PART 5: MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTH IN MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
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MOTOR DEVELOPMENT AND PHYSICAL PLAY
Children keep getting stronger, faster, and better coordinated, and derive great pleasure from testing their bodies and learning new skills
Nonliterate societies, children spend less time playing and more time on household chores than industrialised societies
Middle childhood, in most nonliterate and transitional societies, children go to work, and girls, especially do more household labour, leaving little
time and freedom to play
Many children as grow older, spend less time in free, unstructured activities, and more time in organised sports
Free play
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Rough-and-tumble-play: vigorous play involving wrestling, hitting and chasing often accompanied by laughing and screaming
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Universal, more common with boys than girls who favour games involving verbal expression or counting aloud
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Helps children jockey for dominance in peer group by assessing own and others’ strengths
Organised sports
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Begin playing games with rules, some join organised, adult-led sports
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Boys spend twice as much time on team sports as girls do, and the disparity widens as children grow older
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
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PIAGETIAN APPROACH: THE CONCRETE OPERATIONAL CHILD
Concrete operations: third stage of Piagetian cognitive development (approximately from 7 – 12 years) during which children develop logical but
not abstract thinking
Cognitive advances
Space and causality
o
Experience plays role in development: child who walks to school becomes more familiar with neighbourhood outside home
o
Both ability to use maps and models and ability to communicate spatial information improve with age although 6-year olds may find hidden
objects, they usually do not give well-organised directions for finding objects
o
Judgements about cause and effect also improve during middle childhood ~ children understand influence of physical attributes earlier than
recognition influence of spatial factors
Categorisation
o
Categorisation helps children think logically
o
Seriation: ability to order objects in series according to one or more dimensions (weight, colour, size, etc) ~ 7/8 years
o
Transitive inference: understanding of relationship between two objects by knowing relationship of each to a third object
o
Class inclusion: understanding of relationship between a whole and its parts
Understanding of class inclusion is closely related to:
Inductive
Type of logical reasoning that moves from particular observations (specific) about members of a class to a general conclusion
reasoning
about that class
Deductive
Type of logical reasoning that moves from a general premise about a class to a conclusion about a particular (specific) member
reasoning
or members of the class ~ not until adolescence
o
Contrary to Piaget: second graders expressed more confidence in deductive answers than inductive ones
Conservation
o
Can work out answers in their heads, they do not have to measure or weigh objects: they understand the principles of identity, reversibility and
decentre
o
Children can solve problems involving conservation of substance, by 7 – 8 years ~ weight only correct from 9 – 10 years
o
Conservation of volume: correct answers are rare before 12 years
o
Piaget: ‘horizontal décalage: inconsistency in development of different types of conservation ~ thinking at this stage concrete, so closely tied to
particular situation, cannot readily transfer what they have learned about one type of conservation to another type, even though the underlying
principles are the same
Number and mathematics
o
By 6 – 7 years many children can count in their heads and also learn to count on (5 + 3 = 8), takes 2 more years to perform comparable operation
for subtraction, by 9 most children can either count up from smaller or down from larger numbers to get answers
o
Children more adept at solving simple story problems; when original amount unknown problem is harder because operation needed to solve it is
not as clearly indicated ~ few can solve before 8 – 9 years
o
Ability to add develops nearly universally & often intuitively, through concrete experience in cultural context – intuitive processes are different from
those taught in school ~ teaching maths through concrete applications, not only abstract rules, may be more effective
o
Intuitive understanding of fractions exist by 4 years, however children tend not to think about quantity fraction represents, focus on numerals that
make it up
o
Ability to estimate is important in areas of daily life, abilities increase with age
o
Developmental progression results partly from experience child gain dealing with large numbers in latter part of 1 st and throughout 2nd grade, as
well as with board games in which they move in accordance with numbers shown on dice
Influences of neurological development and culture
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Piaget: shift from rigid, illogical thinking of younger children to flexible, logical thinking of older depends on neurological development and
experience in adapting to environment (use different brain regions)
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Cross-cultural studies support the progression from preoperational to operational thought, however abilities such as conservation depend in part
on familiarity with materials being manipulated ~ understanding of conservation comes not only from new patterns of mental organisation, but also
from culturally defined experience with physical world
Moral reasoning
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(Two boys and the inkpot story)
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Piaget: Immature moral judgements centre only on degree of offence, more mature judgements consider intent
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Piaget: moral reasoning develops in three stages (children move gradually from on stage to another at varying ages):
1st stage:
o
2 – 7 years – preoperational stage
o
Based on rigid obedience to authority because young children are egocentric ~ they cannot imagine more than one way of looking at a moral
issue ~ rules cannot be bent or changed ~ behaviour is either right or wrong ~ any offence deserves punishment, regardless of intent
2nd stage:
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7 or 8 – 10 or 11 – concrete operations
o
Characterised by increasing flexibility and some degree of autonomy based on mutual respect and cooperation ~ as children interact with more
people and come into contact with wider range of viewpoints, they begin to discard the idea that there is a single, absolute standard of right and
wrong ~ develop own sense of justice based on fairness or equal treatment for all ~ because they can consider more than one aspect of situation,
can make more subtle moral judgements (considering intent behind behaviour)
3rd stage:
o
11 or 12 – capable of formal reasoning
o
Equality: everyone should be treated equal; equity: taking specific circumstances into account
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Ability to understand reciprocal obligations and anticipate how person might feel when promise is violated
INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH: MEMORY AND OTHER PROCESSING SKILLS
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Through school years children make steady progress in ability to process and retain information; reaction time improves and processing speed for
such tasks as matching pictures, increases rapidly as unneeded synapses in brain pruned away
Faster, more efficient processing increases amount of information child can keep in working memory, making possible better recall and more
complex, higher level thinking
School-age children understand how memory works ~ enables them to use strategies to help remember
As knowledge expands, become more aware of kinds of information are important to pay attention to and remember
Metamemory: Understanding memory
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5 – 7 years: brain’s frontal lobes undergo significant development and reorganisation ~ improve recall and metamemory: understanding of
memory processes
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Metacognition: awareness of one’s own mental processes
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Preschoolers and 1st graders know people remember better if study longer, people forget things with time, & relearning easier than learning for the
first time
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3rd grade: children know that some remember better than others and some things easier to remember than others
Mnemonics: Strategies for remembering
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Mnemonic strategies: techniques to aid memory
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Four common mnemonic strategies:
Strategy
Definition
External memory
Prompting by something outside the
aids
person
Rehearsal
Conscious repetition
Organisation
Grouping by categories
Elaboration
Associating items to be remembered
with something else, such as phrase,
scene or story
Development in middle childhood
5 – 6 years can, but 8 years more likely
Example
Making a list of things to do
6 years can be taught, 7 years do it
spontaneously
Most don’t until 10 years, younger children can
be taught
Older children more likely to do this
spontaneously and remember better if they
make up own elaboration; younger children
remember better if someone else elaborates
Repetition of letters in word to learn
spelling
Animals by species (mammals,
reptiles etc)
EGBDF: Every good boy does fine
Selective attention
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School-age children concentrate longer than young children and focus on information they need and want while screening out irrelevant
information
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Growing capacity selective attention due to neurological maturation and is one of the reasons memory improves during middle childhood
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Older children make fewer mistakes in recall than younger ones because better able to select what they want to remember and what they can
forget
Information processing and Piagetian tasks
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Improvements in memory may contribute to mastery of conservation tasks ~ young children’s working memory so limited they may not be able to
remember all relevant information – may forget ~ gains in working memory enable older children to solve such problems
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Robbie Case (Neo-Piagetian): as child’s application of a concept or scheme becomes more automatic, it frees space in working memory to deal
with new information ~ helps explain horizontal décalage: may need to use one type of conservation without conscious thought before they extend
that scheme it to other types of conservation
Is there more intelligence?
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Howard Gardner and Robert Sternberg
Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences
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Theory of multiple intelligences: each person has several distinct forms of intelligence
Eight Intelligences According to Gardner:
Intelligence
Definition
Linguistic
Ability to use and understand words and nuances of meaning
LogicalAbility to manipulate numbers and solve logical problems
mathematical
Spatial
Ability to find one’s way around in an environment and judge relationships between
objects in space
Musical
Ability to perceive and create patterns of pitch and rhythm
BodilyAbility to move with precision
kinaesthetic
Interpersonal
Ability to understand and communicate with others
Intrapersonal
Ability to understand the self
Naturalist
Ability to distinguish species
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Fields or occupations where used
Writing, editing, translating
Science, business, medicine
Architecture, carpentry, city planning
Musical composition, conducting
Dancing, athletics, surgery
Teaching, acting, politics
Counselling, psychiatry, spiritual leadership
Hunting, fishing, farming, gardening,
cooking
High intelligence in one area does not necessarily accompany high intelligence in any others
Assess each intelligence directly by observing its products and not by standardising tests
Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence
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Triarchic theory of intelligence:
o
Componential element: analytic aspect of intelligence; determines how efficiently people process information; tells people how to solve
problems, how to monitor solutions, and how to evaluate results
o
Experiential element: insightful/creative aspect of intelligence; determines how people approach novel/familiar tasks; allows people to
compare new information with what they already know and to come up with new ways of putting facts together (think originally)
o
Contextual element: practical; determines how people deal with their environment; ability to size up situation and decide what to do: adapt,
change or get out of it
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Everyone has these three kinds of abilities to a greater or lesser extent
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Conventional IQ tests measure componential ability ~ fairly good predictors of school performance; fail to measure experiential/contextual ~ less
useful outside success predictors
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Sternberg Triarchic Abilities Test (STAT): seeks measure each of three components through multiple choice and essay questions in 3 domains:
verbal, quantitative, and figural (the three types of abilities only weakly correlated with each other)
LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Vocabulary, grammar and syntax
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As vocabulary grows during school years, children use increasingly precise verbs and learn words can have more than one meaning ~ know from
context which meaning intended
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Simile and metaphor become increasingly common
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Although grammar complex by age 6 years, children in early school years rarely use passive voice, verb tenses that include the auxiliary ‘have’,
and conditional sentences
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Up to and possibly after 9 years, children’s understanding of rules of syntax (how words are organised into phrases and sentences) becomes
more sophisticated
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Chomsky: considerable variation in ages at which children grasp certain syntactic structures
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Sentence structure more elaborate ~ older children use more subordinate clauses; some constructions do not come until early adolescence
Pragmatics: Knowledge about communication
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Pragmatics: set of linguistic rules that govern use of language for communication ~ major area of linguistic growth
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Good conversationalists probe by asking questions before introducing topic with which other person may not be familiar ~ recognise breakdown
and try repair it
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There are wide individual differences in such conversational skills: some 7 year old are better than some adults, 1 st graders respond to adult’s
questions with simpler, shorter answers than they give their peers, also speak differently to parents than other adults: issuing more demands and
less extended conversation
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Children’s stories: usually not ‘made-up’ but of own personal experience ~ longer and complex by 2nd grade
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Fictional tales conventional beginnings/endings: word use more varied, but characters don’t change and plots are not fully developed
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Older children usually set stage with introductory information about setting and characters, and clearly indicate changes of time and place ~
construct more complex episodes than younger children do with less unnecessary detail ~ focus more on characters’ motives and thoughts, and
think through how to resolve problems in plot
Literacy
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Learning to read and write frees children from constraints of face-to-face communication ~ access imagination
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Once children can translate marks on page into patterns of sound and meaning, can develop increasingly sophisticated strategies to understand
what they read
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Also learn that they can use written words to express ideas, thoughts, and feelings
Reading
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Children can identify printed word in two ways:
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Decoding: process of phonetic analysis by which a printed word is converted to spoken form before retrieval from long-term memory
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Visually-based retrieval: Process of retrieving the sound of a printed word upon seeing the word as a whole
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Two methods form the core of two contrasting approaches to reading instruction:
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Phonetic (code-emphasis approach): approach to teaching reading that emphasises decoding of unfamiliar words ~ traditional
 Research supports phonemic awareness and early phonics training are keys to reading proficiency for most children
o
Whole-language approach: approach to teaching reading that emphasises visual retrieval and use of contextual clues
 Based on belief that children can learn to read and write naturally, much as they learn to understand and use speech
 Assert that children learn to read with better comprehension and more enjoyment if experience written language from outset as way to
gain information and express ideas and feelings, not as system of isolate sounds and syllables to be learned by memorisation and drill
 Feature real literature and open-ended, student-initiated activities
 Critics: encourages skim reading, guessing at words and meaning, without trying to correct reading and spelling errors
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Experts recommend blend of best of both approaches: learn phonetic skills along with strategies to help understand what they read
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Developmental processes that improve comprehension are similar to those that improve memory ~ as word identification becomes automatic and
working memory increases, children focus on meaning of what they read and adjust speed and attentiveness to importance and difficulty of
material ~ as store of knowledge increases, more readily check new information against what already know
Metacognition helps children monitor their understanding of what they read and enables to develop strategies (reading slowly, rereading difficult
passages, visualising information, thinking of examples) to clear up problems
Recall, summary, and asking questions about what is read enhances comprehension
Influences on school achievement: an ecological analysis
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Bronfenbrenner’s biological theory predicts each level of the context of their lives influences how well they do in school
Parenting practises
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Parents of achieving children create an atmosphere for learning
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Parents attitudes about homework directly affect children’s willingness to do it ~ as get older responsibility shifts to child
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Parents can affect their educational achievement by acting as advocates for children and impressing teachers with seriousness of family’s
educational goals
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Students whose parents are closely involved in school lives and monitor their progress fare best in school
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Motivation for children to achieve: extrinsic means (rewarding for good grades and punishment for bad grades); intrinsic means (praising ability
and hard work) ~ more effective
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Parenting styles (authoritative/authoritarian/permissive) affect motivation
Socioeconomic status
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SES is a powerful factor in educational achievement through its influence on family atmosphere, on neighbourhood choice and parents’ way of
rearing children
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Poor parents = poor home and school environment ~ SES affects parents’ ability to provide an environment that enhances learning
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Social capital: family and community resources on which a person or family can draw
Teacher expectations
o
Self-fulfilling prophecy: false expectation or prediction of behaviour that tends to come true because it leads people to act as if it were already true
PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
THE DEVELOPING SELF
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Cognitive growth that occurs during middle childhood enables children to develop more complex concepts of themselves and to grow in emotional
understanding and control
Representational systems: A Neo-Piagetian view
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Representational systems: (Neo-Piagetian) third stage in development of self-definition, characterised by breadth, balance, and integration and
assessment of various aspects of self ~ 7 – 8 years
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Self-description focuses on more than one dimension, are more balanced – can compare real self with ideal self and can judge how well measure
up to social standards in comparison with others ~ changes contribute to development of self-esteem
Self-esteem
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Erikson: major determinant of self-esteem is children’s view of their capacity for productive work
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Industry versus inferiority:
o
Erikson’s fourth critical alternative of psychosocial development, in which children must learn the productive skills their culture requires or
else face feelings of inferiority
o
Virtue: competence (view of self as able to master skills and complete tasks)
o
Children compare abilities with peers; if feel inadequate: retreat to protective embrace of family; if too industrious: neglect social
relationships and turn into ‘workaholics’
o
Parents’ beliefs of children’s competence is strongly associated with children’s beliefs
o
Harter: major contributor to self-esteem is social support from parents, peers and teachers ~ will not compensate for low self-evaluation
o
Withdrawn children are overly concerned about social performance ~ attribute rejection to own personality deficiencies (which they believe
are helpless to change)
o
Children with high self-esteem attribute failure to factors outside of themselves or to the need to try harder ~ persevere and try new
strategies until one works ~ more willing to volunteer to help those less fortunate – builds self-esteem
Emotional growth and prosocial behaviour
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Older children more aware of own and other’s feelings ~ better regulate emotions and respond to others’ emotional distress
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7 – 8 years: aware of feeling shame and pride; have clearer idea of difference between guilt and shame; emotions, now fully internalised, affect
opinions of themselves; verbalise conflicting emotions
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By middle childhood, children aware of culture’s rules for emotional expression which parents communicate through reactions to children’s
feelings ~ learn difference between having an emotion and expressing it ~ what makes them angry, fearful or sad, and how other people react to a
display of these emotions ~ to adapt behaviour accordingly
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Emotional self-regulation involves effortful (voluntary) control of emotions, attention and behaviour; if low in effortful control: visibly angry or
frustrated when interrupted or prevented from doing something they want to do; if high in effortful control: stifle impulse to show negative emotion
at inappropriate times
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Effortful control may be temperamentally based ~ generally increases with age (low effortful control predicts later behaviour problems)
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Children tend become more empathic and more inclined to prosocial behaviour in middle childhood ~ positive emotional adjustment ~ prosocial
children act appropriately in social situations, relatively free from negative emotion, and cope with problems constructively
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Parents who acknowledge children’s feelings of distress and help them focus on solving root problem foster empathy, prosocial development and
social skills ~ when parents respond with disapproval/punishment, emotions such as anger and fear become more intense and impair children’s
social adjustment or children become secretive and anxious about negative feelings ~ as children approach early adolescence, parental
intolerance of negative emotion may heighten parent-child conflict
THE CHILD IN THE FAMILY
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School-age children spend more time away from home than when younger and become less close to their parents
Less time for unstructured play and leisurely family dinners – time spent with children task centred ~ home and people who live there are still
important
Bronfenbrenner’s theory predicts additional layers of influence help shape family environment and children’s development
Cultural experiences and values define rhythms of family life and roles of family members
Family atmosphere
Parenting issues: Coregulation and discipline
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Control of behaviour gradually shifts from parent to child
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Coregulation: transitional stage in control of behaviour in which parents exercise general supervision and children exercise moment-to-moment
self-regulation
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More apt to follow parents’ wishes when recognise parents are fair and concerned about welfare and they know better because of experience ~
helps if parents try defer to children’s maturing judgement and take strong stands only on important issues
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Shift to coregulation affects way parents handle discipline: use inductive techniques ~pointing out how actions affect others, appeals to selfesteem, sense of humour, moral values, or appreciation and bearing consequences of behaviour
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Conflict resolution more important than specific outcomes ~ if constructive: helps children see need for rules and standards, also learn kinds of
issues are worth arguing about and what strategies can be effective
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However, as children become preadolescents, and striving for autonomy more insistent, quality of family problem solving deteriorates
Effects of parents’ work
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More satisfied mother is with employment status, more effective she is likely to be as parent; impact depends on other factors (child’s age, sex,
temperament and personality)
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How well parents keep track of their children more important than whether the mother works for pay
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Many children experience several types of out-of-school care ~ good after school programmes have relatively low enrolment, low child-staff ratios,
and well educated staff~ adjust better in school
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Self-care: regular caring for themselves at home without adult supervision ~ only advisable for older children who are mature, responsible and
resourceful and know how to get help in emergency
Poverty and parenting
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Can inspire people to work hard and make a better life for children, or crush spirits
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Can harm children’s development through impact on parents’ emotional state and parenting practices and on home environment created ~
parents = anxious, depressed, irritable, may become less affectionate with and less responsive to children, may discipline inconsistently, harshly,
and arbitrarily ~ children: depressed, have trouble getting along with peers, lack self-confidence, develop behavioural problems, and engage in
antisocial acts, and do poorly in school
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Can sap parent’s confidence in ability to affect their children’s development ~ lack of financial resources: harder for mothers and fathers to support
each other in parenting: less likely to monitor activities ~ poorer school performance and social adjustment
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More damaging to children is family characteristics that may accompany poverty: unstable adult relationships, psychiatric problems, violent or
criminal behaviour
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Parents who can turn to relatives or community representatives for emotional support, help with child care, and child-rearing information ~ parent
children more effectively
Family structure
Adoptive families
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Agency adoptions supposed to be confidential, with no contact between birth mother and adoptive parents
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Open (independent) adoptions: parties share information or have direct contact ~ fears about this overstated
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Increasingly children available for adoption are beyond infancy or of foreign birth, or have special needs
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Interracial adoption vary from state to state ~ some give priority to same-race adoption
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Adopting carries special challenges: integrating adopted child into family, explaining adoption to child, helping child develop healthy sense of self,
and perhaps eventually helping child find and contact biological parents
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Infancy adoptions least likely have adjustment problems ~ any problems occur around sexual maturation
When parents divorce
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Influences on child’s adjustment to divorce include child’s age or maturity, gender, temperament, and psychological and social adjustment before
divorce ~ way parents handle issues ( custody and visitation arrangements, finances, reorganisation of household duties, relocation, contact with
non-custodial parent, remarriage and relationship with step-parent) involved in divorce, make difference ~ do better when custodial parent creates
stable, structured, nurturing environment and does not expect children take on too much
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Younger children: more anxious about divorce, less realistic perceptions, more likely blame themselves but adapt better than older children
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School-age children: sensitive to parental pressures and loyalty conflicts ~ like younger, fear abandonment and rejection
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Boys generally find it harder to adjust than girls do, however difference may depend largely on how involved father remains
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Most cases mother gets custody, though paternal custody is a growing trend
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More recent separation, closer father lives to his children; higher his socioeconomic status, more involved he is likely to be
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Frequency of contact with father not as important as quality of father-child relationship ~ better in school if father involved in schools, close and
authoritative and if custodial mothers use effective parenting practices and provide skill-building
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Emotional or behavioural problems may stem from parental conflict, both before and after divorce, as well as from separation itself

Parent education programs teaching separated couples how to prevent or deal with conflict, keep lines of communication open, develop effective
co-parenting relationship, and help children adjust to divorce, have been introduced in many courts

Joint custody: advantageous in some cases ~ both parents can continue to be closely involved with child

Joint legal custody: share right and responsibility to make decisions; joint physical custody: child supposed to live part time with both parents
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Main determinant of success of joint custody is amount of conflict between parents

Most children of divorce eventually adjust reasonably well – more likely to drop out of school, marry young and form unstable, unsatisfying
relationships which also end in divorce ~ some young adults are afraid of making commitments that might end in disappointment and are intent on
protecting independence ~ much depends on how young people resolve and interpret the experience of parental divorce ~ some learn from it
Living in a one-parent family
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Children do less well socially and educationally ~ low SES
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More household responsibility, conflict with siblings, less family cohesion, support, control, and discipline
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Not only father’s involvement, but also child’s age and level of development, parent’s financial circumstances, whether there are frequent moves,
and other aspects of family situation affect how children turn out

Because single mothers often lack resources needed for good parenting, potential risks to children in these families might be reduced or
eliminated through increased access to economic, social, educational, and parenting support
Living in a stepfamily

Stepfamilies often start out as cohabiting families, when a single parent brings a new partner into the house ~ larger cast, which may include the
relatives of up to four adults, and has many stressors: loyalties may interfere

Adjustment is harder when there are many children, and when new child is born ~ thus remarriages more likely to fail

Studies found boys benefit from a stepfather, girl finds new man in house as threat to independence and relationship with mother
Living with gay or lesbian parents
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No consistent difference between homosexual, and heterosexual parents in emotional health or parenting skills and attitude

Openly gay parents usually have positive relationships with their children, and children are no more likely to have problems than others

No more likely to be homosexual themselves or to be confused about their gender than children of heterosexuals
Sibling relationships

Often culturally important teaching arises spontaneously as older siblings care for the younger

Number of siblings in family and spacing, birth order, and gender often determine roles and relationships

Sibling motivated to make up after quarrels, since they know they will see each other every day
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Children more apt to squabble with same-sex siblings
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Siblings influence each others gender development ~ second born tend to be more like older siblings in gender-related attitudes, personality, and
leisure activities – firstborns more influenced by parents and less by younger siblings
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Siblings influence each other directly: through their own interactions; and indirectly: impact on each other’s relationship with the parents

Behaviour patterns established with parents tend to spill over into behaviour with siblings

An older child’s positive relationship with parent can mitigate the effects of the child’s difficult temperament on sibling interactions
THE CHILD IN THE PEER GROUP
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Groups form naturally among children who live near one another or go to school together
Common in age and sex as they share interests ~ girls generally more mature than boys, and girls and boys play and talk to one another
differently
Same-sex groups help children learn gender-appropriate behaviours and incorporate gender roles into self-concept
Positive and negative effects of peer relations
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Benefit from doing things with peers: develop skills needed for sociability and intimacy, enhance relationships, gain sense of belonging ~
motivated to achieve and attain sense of identity ~ learn leadership and communication skills, cooperation, roles, and rules
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As children move away from parental influence, peer group opens new perspectives and frees them to make independent judgements
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In comparing themselves with others their age, children can gauge their abilities more realistically and gain clearer self-efficacy
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Peer group helps children learn how to get along in society, offers emotional security, not alone in thoughts that might offend an adult
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Negative: cliques ~ intent on exclusions as well as inclusion – may reinforce prejudice: unfavourable attitude toward members of certain groups
outside one’s own, especially racial or ethnic groups ~ girls were more biased with regard to gender and boys with respect to ethnicity ~ children
with flexible beliefs about people’s ability to change are less likely to hold such stereotyped beliefs

Peers can also foster antisocial tendencies ~ especially preadolescent children who are susceptible to pressure to conform ~ some degree of
conformity to group standards is healthy, when it becomes destructive = unhealthy
Popularity
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Popularity important in middle childhood, children whose peers like them are likely to be well adjusted as adolescents

Those having trouble getting along with peers more likely to develop psychological problems, drop out or become delinquent
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Measured in two ways:
o
Sociometric popularity: asking children which peers they like most and least ~ good cognitive abilities, high achievers, good at solving
problems, help other children, and are assertive without being disruptive or aggressive
o
Perceived popularity: asking children who is best liked by peers ~ dominant, arrogant, aggressive
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Many reasons for unpopularity: aggressive, hyperactive, inattentive, or withdrawn among others ~ some expect not to be liked

Often in family that children acquire behaviours that affect popularity (authoritative more popular)
Friendship

May spend time in groups but only as individuals do they form friendships which is two-way: look for friends alike in age, sex, ethnicity, interests

Friend: child feels affection for, is comfortable with, likes to do things with and shares feelings and secrets with, know well, trust, committed, equal:
Unpopular children also make friends: generally younger, also unpopular, different school etc

Learn to communicate and cooperate, about themselves and others, help each other with stress, learn to resolve conflict, help children feel good
about themselves, also likely children who feel good about themselves have easier time making friends
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Peer rejection and friendlessness in middle childhood may have long-term effects

Children’s concepts of friendship and ways they act with their friends change with age, reflecting cognitive and emotional growth

Children cannot be or have true friends until cognitive maturity achieved to consider other people’s views and needs and their own

School age children distinguish among best friends, good friends, and casual friends on basis of intimacy and time together ~ typically have 3-5
best friends, but usually play with only two at a time

Boys have more friendships, but tend to be less intimate and affectionate
Selman’s Stages of Friendship:
Stage
Stage 0: Momentary playmateship (3 – 7)
Stage 1: One-way assistance (4 – 9)
Stage 2: Two-way fair weather cooperation (6
– 12)
Description
Undifferentiated level, children egocentric, have trouble considering another’s point of view, tend to
think only about what they want from relationship, most young children define friends in terms of
physical closeness (value physical attributes)
Unilateral level, a ‘good-friend’ does what child wants friend to do
Reciprocal level (overlaps stage 1) involves give-and-take but still serves many separate self-interests,
rather than common interests of two friends
Stage 3: Intimate, mutually shared
relationships (9 – 15)
Stage 4: Autonomous interdependence (Start
at 12)
Mutual level, children view friendship as having life of its own – ongoing, systematic, committed
relationship that incorporates more than doing things for each other, friends are more possessive and
demand exclusivity
Interdependent stage, children respect friends’ needs for both dependency and autonomy
Aggression and bullying

Hostile aggression becomes more common than instrumental aggression with age

Overt aggression gives way to relational (social) aggression

Age 9 recognise behaviour such as teasing and spreading rumours as mean ~ realise it stems from anger and aimed at hurting others

Small minority of children do not learn to control physical aggression and tend to remain physically aggressive throughout childhood and have
social and psychological problems ~ not clear whether aggression causes these problems or is a reaction or both

Relationship between aggressiveness and popularity complex: some aggressive or antisocial boys and relationally aggressive girls are among
most popular in classroom ~ suggestions that behaviour shunned by younger children may be seen as cool or glamorous by preadolescents

Highly aggressive children tend to seek out friends like themselves and egg each other on to antisocial acts
Types of aggression and social information processing

Instrumental (proactive) aggressors view force and coercion as effective ways to get what they want: act deliberately, not out of anger (in social
learning terms they are aggressive because they expect reward (reinforcement)

Hostile (reactive) aggression have hostile attribution bias: see other children as trying to hurt them purposefully and strike out in retaliation

Children who seek dominance and control may react aggressively to threats to their status, which may attribute to hostility

Rejected children and those exposed to harsh parenting also tend to have hostile bias

Some people often become hostile toward someone who acts aggressively toward them, hostile bias may become a self-fulfilling prophecy setting
in motion cycle of aggression

Psychological differences between aggressive children and their peers become increasingly marked during middle childhood

Hostile attribution bias and aggressive fantasies become more common between 6-12, so do more constructive responses to conflict

Both instrumental and hostile aggressors need help in altering way they process social information so that do not interpret aggression as either
justified or useful ~ adults help children curb hostile aggression by teaching how to recognise when they are getting angry and how to control
anger

Instrumental aggression tends to stop if it is not rewarded
Does television violence lead to aggression?

Children spend more time consuming entertainment media than on any other activity besides school and sleeping ~ average 4 hours a day or
more

Causal relationship between watching violent TV and acting aggressively in childhood, adolescence and adulthood

Media violence produces immediate aggressiveness by stimulating pre-existing aggressive thinking and aggressive behaviour patterns, increasing
physiological arousal, and triggering imitation of observed behaviours

Children more vulnerable than adults to influence of TV violence

Classical social learning: children imitate filmed models more than live ones ~ influence stronger if believes violence is real, identifies with violent
character, finds that character attractive, and watches without parental supervision or intervention ~ children may absorb values depicted on
screen and come to view aggression as acceptable, become less sensitive to pain it causes, learn to take violence for granted and be less likely to
intervene when they see it

Highly aggressive children more strongly affected by media violence than less aggressive children

Long-term influence of it is greater in middle childhood than at earlier ages

Media induced aggressiveness can be reduced by cutting down on TV and parental monitoring and guidance of shows
Bullies and victims

Proactive aggression becomes bullying when deliberately and persistently directed against particular target: typically weak, vulnerable,
defenceless

Patterns of bullying and victimisation may become established as early as kindergarten: as tentative peer groups form, aggressors soon know
which children make easiest marks

Bullying and aggression increase through the transition to middle school and then decline ~ temporary rise: difficulty children have forming social
networks at a new school

Boys particularly use bullying as a way to establish dominance during transition

Likelihood being bullied decreases steadily: as children get older, learn to discourage bullying leaving less pool of available victims

However children highly sensitive to relational aggression tend to be victimised again and again

Victims: anxious, submissive and cry easily or argumentative and provocative ~ tend to have few friends and live in harsh, punitive family
environments that leave them vulnerable to further punishment or rejection; they have low self-esteem (not clear if result from/cause of
victimisation) ~ may develop behaviour problems, such as hyperactivity, and may become more aggressive themselves

Intervention programme: authoritative atmosphere created, better supervision at recess and lunch time, rules against bullying, and serious talks
with bullies, victims, and parents
MENTAL HEALTH
Stress and resilience

Stress that becomes overwhelming, can lead to psychological problems ~ may have long-term affects on physical and psychological well-being
Stresses of modern life

Elkind: today’s child =’hurried-child’ ~ warns pressures of modern life are forcing children to grow up too soon: expected to succeed in school, to
compete in sports, and sometimes to meet parent’s emotional needs ~ children exposed to adult problems on TV and in real life before they have
mastered the problems of childhood ~ know about sex and violence, shoulder adult responsibilities , move frequently and have to change schools
and leave old friends

Tightly scheduled pace of life also can be stressful: they are not small adults

Given how much stress children are exposed to, anxiety in childhood has increased greatly: fears of danger and death most consistent fears of
children all ages

Poor children more fearful ~ surrounded by constant violence: have trouble concentrating and sleeping and some become aggressive or take
brutality for granted
Coping with stress: The resilient child

Resilient children: weather adverse circumstances, function well despite challenges or threats, bounce back from traumatic events ~ do not
possess extraordinary qualities

Protective factors: influences that reduce impact of early stress and tend to predict positive outcomes ~ good family relationships and cognitive
functioning help children and adolescents overcome stress and contribute to resilience

Other frequently cited protective factors include:
o
The child’s temperament or personality: resilient children adaptable, friendly, well liked, independent and sensitive to others; competent and
have high self-esteem; creative, resourceful, independent and pleasant to be with; under stress they can regulate emotions by shifting
attention to something else
o
Compensating experiences: supportive school environment or successful experiences in studies, sports, or music or with other children or
adults can help make up for a destructive home life
o
Reduced risk: children who have been expose to only one of a number of factors for psychiatric disorder (parental discord, low social status,
disturbed mother or criminal father, and experience in foster care or institution) often better able to overcome stress than children who have
been exposed to more than one risk factor
Characteristics of Resilient Children and Adolescents:
Source
Characteristic
Individual
o
Good intellectual functioning
o
Appealing, sociable, easygoing disposition
o
Self-efficacy, self-confidence, high self-esteem
o
Talents
o
Faith
Family
o
Close relationship to caring parent figure
o
Authoritative parenting: warmth, structure, high expectations
o
Socioeconomic advantages
o
Connections to extended supportive family networks
Extrafamilial context o
Bonds to prosocial adults outside the family
o
Connections to prosocial organisations
o
Attending effective schools