Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 10 Social and Personality Development in Middle Childhood This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program. http://www.ablongman.com/bee4e Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Theories of Social and Personality Development Psychoanalytic Perspectives Freud Latency stage Repression of sexual desires to concentrate on friendships with same-sex and academic skills Erikson Industry versus Inferiority Develop a sense of competence Willingness to work towards a goal Failure leads to feelings of inferiority in school or social settings Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Theories of Social and Personality Development Social-Cognitive Perspectives Child searches beyond appearances for deeper consistencies to explain and predict behavior Moves from concrete to abstract descriptions of people At 7 – 8, shift to inner traits and assume those traits appear consistently Behavioral comparisons decline and psychological constructs increase with age See Figure 10.1 – page 261. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Figure 10.1

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Dimensions of Moral Development Moral Emotions Freud Children learn moral rules from their same-sex parent. Superego develops Conscience List of things that good girls or boys don’t do Violations lead to feelings of guilt Ego Ideal List of things that good girls or boys do Violations lead to feelings of shame Living up to the ideal leads to feelings of pride Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Dimensions of Moral Development Moral Emotions Erikson Children learn moral rules from both parents. Pride is as important as guilt and shame. Research supports Development of guilt, shame, and pride before age 6 Quality of parent-child interactions contributes to development of moral emotions Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Moral Reasoning Piaget Moral Realism The belief that rules can’t be changed because they come from authority figures Violating rules leads to punishment. Moral Relativism Rules can be changed. Punishment doesn’t come by rules violations. Accidents are not caused by “naughty” behavior. 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 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. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Moral Behavior B.F. Skinner Consequences teach children to obey moral rules. Rewards of praise for moral behavior Punishment for unacceptable behavior Inductive discipline Combining praise and punishment with instruction Punishment may interfere with moral development. Children may fail to internalize why behavior is wrong. Punishment leading to negative feelings in the child may distract child from making a connection between his behavior and the punishment. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Social Relationships Family Relationships School age children Understand roles and relationships much better than younger children Use parents as a safe base Long-term separations from parents increase the risk of social and emotional problems. Securely attached school age children have better peer relationships. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Family Relationships Parental Expectations Self-regulation The 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. Boys are granted more autonomy. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Family Relationships Siblings Siblings are less central influences than peers and parents. Variety of sibling relationships identified by research Rival or critical relationships are more common when siblings differ in age by 4 years. Caregiver or buddy relationships are more common in sisters. P. 267 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. Rival relationship – low in any form of friendliness or support. Casual relationship – siblings have relatively little to do with each other. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Family Relationships Only children Recent research suggests only children are no different from children with siblings. Tend to have higher achievement test scores Be more obedient Experience better peer relationships Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Friendships “Best Friend” becomes part of middle childhood. Friendships depend on reciprocal trust by age 10. Children are open and supportive with their friends. Children support and cooperate with friends. Friends help with problem solving and conflict management. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Figure 10.2

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Gender Segregation Appears in every culture Visible as early as 3 or 4 A 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. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Gender Segregation Boundary Violations Ritualized situations where boys and girls play together, such as chasing games. Girls are more likely to play in pairs or small, fairly exclusive groups. Boys appear to focus on competition and dominance. Girls include more agreement, compliance, and self-disclosure. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Patterns of Aggression Anger is increasingly disguised and aggression increasingly controlled. In all boy groups, physical aggression remains high. School-age boys show approval for aggression. See Table 10.1 (page 271) Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Patterns of Aggression Girls display more relational aggression. Aggression aimed at damaging the other person’s self-esteem or peer relationships Directed more at other girls Both boys and girls increase the amount of retaliatory aggression. Aggression to get back at someone who has hurt you Peers support retaliatory aggression while parents find it unacceptable. Relational aggression – ostracism, cruel gossip, facial expressions of disdain. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Social Status Popular children Attractive and physically larger children Display social behaviors that are positive, supporting, nonpunitive, and nonaggressive toward most other children Take turns Explain things Regulate strong emotions Good at looking at others’ perspectives Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Social Status Neglected or rejected Being very different from her peers Shy children Highly creative children Neglected children may be lonely and suffer from depression. Aggressive boys or girls tend to surround themselves with others who are aggressive, giving them social status. Combining prosocial and aggressive behavior is seen as positive. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Two types of 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 and think peers like them Unable to control strong emotions Interrupt peers more and fail to take turns Boys may be rejected for aggression, or it may make them more popular. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Personality and Self-Concept The Big Five Personality Traits Longitudinal research of infant temperament at 15 months is highly correlated with personality ratings at 9 years. There is some cross-cultural support for these traits. School-age children’s scores are correlated with academic achievement and social skills. Measures of personality in middle childhood predict antisocial behavior in adolescence and later. Big Five – extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness/intellect. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Figure 10.3 Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 The Psychological Self A person’s understanding of his or her enduring psychological characteristics Becomes more complex and abstract Uses comparisons in self-descriptions Less tied to external features More centered on feelings and emotions Comparisons in self-descriptions – “I’m smarter than most kids.” Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 The Valued Self Self-esteem Global evaluative component of self Begins to develop by age 7. Over the school years, evaluations become differentiated Judgments for academic or athletic skills, physical appearance, social acceptance, friendships, romantic appeal, and relationships with parents Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Self-Esteem Key components The amount of discrepancy between what a child desires and what the child thinks he has achieved Overall support the child feels she is receiving from important people especially parents and peers Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Self-Esteem Self-esteem is stable in the short term but somewhat less so over periods of several years. The lower the self-esteem, the more depressed the child describes himself to be. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Figure 10.4

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Origins of Self-Esteem 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. Criteria for evaluation vary from culture to culture. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Influences beyond Family and School After-School Care Self-care children 7.5 million children at home by themselves after school for an hour or more each weekday Effects depend on behavioral history, age, gender, the neighborhood, and parental monitoring. More poorly adjusted in terms of peer relationships and school performance May be vulnerable to abuse by older children Low-income neighborhoods have more negative effects. Parental monitoring is the most important factor in effective outcomes. Children under age 9 or 10 should not care for themselves. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Influences beyond Family and School Poverty Reduces options for parents Talk to children less Provide fewer age-appropriate toys Spend less time providing educational opportunities Stricter discipline and emphasis on obedience Figure 10.5 (page 281) 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. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Poverty Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Figure 10.5

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Poverty Children Are often more ill Have lower average IQ scores Perform poorly in school Exhibit more behavior problems Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Inner-City Poverty Children grow up Exposed to street gangs and street violence Live in over-crowded homes Subject to more abuse and drug use Witness to or victims of more violent crimes Children living in decaying urban neighborhoods show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. High rates of school failure Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Inner-City Poverty Protective factors High IQ of the child Competent adult parenting Effective schools Secure initial attachments Strong community helping network Stable parental employment Strong sense of ethnic identity Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 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? Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Television Prosocial behavior enhanced by quality programs that teach children moral and social values Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood Sesame Street Educational medium for vocabulary words, helpful behaviors, dietary preferences, and attitudes of children Families who pick and choose programming have better chance of using television positively. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Television Causal link between violent television and aggressive behavior Significant short-term aggression in children who watched aggressive programs Those who watch more television are more aggressive than peers who watch less television. Families who watch more television use patterns of discipline that foster aggression. Longitudinal study found that the best predictor of aggression at 19 was the violence of TV programs they watched when they were 8. Leads to emotional desensitization See Figure 10.6 (page 285) 8-year-old boys who watched a lot of violent television were already more aggressive with peers. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006 Figure 10.6

Prenatal Development And Birth 10 Prenatal Development And Birth End Show This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program. http://www.ablongman.com/bee4e Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2006