Early Childhood
Chapter 7-8
Psyc311
Jen Wright
Theory of mind
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The ability to understand the existence of
mental states in the minds of others
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Desires
Beliefs
etc.
Strongly explanatory and predictive.
Yet, non-tangible.
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Desires – “I want…”
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Beliefs – “I believe that…”
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children speak about early (2 years)
don’t show up in speech until 4-5 years
Desires – simple constructs
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mind-to-world fit
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concerned with the person
How we want the world to be
similar to emotions (non-representational)
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Beliefs – more complex constructs
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world-to-mind fit
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concerned how the world
How it really is
representational
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Maxi “false-belief” tasks
?
?
Succeeding at the false belief task…
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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.
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Beliefs come apart from reality
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they can be false.
Desires don’t.
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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.
examples
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Experimenter: Why does Jason cry?
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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?
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Child: ’Cause she likes cookies.
Experimenter: Why else is Ann smiling?
Child: ’Cause she’s happy.
Experimenter: Why else is Ann smiling?
Child: She thinks she can eat it?
Experimenter: Can she really eat it?
Child: It’s not real.
Appearance-reality tasks
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What do all of these tasks have in common?
Executive function
The ability to override current information
with
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New information
Past information
Additional information
The ability to hold 2+ thoughts in mind and
compare them.
emotions and self-development
Emotions are important in the emergence of selfawareness:
 Self-efficacy
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Self-control
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awareness that you can affect events in your surrounding
learning to modulate emotional reactions
Self-concept
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episodic memories
external vs. internal characteristics
Self-esteem: higher order emotions that involve
injury or enhancement to sense of self
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Emerge end of 2nd year, with sense of self
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Accompanies other self-recognition tasks
Awareness of expectations/reactions of others
Important distinction between shame and guilt.
•
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shame, embarrassment, guilt, envy, pride
What is the difference?
Why do we call these emotions “moral emotions”?
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Emergence of the conscience:
moral awareness- sense of good vs. bad
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Self-regulatory emotions
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Guilt/Shame
Pride
Disgust
Inhibition of bad behavior, promotion of good behavior
socialization- culturally relevant norms and
feelings
empathy
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May be more important for moral
socialization than negative emotions
Global distress
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Emotional contagion
Egocentric empathy (2 yrs)
Non-egocentric empathy (3 yrs+)
Cognitive empathy (middle childhood)
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Abstract perspective-taking
Play
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Play: a pleasurable activity that is engaged in
for its own sake
Theorists have focused on different aspects of
play:
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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
Importance of play
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Cognitive development
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Social competence
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Appearance – reality shift (make believe)
Theory of mind
Imagination
Empathy
Role-playing
Emotional regulation
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Types of Play:
Sensorimotor play
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Practice play
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occurs when the child transforms the physical
environment into a symbol
Social play
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the repetition of behavior when new skills are being
learned or mastered
Pretense/symbolic play
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behavior by infants to derive pleasure from exercising
their sensorimotor schemes
play that involves interaction with peers
Constructive play
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combines sensorimotor/practice play with symbolic
representation
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Levels of social complexity
Parallel play
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Parallel aware play
Simple social play
Complementary/reciprocal play
Cooperative social pretend play
Complex social pretend play
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Meta-communication about play
Parenting styles
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Authoritarian: restrictive style in which
parents demand obedience and respect
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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
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Extensive verbal give-and-take
Parents expect mature, independent, age-appropriate
behavior
Children are often cheerful, self-controlled, and selfreliant
Parenting Styles
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Neglectful: parent is very uninvolved in
child’s life
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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
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Children never learn to control their own behavior and
always expect to get their way
Two Dimensions:
• Responsiveness
• Demandingness
Gender
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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
Gender
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Two basic types of theories
Gender differences are built-in
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Psychoanalytic: unconscious urges/tensions
Epigenetic: biological/genetic underpinnings
Gender differences are learned
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Behaviorism: behavior is conditioned by
reward/punishment
Cognitive: learned schemas (same as
“restaurant” schema)
Socio-cultural: socialization, internalizing
norms
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Parental Influences:
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Mother’s Socialization Strategies:
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Mothers socialize daughters to be more obedient and
responsible than sons
Mothers place more restrictions on daughters’
autonomy
Father’s Socialization Strategies:
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Fathers show more attention to sons than daughters,
engage in more activities with sons, and put more
effort into promoting sons’ intellectual development
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Peer Influences:
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Peers extensively reward and punish gender behavior
Greater pressure for boys to conform to traditional gender
roles
Children’s Groups:
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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”
Emotions and motivation
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Extrinsic – reference to rules, rewards, punishment
Intrinsic – reference to internal (emotional) states
of self or other
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E.g. makes me feel bad, hurts someone’s feelings
Providing extrinsic motivation (rewards) can
interfere with intrinsic motivation.
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Difference in rewards given after and those promised
before hand.