Social Contexts and
Socioemotional Development
© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Social Contexts and
Socioemotional Development
Contemporary
Theories
Bronfenbrenner’s
Ecological
Theory
Erikson’s
Life-Span
Development Theory
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Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological
Theory
Bronfenbrenner’s theory focuses on the social contexts in which people live and the people who influence their development.
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Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological
Theory cont’d
Microsystem: direct interactions with parents, teachers, peers, and others
Mesosystem: linkages between microsystems such as family and school, and relationships between students and peers
Exosystem: experiences in settings in which a child does not have an active role influence the child’s experiences
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Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological
Theory cont’d
Macrosystem: the broader culture in which students and teachers live.
Chronosystem: the sociohistorical conditions of a student’s development.
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Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory
Theory into Practice
Sid’s father left his family years ago and provides no support for them. Sid and his three siblings live with their mother in a public housing project for low-income families. They receive public assistance in the form of reduced rent, money to live on, and participation in a food program. Sid and his siblings receive free school lunches, and do not have to pay the standard book rental fee. In addition, they receive free medical care when ill or injured, but Sid’s mother considers the care they receive to be substandard. Recently, she contacted legal aid about obtaining child support from her children’s father
Q.1: What aspects of Sid’s microsystem are discussed in the example? Explain.
Q.2: What aspects of Sid’s exosystem are discussed in the example? Explain.
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Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory
Theory into Practice
Sid’s father left them years ago and provides no support for the family. Sid and his three siblings live with their mother in a public housing project for low-income families. They receive public assistance in the form of reduced rent, money to live on, and participate in a food program. Sid and his siblings receive free school lunches, and do not have to pay the standard book rental fee. In addition, they receive free medical care when ill or injured, but Sid’s mother considers the care they receive to be substandard. Recently, she contacted legal aid about obtaining child support from her children’s father.
Q.3: How is the mesosystem currently operating for
Sid? Explain.
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Bronfenbrenner’s Theory in the
Classroom
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Think about children embedded in several environmental systems and influences
Attend to connections between school and families
Recognize the importance of community, culture, and socioeconomic status
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Erikson’s Life-Span Development
Theory

Development proceeds in stages

Each stage is characterized by a psychosocial challenge or crisis

Stages reflect the motivation of the individual
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Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Human
Development
8 - Integrity vs. despair
7 - Generativity vs. stagnation
6 - Intimacy vs. isolation
5 - Identity vs. identity confusion
4 - Industry vs. inferiority
3 - Initiative vs. guilt
2 - Autonomy vs. shame and doubt
1 - Trust vs. mistrust
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Erikson’s Human Development
Stages
1 - Trust vs. Mistrust
0 – 1 years
2 - Autonomy vs.
Shame and Doubt
1 –3 years
3 - Initiative vs. Guilt
3 –5 years
Developed through consistent love and support
Independence fostered by support and encouragement
Developed by exploring and accepting challenges
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Erikson’s Human Development
Stages
4 - Industry vs.
Inferiority
6 years –puberty
5 - Identity vs. Role
Confusion
Adolescence
Mastery comes from success and recognition
Exploration of different paths to attain a healthy identity
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Marcia’s Four Statuses of Identity
Identity Diffusion
Identity Foreclosure
Identity Moratorium
Identity Achievement
Adolescents have not yet explored meaningful alternatives or made commitments
Adolescents have made a commitment without exploring alternatives
Alternatives have been explored but commitments are absent
Alternatives have been explored and commitments have been made
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Marcia’s Four Statuses of Identity
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 Isaac, an adolescent, enjoys music and has always done well in math and science. He has explored career options in music, math, and science. As a result of reading, talking with counselors, and meeting with people employed in each field, Isaac has decided to pursue a career in statistics. Which identity status best fits Isaac?
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 Marsha has spent very little time thinking about career options, but she knows that she wants to be an electrical engineer, just like her mother and father. Her school counselor is concerned because Marsha shows little interest in math and science.
However, her parents are very proud. They assume that Marsha will begin to enjoy math and science once she gets to college. Which identity status best describes Marsha?
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 Benjamin is a high school student who enjoys art classes more than any other classes. He also loves photography. He would like to pursue a career doing something creative. He would also like to work with people. He has thought about becoming an art teacher, photographer, or art historian. He is still thinking about his career, but has not made a final decision.
Which identity status best describes
Benjamin?
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Erikson’s Human Development
Stages
6 - Intimacy vs.
Isolation
Early adult years
7 - Generativity vs.
Stagnation
Middle Adulthood
8 - Integrity vs. Despair
Late Adulthood
Form positive, close relationships with others
Transmitting something positive to the next generation
Life review and retrospective evaluation of one’s past
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Erikson’s Human Development
Stages
 Erika is experiencing some indecision.
She has to choose what college to attend, whether to go away from home, what career to choose, and whether to room with someone she knows. According to Erikson’s lifestage development theory, in what stage is Erika?
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Erikson’s Human Development
Stages
 Andrea created a picture of an aquarium, which she plans to give to her teacher to hang in the classroom. Andrea was very excited at the idea that her teacher would hang up her picture on the wall, especially because the reason Andrea had made it was to show her teacher she could draw all sorts of fish from memory. In which of
Erikson’s stages do children realize that they can obtain the recognition of teachers and parents by producing things?
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Erikson’s Human Development
Stages

Chase’s mom thinks it’s better to let her infant son cry for a while before attending to his needs so that he does not get spoiled. According to Erikson’s theory, if an infant thinks that his needs may or may not be met, s/he will likely develop which trait?
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
According to Erikson’s life-span development theory, if a toddler is punished harshly or restrained severely, he or she will likely develop which trait?
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
During which of Erikson’s stages is a person expected to focus his or her efforts on transmitting something positive to the next generation?
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Social Contexts and
Socioemotional Development
Social Contexts of Development
Families Peers Schools
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Neglectful
Parents are permissive and uninvolved . Children have poor self-control and low achievement motivation.
Authoritarian
Parents place firm limits and controls on children.
C hildren tend to be socially incompetent with poor communication skills .
Indulgent
Parents are highly involved but set few restrictions . Children have poor self-control.
Authoritative
Parents are nurturing and supportive . Children are self-reliant, get along with peers, and have high self-esteem.
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Ethnic and Socioeconomic Variations in Families
Minority students
- Families tend to be larger; depend more on the extended family for support
- Single parents are more common
- Less educated; lower income
Low-income parents
- Tend to value external characteristics such as obedience and neatness
See education as the teachers’ job
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Ethnic and Socioeconomic Variations in Families
 Middle-class families
 - Often place high value on internal characteristics such as self-control and delayed gratification
 - See education as a mutual responsibility
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Provide assistance to families
Include families as participants in school decisions
Communicate effectively with families about school programs and their child’s progress
Encourage parents to be volunteers
Involve families with their children in learning activities at home
Coordinate community collaboration
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Research shows that family involvement greatly influences student attitudes, attendance, and academic achievement.
What are some different ways in which you could involve families in your classroom?
What are some of the challenges to involving families and how can you overcome these?
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 Name nomination
List the names of three students you like:
1.____________________________
2.____________________________
3.____________________________
List the names of three students you dislike:
1.____________________________
2.____________________________
3.____________________________
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 Likert scale
How much do you like each classmate below?
Aimee
Brent
Cathy
Evan
…
Zoe
Dislike 1 2 3 4 5 Like
Dislike 1 2 3 4 5 Like
Dislike 1 2 3 4 5 Like
Dislike 1 2 3 4 5 Like
Dislike 1 2 3 4 5 Like
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Peer Statuses
Popular
Listen carefully, act like themselves, show enthusiasm, are happy
Neglected
Infrequently
“best friend,” are not disliked
Rejected
Seldom
“best friend,” often disliked
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Peer Statuses
Average
Receive both positive and negative peer nominations
Controversial
Frequently
“best friend,” often disliked
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The eighth-grade class at Jefferson Middle
School is an especially troublesome one.
Students are sharply divided into two groups, the “popular” ones and the
“unpopular” ones. The popular students have little time or tolerance for their lowstatus peers, and a few of them frequently pick on a small, friendless boy named Peter.
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When things get so bad that the faculty considers canceling the annual eighth-grade musical, music teacher Mr. Hughes suggests that “the show must go on” but perhaps not in the usual way. Rather than holding tryouts and selecting only a handful of students as cast members, he proposes that the school have the entire eighth-grade class participate in some way, either in the cast or in scenery construction, costume design, or lighting.
“Perhaps a group project will pull the class together,” he explains. Many of the other teachers are skeptical, but everyone agrees to support Mr.
Hughes’s project.
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Throughout March and April, all 92 members of the eighth-grade class and many of the teachers work on a production of the musical You’re a Good Man,
Charlie Brown.
The sheer ambitiousness of the project and the fact that the class’s efforts will be on public display on opening night instill a cohesiveness and class “spirit” that the faculty hasn’t seen before. Peter, playing Snoopy, surprises everyone with his talent, and on opening night his classmates give him rave reviews: “Did you see Peter? He was amazing.” “I had no idea he was so good.” “He was totally cool.”
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

Middle school students often divide themselves into different social groups, with some groups having higher social status than others. Why might social groups be so important for young adolescents? Are they beneficial or harmful?
What benefits might the all-class school play have? Why does it pull the class together?
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Reflect: What is a friend?
Benefits of
Friendships
 Companionship


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Physical support
Ego support
Intimacy/affection
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Dimension of Friendship
Age of child/adolescent
Changes in how time is spent together
They “play” with their friends.
Preschoolaged children
Elementary school aged children
Adolescents in middle school and later
They play with their friends and also begin to spend time talking.
More and more, friends spend time talking or engaged in joint activities such as going shopping together.
Changes in understanding of reciprocity
Children “share” toys or play complementary roles while playing
(e.g., shopkeeper and customer).
Friends don’t boss each other around
Children value loyalty and being able to trust their friends. There is an expectation of roughly equal power in the relationship.
Adolescents expect friends to sympathize with them, to support their identity, and to make self-disclosures.
They become more aware of the give and take needed to sustain relationships.
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Instant messenger
Email
Blogging
Entries on websites such as Face
Book
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Provide social support
Ease difficult school transitions
Enhance later self-esteem
Prepare individuals for romantic relationships later in life
Help students learn social problem solving skills
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Social Contexts and
Socioemotional Development
Socioemotional
Development
The Self
Moral
Development
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Social Contexts and
Socioemotional Development
Social Cognition
Self-
Understanding
Other-
Understanding
Social
Knowledge
Self-Control
Role and Perspective
Taking
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Self-concept is a cognitive appraisal of our social, physical, and academic competence ( measures of such things are our skill in various subject areas, our assessment of our appearance, and the skill we have in peer relationships ).
Academic Social Cognitive Physical
Self-esteem is the affective or emotional reaction to one’s self-concept ( reflects a person’s overall confidence and satisfaction ).
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 William James
 Competencies/value
 James Cooley

“Looking Glass Self”
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Improving Children’s Self-Esteem
Encourage and facilitate

Competence in areas students find important

Improvement of academic skills through the use of professional tutors, parent volunteers, and peer tutors

Emotional support and social approval by parents, friends, and peers

Social skills that promote positive peer relationships

Coping skills to face the day-to-day problems as they appear
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Initial
Stages
Early
Childhood
Stage
Middle
Childhood
Stage
Adolescent
Stage
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 A police officer works in a state that has a law requiring mandatory life in prison for anyone who commits a third felony. The police officer apprehends a 44-year-old father who hit another father in the face at his son’s youth soccer game. The man’s previous two felonies had been committed twenty years before. If the police officer arrests the man, he will be put in prison for life. What should she do?
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Piaget’s Theory of Moral
Development
Heteronomous morality age 4 –7
 Rules are unchangeable properties of the world
Immanent justice
Objective responsibility
Autonomous morality age 7 –10
 Laws are created by people, and intention and consequences should be considered
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Piaget’s Theory of Moral Development
Theory into Practice
Alex accidentally trips and falls while carrying the classroom globe. It breaks when he falls on top of it.
He is certain that he will be punished for this, in spite of the fact that he was doing nothing wrong when the accident occurred.
Q: Based on the information above, at which of Piaget’s stages of moral development is Alex? Explain.
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

A woman was near death from cancer and needed a miracle drug to save her life. A druggist in the town had discovered a drug that worked on this particular form of cancer but was charging an outrageous price for it – ten times what it cost. The woman’s husband, Heinz, didn’t have the necessary money and could borrow only about half of it. He returned to the druggist to give him the money he had collected and promised to pay the rest later. The druggist refused. Later that night, a desperate Heinz broke into the drug store and stole the drug.
Should he have broken the law? Why? Why not?
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Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral
Development


Preconventional
Conventional
 Postconventional
 Moral reasoning is controlled by external rewards and punishments
 Internal standards are imposed by others
 Morality is internal, not based on external standards
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Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral
Development Theory into Practice
 A woman was near death from cancer and needed a miracle drug to save her life. A druggist in the town had discovered a drug that worked on this particular form of cancer but was charging an outrageous price for it – ten times what it cost. The woman’s husband, Heinz, didn’t have the necessary money and could borrow only about half of it. He returned to the druggist to give him the money he had collected and promised to pay the rest later. The druggist refused. Later that night, a desperate Heinz broke into the drug store and stole the drug.
© 2008 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral
Development Theory into Practice
“I think that the man shouldn’t get the medicine for his wife because if he gets caught, he could get in trouble and maybe go to jail for the rest of his life! Even though he loves his wife, he knows it would be bad if he went to jail forever and that could happen if he steals the medicine.
So, he shouldn’t steal it.”
Q: At which of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development is this adolescent functioning?
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Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral
Development Theory into Practice
“I’d have to say that Heinz should steal the drug for his wife. He loves his wife and the argument can be made that it is his responsibility to take care of his wife and to try to save her from death. What the druggist is doing is completely wrong. Even though you could argue that it’s important to obey the law, in this case the right thing to do is to steal the drug. It’s immoral to just let someone die when a few thousand dollars could save her.
Q: At which of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development is thyis adolescent functioning?
Explain.
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Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral
Development Theory into Practice
“Even though it is a sad situation for Heinz, I still don’t think it’s right for him to steal the drug. If we let Heinz morally get away with stealing the drug, then there really isn’t any end to it. We’d have to let everyone who knew someone who was sick but could not afford a drug steal the drug and then we would really have ourselves a mess.”
Q: At which of Kohlberg’s stages of moral development is this adolescent functioning?
Explain.
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
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Universality
Stages invariant?
Moral reasoning vs. moral behavior
Used males
 Carol Gilligan
Before age 10?
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 William Damon



Level 0 (birth – 5)
Level 1 (5 – 6)
Level 2 (6 – 7)
 Level 3 (8+)
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1. Hidden Curriculum
School personnel serve as models of ethical behavior.
Classroom rules and peer relationships transmit positive attitudes to students.
2. Character Education
Schools take a direct approach to teaching moral literacy and design an environment that rewards proper behavior.
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3. Values Clarification
Schools design programs that allow students to clarify their own values and understand the values of others.
4. Cognitive Moral Education
Schools base programs on the belief that students should learn to value things like democracy and justice as moral reasoning develops.
5. Service Learning
Schools encourage students to be involved in the community by becoming a tutor, helping the elderly, volunteering in hospitals or day care, etc.
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