-old girls engage in more parallel play. Three-year-old boys tend to be aggressive and rejected. Social skills training helps rejected children to gain acceptance. Poor group entry skills display differently in boys and girls. Girls spend more time in parallel rather than cooperative play. Boys use tend to use aggression when rejected. Poor group entry skills put children at risk for the development of a high-risk internal working model of relationships.

CAN YOU DEFINE TWO TYPES OF AGGRESSION? Aggression: behavior intended to hurt another or object Instrumental Hostile Under what circumstances would you most likely observe each kind of preschool aggression? Initial aggression in two- and three-year-olds Hitting and throwing things Instrumental: intended to obtain something a child wants Older children Hostile aggression: used to hurt another or to gain advantage With good verbal skills comes verbal aggression. Physical aggression declines as dominance hierarchies emerge. Dominance hierarchies: arrangements of children into pecking order of leaders and followers

PEER RELATIONSHIPS Why does aggression change during preschool years? Declining egocentrism Increasing understanding of others’ thoughts and feelings Emergence of dominance hierarchy Shift from instrumental to hostile aggression Aggression–frustration hypothesis Declines with communication skills Reinforcement and modeling of aggression Trait aggression Personality style that develops as a way of life May have genetic basis Seen in abusive families Lack of affection in families Aggressive children lag behind in understanding other children’s intentions, but can improve with training.

PEER RELATIONSHIPS Development of Aggression Aggression Theories Aggression–frustration hypothesis Reinforcement and modeling hypothesis (Bandura) Trait aggression (genetic base) Environmental influence Aggression–frustration hypothesis Declines with communication skills Reinforcement and modeling of aggression Trait aggression Personality style that develops as a way of life May have genetic basis Seen in abusive families Lack of affection in families Aggressive children lag behind in understanding other children’s intentions, but can improve with training.

PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND FRIENDSHIPS Prosocial behavior: actions that benefit or help another person Development of prosocial behavior increases during preschool years. Parental influences affect children’s empathy. Development of prosocial behavior Evident at two to three years of age Some behaviors increase with age. Children who show altruistic behaviors are popular with peers. Parental Influences Loving and warm family climate Explain consequences clearly to children. Provide prosocial attributions: that is, positive statements about the underlying cause for helpful behavior.

PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND FRIENDSHIPS At 18 months old, some toddlers express friendships. At 3 years old, 20 percent of preschoolers have stable playmates. At 4 years old, 30 percent of a child’s time is spent with another child. Early friendships become more stable with time, but are still primitive by adult standards. Become more stable with time Early are friendships related to social competence.