Chapter 10: The Play Years
Psychosocial Development
Dr. M. Davis-Brantley
Emotional Development
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Initiative vs. Guilt—the stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development in
which the child eagerly begins new projects and activities and feels guilt
when her/his efforts result in failure or criticism
– During the Play Years, a child’s self-esteem emerges from the skills and
competencies the child has developed
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Self-concept is people’s understanding of who they are. Self-concept
includes appearance, personality, and abilities
Children are extremely optimistic about their abilities and their play
becomes extremely goal-directed
During this time attention span becomes longer and children want to
complete tasks
Self-confidence is dominant and children believe that they have the
ability to take on challenges; however the child experience guilt if they
fail
Emotional Regulation
• Emotional Regulation is the ability, beginning in early childhood,
to direct or modify one’s feelings, particularly feelings of fear,
frustration, and anger
• Children before age 5 have difficulty managing their frustrations
and modulating emotional expression. By age 5 they are able to
regulate their emotions and maintain some form of impulse
control
• When children do not have adequate impulse control they can
respond in 2 ways
– Externalizing Problems in which the child has a tendency to
externalize emotions and experience the emotions outside the self, in
that they lash out in impulsive anger and attack other people or
things
– Internalizing Problems in which the child has the tendency to
internalize emotions and inhibit their expression, being fearful and
withdrawn
Genetics and Nurture Roles
& Emotional Regulation
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As stated earlier, specific aspects of the brain influence the development of
emotional regulation; however emotional regulation is highly socialized
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Children learn to regulate their own emotions through social awareness
Cultures and parents highly dictate which emotions need expression or suppression
Development is influenced upon by 1. Neurological maturation 2. Sociocultural Practices
and 3. Individual Differences (temperament)
Cognitions and Emotions
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Emotional Intelligence is the term for understanding of how to interpret and express
emotions
Development of Emotional Intelligence is crucial during this time because the reflective
and intellectual areas of the cortex are forming and gradually come to govern feeling of
fear, anger, and passion
Researchers suggest that parents use children’s natural attachment to teach them how
and when to express emotions
If children learn these lessons, they become balanced and empathic human beings
Empathy and Antipathy
• Empathy is a person’s true understanding of the emotions of
another, including the ability to figure out what would make a
person feel better
• Antipathy is a person’s feelings of anger, distrust, dislike, or even
hatred toward another
• Empathy often leads to prosocial behaviors which include
behaving in ways that help others without obvious benefit to
oneself
– Ex: include expressing empathy, offering to share food or toy,
including a shy child in a game
• Antipathy can lead to antisocial behaviors in which the child acts
in ways that are deliberately hurtful or destructive
– Ex: include verbal insults, social exclusion, and physical assaults
– By age 4 or 5 most children can act in prosocial or antisocial ways
Sharing and Aggression
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Sharing does not simply involve a child being forced to give another child a
toy; instead this act involves prosocial behaviors and empathy
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Parents should encourage empathic behaviors by encouraging mutuality
Ex: Japanese mothers (We are having a hard time with this puzzle) vs. US mothers
emphasizing independence (You are having a hard time with the puzzle)
Aggression is common and must be regulated in children during early
childhood or aggression can cause problems later on in adulthood
Types of Aggression include:
1.
Instrumental aggression
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2.
Reactive aggression
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3.
Forceful behavior that is an angry retaliation for another’s action
Relational aggression
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Forceful behavior is aimed at getting or keeping something (Ex: toy)
Forceful behavior that takes the form of insults or social rejection and is aimed at
harming the social connection between the aggressor and another person
Bullying aggression
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Forceful behavior that takes the form of an unprovoked physical or verbal attack on
another person, especially one who is unlikely to defend oneself
Social Skills
• Children learn social skills through a variety of means
– Peers—are people who are about the same age and status of
oneself
– Active play also helps children to learn social skills
• Play teaches children how to enter a relationship, assert themselves, and
respond to the actions of another
• Rough-and-tumble play is universal and requires both provocation and
self-control and is regulated
– Imaginative Play
• Children develop a strong self-concept through interactions with others
• Sociodramatic Play—pretend play in which children act out various
roles and themes in stories that they create themselves
– They learn the social skills by: explore social roles being enacted around them
(Playing house), testing their own ability to explain and convince others of
their ideas, regulate their emotions through imagination (as they pretend to be
strong or afraid), develop a self-concept in a non-threatening context by taking
the part of a brave soldier, a happy mother, etc..
Parenting Styles/Patterns
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Parenting Style has a significant influence on child’s development
Research on parenting style was initiated by Diana Baumrind (1967)
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Authoritarian Parenting—include parents who believe their word is law,
not to be questioned. Children are to be seen and not heard. Misbehavior
is rewarded with strict punishment (physical). Expectations are explained
to the child but the child is not to interact with the communication. Parentchild communication is low. These parents are not overly showy with
affection.
Permissive Parenting—includes parents who are very lasidasical with
punishment and rule-setting. These parents seldom punish, guide, or
control their children. They believe in being the child’s friend more so than
a parent. They are very nurturing and accepting.
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3.
Permissive-indifferent
Permissive-indulgent
Authoritative Parenting—includes parents who set limits and provide
guidance for their children but are willing to listen to the child’s ideas and
make compromises. Parent-child communication is very high. They see
their children as mature and able to make decisions and expect them to do
so.
Parenting Styles Continued
• Research about the parenting styles suggests
– Authoritarian parents raise children who are likely to be
conscientious, obedient, and quiet; however, the
children are not necessarily happy. The more likely to
feel guilty, internalize their frustrations, blame
themselves, and may rebel later on
– Permissive parents raise children who are likely to be
even less happy and lack self-control, especially in
relationships. They may possess inadequate emotional
regulation, which makes them immature
– Authoritative parents raise children who are likely to be
successful, articulate, intelligent, happy, and generous.
Punishment
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Techniques of Discipline
– Culturally, many differences in types of discipline where Japanese mothers
use reasoning, empathy, and expressions of disappointment more so than
North American mothers
– Time-out is a disciplinary technique in which the child is required to stop all
activity and sit in a corner or stay indoors for minutes
– Withdrawal of privilege such as going out or watching TV
– Withdrawal of affection such as an expression of disappointment
• These techniques have many consequences that are unintended so the parent must
choose punishments for the child accordingly
• Talking is very important to help the child to understand and learn about why they
are being punishments and to teach acceptable behavior in the future
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Spanking—many conflicting feelings. Many do it because the child is “old
enough to know better” but “Not old enough to listen to reason”
– Although spanking has not been found to be completely destructive
researchers assert, “Why take the chance?” because physical punishment
tends to increase antisocial behavior and only temporarily increases
obedience.
– If the punishment is harsh, with frequent spanking and yelling, it is likely to
Children and Media
Sources
• How much TV and video games is too much?
• Violence in the media
• Aggression and the media: What are the children learning by
watching TV?
– Often see “good guys” using violence to get what they want and the
consequences are justified or made comic.
– All good guys are male, white.
– Often women are portrayed as helpless and in need of saving