Lifespan overheads, chapter 10: emotional and social development in middle childhood 1 Chapter 10: Emotional and Social Development in Middle Childhood Freud’s latency stage Erikson’s theory: Industry vs. Inferiority Industry: developing competence at useful skills and tasks Inferiority: if a child feels inadequate in his/her skills, becomes pessimistic, has low self-confidence Self-Development between 8 and 11, kids refine their ‘me-self” and develop a sense of their dispositions and competencies o less likely to define themselves in all-or-nothing ways, around age 7 they start to make social comparisons between 8 and 15, self-concept becomes vested in feedback from close friends Self-esteem: By age 6-7, kids have formed at least 3 separate self esteems - academic, social, and physical Self-esteem takes on a hierarchical structure: General Self-Esteem Academic Reading Math Social Other subjects Physical Peer Parental Physical Physical relationships relationships ability appearance self-esteem drops in first few years of school, reflecting a more realistic self-appraisal than in early childhood. Lifespan overheads, chapter 10: emotional and social development in middle childhood 2 Self-esteem is influenced by parental child-rearing practices. The authoritative approach is associated with kid with high self-esteem. kids high in academic self-esteem make masteryoriented attributions: they believe success is due to ability, and failure is due to factors that can be changed and controlled kids who develop learned helplessness attribute their failures to stable ability factors and their successes to changeable external factors o they have failed got make the association between effort and success o have parents who set very high standards while at the same time believing that their child is not capable o if teachers are unsupportive, pupils are more likely to see their success as being externally controlled o girls more often receive messages from teachers and parents that their ability is at fault when they do not do well. They are more likely to be learnedhelpless Emotional Development Self-conscious emotions: pride and guilt become clearly governed by personal responsibility Emotional Understanding: now more likely to explain emotion by referring to internal states than external events. one can feel more than one emotion at a time rise in empathy Lifespan overheads, chapter 10: emotional and social development in middle childhood 3 Emotional Self-regulation: by 10, most have an adaptive set of strategies for managing emotion Perspective-taking: Robert Selman (1976) Stage Age Description Level 0: Undifferentiated 3-6 know that the self and others can have different thoughts and feelings, but often confuse them Level 1: Socialinformational 4-9 understand that different perspectives can occur because people have access to different information Level 2: Selfreflective 7-12 Can see their own behaviour, thoughts, feelings, from another person’s perspective; and recognize that others can do the same Level 3: Thirdparty 10-15 Can imagine how self and others are viewed from the point of view of a third, impartial party Level 4: Societal 14adult Understand that 3rd party perspective taking can be influenced by systems of larger societal values Lifespan overheads, chapter 10: emotional and social development in middle childhood 4 Moral Development Justice: The development of the concept of distributive justice proceeds in 3 steps: 1) equality (5-6): each person must get the same amount 2) merit (6-7): extra rewards go to someone who has worked especially hard 3) benevolence (around 8): special consideration should be given to kids who are at a disadvantage Peer Relations Peer groups: kids display a strong desire to belong to a group. The special customs of the group create a sense of group identity. from grade 3 on, relational aggression rises among girls, and overt hostility against the “outgroup” rises in boys Friendship: now seen as a mutually agreed-on relationship based on personal qualities, responding to one another’s needs, and trust by 8 or 9, have just a handful of friends, and often, just one best friend tend to resemble each other in sex, race, ethnicity, SES, personality, popularity, academic achievement Lifespan overheads, chapter 10: emotional and social development in middle childhood Peer acceptance: 1) popular kids 2) rejected kids rejected-aggressive rejected-withdrawn 3) controversial kids 4) neglected kids Gender Typing Gender-stereotyped beliefs: regard “tough”, “aggressive”, “rational”, and “dominant” as masculine, and “gentle”, “sympathetic”, and “dependent” as feminine regard reading, art, and music as feminine, and math, athletics, and mechanical skills as for masculine boys feel more competent than girls at math, and girls feel more competent than boys at reading, even when they are of equal skill levels people judge boys’ violations of gender stereotypes harshly Grades 3 to 6: boys strengthen their identification with masculine traits; girls weaken their identification with feminine traits as they experiment with “masculine” activities like sports, science, etc. 5 Lifespan overheads, chapter 10: emotional and social development in middle childhood 6 Family influences Parent-child relationships child rearing gets easier for parents who established an authoritative style early on coregulation: parents exercise general oversight while permitting kids to be in charge of moment-by-moment decision making Siblings: sibling rivalry tends to increase in middle childhood, especially when they are close in age & the same sex reduce this rivalry by striving to be different from one another Birth order: oldest kids receive greater parental pressure for mature behaviour (higher IQ scores and school achievements) younger siblings tend to be more popular with agemates Only children: just as well adjusted as other kids; score higher in self esteem and achievement motivation, do better in school, and attain higher levels of education. Divorce 50% of American marriages end in divorce, and ¾ of these involve children o spend an average of 5 years in a single-parent home o 2/3 of divorced parents remarry. Half of these marriages end in divorce as well! Lifespan overheads, chapter 10: emotional and social development in middle childhood 7 immediate consequences: mother-headed households experience a sharp drop in income. o “minimal parenting” o noncustodial dads tend to be indulgent and permissive, making the mother’s job all the harder o younger children blame themselves o older kids may escape into undesirable peer activities o girls internalize their reactions or show demanding, attention-getting behaviour o in mother-custody families, boys have more serious adjustment problems: a coercive motherson dynamic may develop long-term consequences: improved adjustment by 2 years after divorce. o Girls: a rise in sexual activity at adolescence, in teenage childbearing, and in risk of divorce in adulthood o contact with the noncustodial father is important. For girls, it contributes to heterosexual development, and for boys it affects overall psychological well-being. o Remaining in a stressed intact family is worse than making the transition to a low-conflict, singleparent household Lifespan overheads, chapter 10: emotional and social development in middle childhood Remarriage: mother-stepfather families are the most frequent form of blended family. Boys usually adjust quickly Girls adapt less favorably the older the kids are, the tougher the adjustment is father-stepmother families: reduced contact as the father withdraws from his “previous” family. When fathers have custody, kids typically react negatively to the remarriage. kids living with father often have more problems to begin with girls have trouble getting along with their stepmother, because she threatens her relationship with her father, and/or she feels loyalty to her mother Maternal Employment and Dual-Earner Families employed moms who value their parenting roles are more likely to use authoritative child rearing. kids spend more time with their father higher achievement, mature social behaviour, a more flexible view of gender roles Child-care for school-aged kids kids who have a history of authoritative child rearing and who are monitored at a distance by parental telephone calls, and have regular after-school chores, appear responsible and well-adjusted. kids left to their own devices are more likely to engage in antisocial behaviour Before age 9-10, kids should not be left alone because they are not yet competent to deal with emergencies 8 Lifespan overheads, chapter 10: emotional and social development in middle childhood 9 Common problems of development Fears and anxieties most kids handle their fears constructively about 20% develop an intense unmanageable anxiety o e.g. school phobia: 1/3 are 5-7 year olds who are really fearing separation from their mothers; the rest are 11-13 years old, who find a particular aspect of school frightening Child sexual abuse: more common against girls. Reported cases are highest in middle childhood. generally the abuser is a well-known male in most cases, the abuse is serious abusers have difficulty controlling their impulses, have psychological disorders, are addicted to alcohol/drugs Consequences for kids: depression, low self-esteem, mistrust of adults, anger and hostility can persist for years after the abusive episodes. o younger kids: sleeping problems, loss of appetite, fearfulness o display sexual knowledge and behaviour beyond their years o have learned that sexual overtures are acceptable ways of getting attention and rewards o tend to become promiscuous, have unhealthy relationships o choose partners who abuse them and their kids o show poor parenting skills Lifespan overheads, chapter 10: emotional and social development in middle childhood Resilience in Middle childhood 3 broad factors can protect against maladjustment: 1) personal characteristics (easy temperament, masteryoriented) 2) a warm, well-organized family life 3) an adult outside the immediate family who offers support 10