1. CHAPTER 7: Self and Moral Development: Middle Childhood Through Early Adolescence
The Life Span: Human Development for Helping Professionals
Edition 4
Patricia C. Broderick and Pamela Blewitt
© (2015, 2010, 2006) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved

2. Self and Moral Development: Middle Childhood—Early Adolescence
Behaving in accordance with moral values (honesty, dependability, kindness, fairness, respect, helpfulness, responsibility, self-control, truthfulness, diligence) is widely agreed to make the world a better place
Specifics of values subject to more disagreement
Self concept
Acquiring moral sense is critical for self-concept
Central to successful adult functioning

3. Development of Self Concept
Self-concept constrained cognitive development
Multidimensional self-system is dynamic and changes throughout development
Preschool age: Begin to describe themselves
Early-elementary age: Organizing characteristics of “me-self” into coherent categories
Middle childhood, early adolescence: Abstract trait-like concepts of self, multiple domains
Social comparison builds on perspective taking – as children mature, peer evals are more important; Children’s self-appraisals become more congruent with others’ appraisals as they get older

4. Structure of Self Concept
Self-concept and self-esteem are separate but closely intertwined
Self-esteem is our feelings about ourselves
Self assessments of specific competencies, and generalized perception of themselves
Children’s general self-concept divided into domains
Academic self-concept
Subdivided by subject areas, math, science, etc.
Nonacademic self-concept
Subdivided into social, emotional, physical

5. Influences on the Development of Self-Concept
Global self-esteem dependent on competence in areas of personal importance
Large discrepancies between perceived adequacy & importance are associated with depression & anxiety
Influenced by social processes
Internalizing the assessments of others
Social comparison
Tend to be motivated by a self-enhancing bias – motivation to maintain moderately positive beliefs about self

6. Generally, children tend to make comparisons with other children who resemble them in some important ways, however, when their own self-esteem is at stake, children will make “downward” social comparisons by comparing themselves to less competent or less successful peers
Those with low self-esteem are more susceptible to external cues that carry evaluative messages & are more reactive to social feedback – reluctant to call attention to themselves, more cautious, more self-protective
Those with high self-esteem demonstrate more self-enhancement strategies & are more likely to call attention to themselves

7. Gender, Race, Ethnicity and Self-Esteem Differences in North America
Older views that marginalized groups have lower self-esteem is not supported by current research
Strong and positive racial or ethnic identity correlates positively with global self-esteem, especially for African Americans – maternal support & acceptance are key in academic achievement & global self-esteem
Small but stable gender difference in self-esteem favoring males, little evidence of self-esteem slide for girls
Great within-group variation

8. Physical appearance is powerfully associated with overall or global self-esteem (r = ) from middle childhood on
Those considered physically attractive may be getting a consistently larger number of positive reflected appraisals with which to construct the self
Beginning in early adolescence, girls report more dissatisfaction with their appearance & bodies than boys of the same age – cultural emphasis may contribute

9. Gender & Self-Esteem
Self worth varies with “level of voice” for both genders – there is increased self-worth when one feels he/she can express him/herself
For both genders, self-esteem begins to decline in late childhood, levels off in late adolescence, & begins a slow, moderate climb in young adulthood, peaking in the sixth decade of life & then declining again
Girls’ self-esteem drops more in late childhood than boys’ – small, but significant difference until late adulthood
Gender gaps in self-esteem for specific competency areas appear in early elementary school & favor girls in some domains (e.g. language arts) & boys in other domains (e.g. sports)

10. Cross-Cultural Differences in the Development of the Self
Construction of the self is a social process
Cultural differences in beliefs, values, expectations
Individualistic cultures value independence more than collectivist cultures
Individualist cultures value being proud of oneself, more central to self-esteem
Collectivist cultures value harmonious relationships, more central to self-esteem
Parenting practices reflect these cultural values
Affects of negative self-evaluation vary depending on cultural values and norms

11. Deceits in Our Thinking About Self
Page 158 in The Reciprocating Self
I am what I have
I am what I do or achieve
I am what other people say about me
Remember the goals of gracing, empowering, covenant, & intimacy in relationships?
We should reinforce for each child his/her essential belovedness as treasured by God. Shaming messages mirror failure & rejection.

12. The Moral Self
Acquiring moral values is an important element of self-development
Elements of morality
Capacity to make judgments of right vs. wrong
Preferring to act in ways judged to be right
Morality requires three elements to be present – emotions, cognitions & behavior - these are interwoven (become more syncronized with age), but do not always work together in perfect harmony.
Moral conduct is often situational & not determined by moral reasoning for both adults and children.

13. Classic Theories of Moral Development
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory – not resrch supported
Inborn impulses of the id are entirely self-serving
Superego emerges in preschool period (identification with the same gendered parent)
Source of moral emotions (pride, shame, guilt)
Psychodynamic – conscience is a function of attachment & the need to keep a parent close
Piaget and Kohlberg propose cognitive theories - stages in moral reasoning(p. 260, table 7.3)
Piaget: premoral, heteronomous, autonomous
Kohlberg: preconventional, conventional, postconventional

14. Criticisms of Cognitive Theories
Criticized as being too simplistic – reasoning doesn’t always match behavior; Also, children consider matters of fairness even at ages when Kohlberg’s scheme would assume they would not (e.g. try to explain their selfish behavior) – tend to underestimate the young
Gilligan argued that moral development follows gendered trajectories – males are more likely to use a justice focus (morality of justice), while females are more likely to use a caring focus (morality of caring)
The cognitive theories do not distinguish between moral, conventional, and personal rules (p. 262)

15. Support for Cognitive Theories
Consistent with Piaget’s views, when judging moral culpability, young children attend to consequences, while older children pay attention to intentions
The roles of perspective taking & peer interactions in the growth of moral reasoning skills (emphasized by both Piaget & Kohlberg) have been supported

16. Children’s Prosocial Behavior
Prosocial behavior or altruism is to act in ways that intended to benefit someone else
Tends to increase with age
Individual differences stable across age
Multiple factors contribute to prosocial behavior
Emotion: Empathy (“feeling with” another), sympathy (“feeling for” another)
Cognition: Needs-based reasoning, weighing own needs against those of others – rooted in values
Temperament and personality: Social competence (popularity), assertiveness (help without being asked), positive global self concept, control of self-focused emotions
Parenting practices and peer relationships

17. Children’s Antisocial Behavior
Antisocial behavior distinguished by intent to harm or injure another or disregard for the harm
Includes physical, verbal, or social aggression
Instrumental aggression: Using force or threat to obtain possession
Person-directed, social, or relational aggression: Behavior aimed at damaging peer relationships
Overall and instrumental aggression decreases with age, nature of aggression more social
Includes risky sexual activity, substance abuse, defiance, stealing, cheating, lying, vandalism
Social information-processing plays a key role
Hostile attributional bias; anger & self-protection

18. Risk Factors for Antisocial Behavior
1. Physiological & neuropsychological
hormones – high testosterone levels
attention deficits & impulsivity
weaknesses in verbal skills & problem solving abilities & ability to cope, understand consequences & take others’ perspectives (impacted by prenatal terratogens, early deprivation, & heritability)
2. Environment
Distal influences (e.g. SES, low educational level of parents)
Proximal influences (e.g. parenting practices – history of coercive interactions, caving into demands; substance abuse, teen parenting, frequent moves, gang involvement, exposure to violence)

19. Morality as an Educational Goal
Historically central to formal education, periodic surges in interest based on social concerns
Many packaged programs available to teachers, but difficult to implement, little evidence moral training has an impact
Recent positive results for character education
Programs need clear goals and sound techniques for implementing goals; based on shared values
Can be effective in encouraging aspects of moral thinking, feeling, and behavior
The school should be caring & respectful community
Continuing concern and criticism around programs

20. Applications: Self-esteem as Cause or Consequence
A strong sense of self-worth and a sturdy moral compass are widely viewed as important for participating in a civil society
Self-esteem touted as holy grail of mental health
Low self-esteem is a correlate of mental health problems, not necessarily causal
No compelling evidence that high self-esteem is precursor for competence
More evidence competent performance results in high self-efficacy
Evidence argues for shift to “skills-first” approach

21. Applications: Where Do We Start?
Self-worth resides inside us but depends on appraisals of significant others
Create a supportive counseling relationship, with empathy, encouragement, respect, and interest
Target skills and awareness that lead to increased social self-efficacy
Help children generate interpretations, solutions to problems, increase perspective-taking skills
Help parents understand the powerful looking glass their words create
Substantive changes do not happen overnight

22. Applications: Putting Flesh on the Bones
Moral development is not just moral reasoning, also involves emotional understanding
Morality composed of three interlocking systems:
Empathy
Identification with moral others
Principles or standards of right and wrong
How do these systems develop?
Empathy develops through caring relationships
Identification develops with exposure to caring and just models (authoritative; induction)
Principles and standards evolve through exposure to ideas in school, home, counseling, friendships
Sense of purpose, competence & moral growth – sharpened by meaningful service to others

23. Focus on Developmental Psychopathology: Conduct Problems
Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) or conduct disorder (CD) diagnosed in children, adolescents
Diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder (APD) typically reserved for adults
Different pathways of antisocial behavior
Life-course persistent (LCP), antisocial behavior begins early, persists, diversifies, grows serious
Adolescence-limited (AL), difficult or exaggerated reaction in adolescent period
Emphasis on prevention and early intervention
Some oppositional behavior normal in young children – should recede by 8 years of age

24. Focus on Developmental Psychopathology: When Should a Parent Seek Help?
When child refuses to do what parent asks them to do 8 out of 10 times
When a teacher or day care provider reports child has a problem with aggression toward peers, has difficulty making friends
When parents feel they aren’t successful in helping child reduce aggression
When child has developmental problems making it difficult for him or her to learn social skills

25. Treatments
Multidimensional, targeting individual, family, educational & peer-related contexts
Group settings are counter-therapeutic
Multisystemic Therapy (MST; Henggeler, Mihalic, Rone, Thomas, & Timmons-Mitchell, 1998) – provides family based services for adolescent offenders at risk for out of home incarceration
The Incredible Years (IY; Webster-Stratton et al., 2001) – prevention program for at-risk children ages 2 to 10 & their families that is intended to prevent conduct problems before they take root; programs for parents, children & teachers; adopted in pre-schools & elementary schools

26. Applications - Summary
Enhance competencies & awareness that indirectly bolster self-esteem; Value one’s competencies
Improve coping skills, reduce anxiety; Introduce new ways of interpreting social situations; Change distorted thinking & (possibly) schemas
Reduce levels of reactivity - breathing or distraction
Practice appropriate social behavior & emotional expression
Increase the generalizability of treatment effects by using real peer situations (access “hot” cognitions)
Take personal responsibility for actions & choose internally motivated goals when possible
Discourage excessive competition and overreliance on social comparison