1. Chapter 7-8 Psyc311 Jen Wright
Early Childhood
Chapter 7-8
Psyc311
Jen Wright

2. Theory of mind
The ability to understand the existence of mental states in the minds of others
Desires
Beliefs
etc.
Strongly explanatory and predictive.
Yet, non-tangible.

3. concerned with the person
Desires – “I want…”
children speak about early (2 years)
Beliefs – “I believe that…”
don’t show up in speech until 4-5 years
Desires – simple constructs
mind-to-world fit
concerned with the person
How we want the world to be
similar to emotions (non-representational)
Beliefs – more complex constructs
world-to-mind fit
concerned how the world
How it really is
representational

4. Maxi “false-belief” tasks? ?

5. Succeeding at the false belief task…
Requires understanding that Maxi
has a mental state (belief) that is different from the child’s mental state.
has a mental state (belief) that is different from reality.
Beliefs come apart from reality
they can be false.
Desires don’t.

6. Children can use belief states to explain behavior before they will use them to predict.
Katie is looking for her kitty. Her kitty is in the garage. Katie is looking for her under the piano.
Why is Katie looking under the piano?
When confronted with a behavior they can’t otherwise explain, children will appeal to a (false) belief.
She is looking under the piano cause she thinks the kitty is there.

7. examples Experimenter: Why does Jason cry?
Child: Because he was scared.
Experimenter: Why else does Jason cry?
Child: He thought it was a rattlesnake.
Experimenter: Was it really a rattlesnake?
Child: No.
Experimenter: Why is Ann smiling?
Child: ’Cause she likes cookies.
Experimenter: Why else is Ann smiling?
Child: ’Cause she’s happy.
Child: She thinks she can eat it?
Experimenter: Can she really eat it?
Child: It’s not real.

8. Appearance-reality tasks

13. What do all of these tasks have in common? Executive function
The ability to override current information with
New information
Past information
Additional information
The ability to hold 2+ thoughts in mind and compare them.

14. emotions and self-development
Emotions are important in the emergence of self-awareness:
Self-efficacy
awareness that you can affect events in your surrounding
Self-control
learning to modulate emotional reactions
Self-concept
episodic memories
external vs. internal characteristics

15. Emerge end of 2nd year, with sense of self
Self-esteem: higher order emotions that involve injury or enhancement to sense of self
shame, embarrassment, guilt, envy, pride
Emerge end of 2nd year, with sense of self
Accompanies other self-recognition tasks
Awareness of expectations/reactions of others
Important distinction between shame and guilt.
What is the difference?
Why do we call these emotions “moral emotions”?

16. Emergence of the conscience: moral awareness- sense of good vs. bad
Self-regulatory emotions
Guilt/Shame
Pride
Disgust
Inhibition of bad behavior, promotion of good behavior
socialization- culturally relevant norms and feelings

17. empathy
May be more important for moral socialization than negative emotions
Global distress
Emotional contagion
Egocentric empathy (2 yrs)
Non-egocentric empathy (3 yrs+)
Cognitive empathy (middle childhood)
Abstract perspective-taking

18. Play Play: a pleasurable activity that is engaged in for its own sake
Theorists have focused on different aspects of play:
Freud and Erikson: play helps child master anxieties and conflicts, satisfies our exploratory drive
Play therapy
Piaget: play advances cognitive development; children’s cognitive development constrains the way they play
Vygotsky: play is an excellent social setting for cognitive development 18

19. Importance of play Cognitive development Social competence
Appearance – reality shift (make believe)
Theory of mind
Imagination
Social competence
Empathy
Role-playing
Emotional regulation

20. Types of Play: Sensorimotor play Practice play Pretense/symbolic play
behavior by infants to derive pleasure from exercising their sensorimotor schemes
Practice play
the repetition of behavior when new skills are being learned or mastered
Pretense/symbolic play
occurs when the child transforms the physical environment into a symbol
Social play
play that involves interaction with peers
Constructive play
combines sensorimotor/practice play with symbolic representation
Games
activities that are engaged in for pleasure and have rules 20

21. Levels of social complexity Parallel play Simple social play
Parallel aware play
Simple social play
Complementary/reciprocal play
Cooperative social pretend play
Complex social pretend play
Meta-communication about play

22. Parenting styles
Authoritarian: restrictive style in which parents demand obedience and respect
Parent places firm limits and does not allow discussion
Parent rigidly enforces rules but rarely explains them
Children are often unhappy, fearful, and anxious
Authoritative: encourages children to be independent while placing limits and controls on actions
Extensive verbal give-and-take
Parents expect mature, independent, age-appropriate behavior
Children are often cheerful, self-controlled, and self-reliant 22

23. Parenting Styles Neglectful: parent is very uninvolved in child’s life
Children feel that other aspects of the parent’s life are more important than they are
Children tend to be socially incompetent, immature, and have low self-esteem
Indulgent: parents are highly involved but place few demands or controls on the child
Children never learn to control their own behavior and always expect to get their way

24. Two Dimensions:
Responsiveness
Demandingness

25. Gender Sex: biological classification of male or female
Gender Identity: the sense of being male or female
Gender Roles: sets of expectations that prescribe how females or males should think, act, and feel

26. Gender Two basic types of theories Gender differences are built-in
Psychoanalytic: unconscious urges/tensions
Epigenetic: biological/genetic underpinnings
Gender differences are learned
Behaviorism: behavior is conditioned by reward/punishment
Cognitive: learned schemas (same as “restaurant” schema)
Socio-cultural: socialization, internalizing norms

27. Parental Influences: Mother’s Socialization Strategies:
Mothers socialize daughters to be more obedient and responsible than sons
Mothers place more restrictions on daughters’ autonomy
Father’s Socialization Strategies:
Fathers show more attention to sons than daughters, engage in more activities with sons, and put more effort into promoting sons’ intellectual development

28. Peer Influences: Children’s Groups:
Peers extensively reward and punish gender behavior
Greater pressure for boys to conform to traditional gender roles
Children’s Groups:
Children show preference toward same-sex playmates by age 3
From age 5 onward, boys are more likely than girls to form large groups and participate in organized group games
Boys engage in rough play, competition, conflict, etc.
Girls engage in “collaborative discourse”

30. Emotions and motivation
Extrinsic – reference to rules, rewards, punishment
Intrinsic – reference to internal (emotional) states of self or other
E.g. makes me feel bad, hurts someone’s feelings
Providing extrinsic motivation (rewards) can interfere with intrinsic motivation.
Difference in rewards given after and those promised before hand.