1. Chapter 10 Emotional and Social Development in Middle Childhood
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

2. Erikson’s Theory: Industry vs. Inferiority
Developing a sense of competence at useful skills and tasks
School provides many opportunities
Inferiority
Pessimism and lack of confidence in own ability to do things well
Negative responses from family, teachers, and peers can contribute to negative feelings
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Positive but realistic self-concept, pride in accomplishment, moral responsibility, and cooperative participation with agemates.
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

3. Changes in Self-Concept During Middle Childhood
More balanced, fewer all-or-none descriptions
Social comparisons
Real vs. ideal self
References social groups
Cultural variations
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
In middle childhood, children can describe themselves in terms of psychological traits as well as in terms of their specific abilities and their membership in social groups.
Around age 7, children begin to make social comparisons and develop a better concept of themselves as viewed by others
During childhood and adolescence, perceived physical appearance correlates more strongly with overall self worth than does any other self-esteem factor.”
© Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

4. Hierarchical Structure of Self-Esteem in Middle Childhood
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Figure Hierarchical structure of self-esteem in the mid-elementary school years
As kids enter school and receive more feedback about how well they perform compared with their peers, self-esteem differentiates and also adjusts to a more realistic level.
By age 6 to 7, kids have formed at least four broad self-evaluations – the four above. Within each of these are more refined categories that become increasingly distinct with age.
Figure 10.1
(Photos from left to right: © Mary Kate Denny/PhotoEdit; © Tom Pannell/Corbis; © Mitch Wojnarowicz/The Image Works; Radius Images/Photolibrary)
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

5. Influences on Self-Esteem
Culture
Lower for Chinese and Japanese
Higher for African American
Higher if ethnicity and SES match others
Gender
Only slightly higher for boys.
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
© Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock
Ex., - chinese and Japanese children have lower self-esteem. Individuals from collectivist cultures tend to be more reserved about judging themselves positively.
Re: Gender: “The more 5 to 8 year old girls talked with friends about the way people look, watched TV shows focusing on physical appearance, and perceived their friends as valuing thinness, the greater their dissatisfaction with their physical self and the lower their overall self-esteem a year later” (dohnt and tiggemann, 2006, page 262). Although boys do have slightly higher self-esteem, it is a slight difference.
African American children ten to have slightly higher self-esteem, and kids who attend school or live in neighborhoods where their SES and ethnic groups are well-represented feel a stronger sense of belonging and have higher self-esteem (262).
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

6. Role of Parenting in Self-Esteem
Authoritative style is best
Risks of controlling parenting: low self-esteem, aggression, and antisocial behavior
Risks of indulgent parenting: unrealistically high self-esteem, lashing out at challenges to overblown self-images
Encourage worthwhile goal-setting to boost self-esteem
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

7. Achievement-Related Attributions
Reason for Success
Reason for Failure
Mastery-oriented
Ability
Controllable factors that can be overcome by effort
Learned helplessness
External factors
Ability, which cannot be changed by effort
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

8. Influences on Learned-Helpless Attributions
Parents
believe child incapable
make trait statements
Gender differences
SES, ethnic differences
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Kids who develop learned helplessness have a pervasive sense of inferiority and over time, their ability to succeed is reduced due to their lack of metacognitive and self-regulative skills. They often have parents who set unusually high standards yet believe the child is not capable and must work harder to succeed.
. Girls receive more messages that their ability is at fault when they do not succeed, are more likely to underestimate their academic competence, and more likely to be learned helpless despite their consistently higher achievement as compared to boys.
African American and Mexican American children are less likely to receive favorable feedback from their teachers and may not see family members rewarded for their efforts, increasing risk for learned helplessness.
© tmcphotos/Shutterstock
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

9. Emotional Development in Middle Childhood
Self-conscious emotions: governed by personal responsibility
Emotional understanding:
explains emotion using internal states
understands mixed emotions
empathy increases
Emotional self-regulation:
motivated by self-esteem and peer approval
emotional self-efficacy
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
In middle childhood, no longer need adult present to feel self-conscious emotions.
Understand that people’s expressions may not reflect their true feelings
Increased perspective taking permits empathy to increase.
Emotional self-efficacy is a feeling of being in control of their emotional experience.
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

10. Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Coping Strategies
Problem-Centered Coping
Appraise situation as changeable
Identify difficulty
Decide what to do
Emotion-Centered Coping
Use when problem- centered coping does not work
Internal, private, and aimed at controlling distress when little can be done about outcome
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

11. Changes in Moral Understanding
Flexible moral rules:
lying not always bad/truthfulness not always good
considers prosocial and antisocial intentions
Clarifies link between moral imperatives and social conventions:
considers people’s intentions and the contexts of their actions
Cultural similarities/differences
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
By middle childhood, kids internalize rules for good conduct and also construct a flexible appreciation of moral rules.
Will distinguish social conventions with a clear purpose from those without.
When a directive is fair and caring, such as telling children to stop fighting or to share candy, school-age children view it as right, regardless of states it (kid or teacher).
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

12. Understanding Individual Rights
Challenges adult authority within personal domain
Views denials of personal choice as wrong
Places limits on personal choice, typically deciding in favor of kindness and fairness
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
© Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

13. Understanding Diversity and Inequality
By the early school years
associates power, privilege with white people
assigns stereotyped traits to minorities
With age, overt prejudice declines:
focuses on inner traits
subtle prejudice may persist
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Can pick up these beliefs without direct influence from family or friends.
By 5 or 6, generally evaluate their own group favorably and other groups unfavorably.
In-group favoritism emerges first: simply prefer their own group. Note the 2011 experiment on page 266 re: T shirt color. Although no information was given re group status and kids never met any group members, they displayed vigorous in group favoritism. When shown photos of agemates wearing either an in group or out group shirt, children claimed to like members of their own group better gave them more resources, and engaged in positively biased recall of their behavior.
© Notte Lourens/Shutterstock
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

14. Individual Factors Contributing to Prejudice
Fixed view of personality traits
Overly high self-esteem
Social world in which people are sorted into groups
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
© Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

15. Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Reducing Prejudice
Long-term intergroup contact:
neighborhoods
schools
communities
Fostering belief in changeability of human traits
Volunteering
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Children assigned to cooperative learning groups with peers from diverse backgrounds show low levels of prejudice.
Inducing kids to view other people’s traits as changeable helps reduce prejucide.
© Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

16. Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Peer Groups
Organize on basis of proximity, similarity
Peer culture:
vocabulary, dress code, gathering place
can involve relational aggression and exclusion
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Aggression declines in middle childhood – especially physical aggression.
Peer groups at instigation of leaders – who can be skillfully aggressive – will oust no longer respected kids who may then turn to other low status peers with poor social skills.
© Blend Images/Shutterstock
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

17. Friendship in Middle Childhood
Personal qualities, trust become important
More selective in choosing friends:
tends to select friends similar to self
Friendships fairly stable, can last several years
Type of friends affects development:
aggressive friends often magnify antisocial acts
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Girls are more exclusive in their friendships.
Kids tend to select friend similar to themselves in age, sex, ethnicity and SES, as well as popularity, academic achievement, prosocial behavior and judgments.
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

18. Categories of Peer Acceptance
Popular
popular-prosocial
popular-antisocial
Rejected
rejected-aggressive
rejected-withdrawn
Controversial
Neglected
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Peer acceptance refers to likability. To assess this, researchers use self reports that measure social preferences (who do you “like very much” or “very little.” Another approach is to use “social prominence” – kids judgments about the peers most of their classmates admire. Note that there is only a moderate relationship between the to. The kids who are the most prominent may not be the kids that they personally prefer.
About 2/3 of typical elementary school kids fit into one of the above categories. The remaining 1/3 are average.
Rejected children are anxious, unhappy, disruptive and low in self esteem – and have a wide range of emotional and social problems, as well as poor school performance, absenteeism, dropping out, substance use, depression, antisocial behavior and delinquency in adolescence as well as criminality in adulthood. Kids with poor peer relationships are more likely to have weak emotional regulation skills and family stress/low income, coercive discipline – and peer rejection increases risk of maladjustment.
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

19. Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Bullies and Victims
Bullies
Most are boys
Physically, verbally, relationally aggressive
Socially prominent, powerful
Victims
Passive when active behavior expected
Lack defenders
Inhibited temperament
Physically frail
Overly protective, controlling parents
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Peer
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

20. Helping Rejected Children
Coach positive social skills.
Promote perspective taking and social problem solving.
Alter peers’ negative opinions.
Intervene in negative parenting practices.
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Rejected children’s reputations tend to persist, although teacher’s praise and expressions of liking can modify judgments.
© Dawn Shearer-Simonetti/Shutterstock
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

21. Gender Typing in Middle Childhood
Gender stereotypes:
extended to include personalities and school subjects
more flexible views of what males and females can do
Gender identity (third–sixth grade):
boys’ “masculine” identification strengthens
girls become more androgynous
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
School age children increase gender-stereotyped beliefs
Parents behave in a more mastery oriented fashion with sons, setting higher standards and explaining concepts, especially during gender-typed activities like science.
Both parents and teachers praise boys more for knowledge and accomplishment, girls for obedience.
From grades 3 to 6, boys strengthen identification with masculine traits, and girls’ identification with feminine traits declines.
Throughout school years, kids see reading, art, and music as more for girls, and math, athletics, and mechanical skills as more for boys.
Boys tend to feel more competent at math, science and athletics, and girls more competent at language arts – even after controlling for actual performance differences.
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

22. Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Gender Identity
Self-evaluations affect adjustment:
gender typicality
gender contentedness
felt pressure to conform to gender roles
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
© Elaine Willcock/Shutterstock
In middle childhood, gender identity expands to include the three self-evaluations above.
gender typicality: how much you fit in with your gender
gender contentedness: how much you feel comfortable with your gender assignment
felt pressure to conform to gender roles: how much you feel parents and peers disapprove of your gender-related traits.
Children who are gender-atypical and gender-disconnected declined in self-worth from 3-7th grade, where as gender-typical and gender-connected individuals gained in self-worth during the same period.
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

23. Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Family Relationships
Parents:
coregulation
Siblings:
rivalry
companionship and assistance
parental encouragement of warm sibling ties is vital
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
© Andresr/Shutterstock
Coregulation is a form of supervision in which parents exercise general oversight while letting children take charge of moment by moment decision making. Effective parents engage in this as kids demonstrate that they can manage daily activities and responsibilities.
Destructive sibling conflict in middle childhood is associated with conflict-ridden peer relationships, anxiety, depressed mood and later substance abuse and delinquency, even after other family relationship factors are controlled.
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

24. Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Only Children
High in self-esteem, achievement motivation
Closer relationships with parents:
greater pressure for mastery
Peer acceptance tends to be less favorable:
lack of practice in conflict resolution
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
© tokyoimagegroups/Shutterstock
Do better in school and attain higher levels of education.
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

25. International Divorce Rates
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Figure Divorce rates in 12 industrialized nations
Figure 10.2 (Adapted from U.S. Census Bureau, 2012b.)
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

26. Consequences of Parental Divorce
Immediate
Drop in income
Parental stress, disorganized home life
Child reactions vary with age, sex, temperament
Long-Term
Improved adjustment after two years
Multiple divorces associated with greater adjustment difficulties
Father’s involvement and effective coparenting improve adjustment
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
From divorce rates in Western Countries rose dramatically, but the US has experienced a decline over the last decade – perhaps due to a rise in the age of first marriage. Current rate in the US is the highest in the world at 45%, ½ of which involve children (page 274) At any given time, ¼ of US kids live in single parent households.
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

27. Helping Families Through Divorce
Shield children from conflict.
Provide continuity in daily life.
Explain the divorce.
Emphasize permanence of situation.
Sympathize with children’s feelings.
Use authoritative parenting.
Promote relationship with both parents.
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
© Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

28. Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Blended Families
Mother–Stepfather
Most common
Boys tend to adjust quickly
Girls often adapt less favorably
Older children and adolescents of both sexes display more adjustment problems
Father–Stepmother
Often leads to reduced father–child contact
Children in father custody often react negatively
Girls and stepmothers slow to get along at first, gradually adapt favorably
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
About 60% of divorced parents remarry within a few years and others cohabit.
Divorce rate for second marriages is higher than for first marriages.
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

29. Maternal Employment and Child Development
Benefits:
higher self-esteem
positive family and peer relations
fewer gender stereotypes
better grades
more father involvement
Drawbacks:
heavy employment demands associated with ineffective parenting
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
¾ of mothers (US census, 2013) whether single or married, with school age children are employed
© c12/Shutterstock
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

30. Fears and Anxieties in Middle Childhood
Common fears include
poor academic performance
peer rejection
personal harm
threats to parents’ health
frightening media events
School phobia:
5–7 years: maternal separation
11–13: particular aspects of school
Harsh living conditions promote severe anxieties
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
5% of school age kids have a phobia. Most cases of school phobia appear between 11 and 13.
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

31. Ethnic and Political Violence
Chronically dangerous environments:
loss of sense of safety
desensitization to violence
impaired moral reasoning
pessimistic view of future
Parents, communities, schools must provide reassurance, security, intervention:
preserve physical, psychological, educational well-being
© ZouZou/Shutterstock
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

32. Prevention and treatment
Child Sexual Abuse
Characteristics
of victims
More often girls
Most cases reported in middle childhood
of abusers
Usually male
Usually a parent or known by parent
Internet and mobile phones used to commit abuse
Consequences
Emotional, physical, and behavioral reactions
May persist for years
Prevention and treatment
Prevention: education
Treatment: long-term therapy
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
If the abuser is a non-relative, it is generally someone the child has grown to know and trust.
The abuse is usually serious and the abuser uses deception bribery, verbal intimidation and physical force to get the child to comply.
Many abusers blame the victim for being a willing participant or being seductive. Kids are not capable of making decisions re: engaging in a sexual relationship and do not feel free to say yes or no.
Middle income victims are less likely to be detected. Poverty and unstable family conditions make the child more likely to experience people coming and going.
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

33. Factors Related to Resilience
Personal characteristics:
easy temperament
mastery orientation
Warm parental relationship
Supportive adult outside family
Community resources
Exploring Lifespan Development Third Edition  Laura E. Berk
© Sascha Burkard/Shutterstock
Copyright © 2014, 2011, 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.