Module 10. Chapter 10. Emotional and Social Development in Early Childhood.

Uninvolved child-rearing style

A child-rearing style that combines low acceptance and involvement with little control and indifference to autonomy granting.

Authoritative child-rearing style

A child-rearing style that is high in acceptance and involvement, emphasizes firm control with explanations, and includes gradual, appropriate autonomy granting.

Permissive child-rearing style

A child-rearing style that is high in acceptance but either overindulging or inattentive, low in control, and inappropriately lenient in autonomy granting.

Authoritarian child-rearing style

A child-rearing style that is low in acceptance and involvement, is high in coercive control, and restricts rather than grants autonomy.

Relational aggression

A form of hostile aggression that damages another's peer relationships through social exclusion, malicious gossip, or friendship manipulation.

Physical aggression

A form of hostile aggression that harms others through physical injury to individuals or their property?

Verbal aggression

A form of hostile aggression that harms others through threats of physical aggression, name-calling, or hostile teasing.

Time out

A form of mild punishment in which children are removed from the immediate setting until they are ready to act appropriately.

Associative play

A form of true social interaction, in which children engage in separate activities but interact by exchanging toys and commenting on one another's behavior.

Parallel play

A limited form of social participation in which a child play near other children with similar materials but does not try to influence their behavior.

Induction

A type of discipline in which an adult helps make the child aware of feelings by pointing out the effects of the child's misbehavior on others.

Cooperative play

A type of social interaction in which children orient toward a common goal, such as acting out a make-believe theme or working on a project together.

Prosocial, or altruistic, behavior

Actions that benefit another person without any expected reward for the self.

Instrumental aggression

Aggression aimed at obtaining an object, privilege, or space, with a deliberate intent to harm another person.

Hostile aggression

Aggression intended to harm another person.

Describe and evaluate major theories that explain the emergence of gender identity.

Although most people have a traditional gender identity, some are androgynynous, combining both masculine and feminine characteristics. Compared to a feminine identity, masculine and androgynous identities are linked to better psychological adjustment. According to social learning theory, preschoolers first acquire gender-typed responses through modeling and reinforcement, then organize these into gender-linked ideas about themselves. Cognitive-developmental theory suggests that gender constancy must be mastered before children develop gender-typed behavior. However, gender-role behavior is acquired long before gender constancy. Gender schema theory is an information-processing approach to gender typing that combines social learning and cognitive-developmental features to explain how gender role development occurs through the joint effects of environmental pressures and children's cognitions. As children acquire gender-stereotyped preferences and behaviors, they form masculine and feminine categories, or gender schemas, that they apply to themselves and their world.

Gender identity

An image of oneself as relatively masculine or feminine in characteristics.

Gender schema theory

An information-processing approach to gender typing that explains how environmental pressures and children's cognitions work together to shape gender-role development.

Gender typing

Any association of objects, activities, roles, or traits with one sex or the other in ways that conform to cultural stereotypes.

Describe preschoolers' self-concepts and the development of autobiographical memory and self-esteem.

As children gain self-awareness during the first two years, two aspects of the self develop: the I-self, or active observer, and the me-self, or self as object of knowledge and evaluation, from which children develop a self-concept. Preschoolers' self-concepts consist largely of observable characteristics and typical emotions and attitudes. Their increasing self-awareness underlies struggles with other children over objects as well as first efforts to cooperate. Adult-child conversations about the past contribute to the development of autobiographical memory, a coherent narrative about the past. Gradually, children develop a sense of the I-self as existing continuously in time. During early childhood, self-esteem differentiates into several self-judgments. Preschoolers high self-esteem contributes to their mastery oriented approach to the environment. Excessive adult criticism can undermine children's enthusiasm for learning and persistance at challenging tasks.

Discuss the multiple origins of child maltreatment, its consequences for development, and prevention strategies.

Child maltreatment is related to factors within the family, community, and larger culture. Maltreating parents use ineffective discipline and hold a negatively biased view of their child. Unmanageable parental stress and social isolation greatly increase the chances that abuse and neglect will occur. When a society approves of force and violence as a means for solving problems, child abuse is promoted. Maltreated children are impaired in emotional self-regulation, empathy and sympathy, self-concept, social skills, and academic motivation. They are also likely to suffer central nervous system damage, which increases the chances that adjustment problems will endure. Successful prevention of child maltreatment requires efforts at the family, community, and societal levels.

Child-rearing styles

Combinations of parenting behaviors that occur over a wide range of situations, creating an enduring (continuing or long-lasting) child-rearing climate.

Matters of personal choice

Concerns that do not violate rights and are up to each individual, such as choice of friends and color of clothing.

Social conventions

Customs such as table manners that are determined by consensus within a society.

Describe peer sociability, friendship and social problem solving in early childhood, along with cultural and parental influences on early peer relations.

During early childhood peer interaction increases as children move from nonsocial activity to parallel play and then to associative and cooperative play. But as associative and cooperative play increase, both solitary and parallel play remain common. Gains in sociodramatic play affect many of emotional and social development and are especially important in societies where child and adult worlds are distinct. In collectivist societies, play generally occurs in large groups and is highly cooperative. Preschoolers view friendship in concrete activity-based terms. Their interactions with friends are especially positive and cooperative and serve as effective sources of social support as they enter kindergarten. Conflicts with peers offer children occasions for social problem solving, which improves over the preschool and early school years. By kindergarten to second grade, each of its information-processing components is related to socially competent behavior. Training in social problem solving improves peer relations and psychological adjustment. Parents influence early peer relations both directly, through attempts to influence their child's peer relations, and indirectly through their child-rearing practices. Secure attachment, emotionally positive parent-child conversations, and cooperative parent-child play are linked to favorable peer interaction.

Describe the development of aggression in early childhood, including family and media influences.

During early childhood, instrumental aggression declines while hostile aggression increases. Hostile aggression includes physical aggression (more common in boys), verbal aggression and relational aggression. Ineffective discipline and a conflict-ridden family atmosphere promote and sustain children's aggression. Media violence also triggers aggression. Young children's limited understanding of TV content increases their willingness to uncritically accept and imitate what they see. Teaching parents effective child-rearing practices, providing children with social problem-solving training, intervening in marital problems, and shielding children from violent media reduce aggressive behavior.

Sympathy

Feelings of concern or sorrow for another's plight (a dangerous, difficult, or otherwise unfortunate situation).

Discuss genetic and environmental influences on preschoolers gender-stereotyped beliefs and behavior.

Gender typing is well under way in early childhood. Preschoolers acquire a wide range of gender-stereotyped beliefs, which operate as blanket rules rather than flexible guidelines for behavior. Prenatal hormones contribute to boys' higher activity level and rowdier play, and to children's preference for same-sex playmates At the same time, parents, same-sex older siblings, teachers, peers, and the broader social environment encourage many gender-typed responses. Parents apply more pressure for gender-role conformity to sons, and boys are more gender-typed than girls.

Social problem solving

Generating and applying strategies that prevent or resolve disagreements, leading to outcomes that are both acceptable to others and beneficial to the self.

Initiative versus guilt

In Erikson's theory, the psychological conflict of early childhood, which is resolved positively through play experiences that foster a healthy sense of initiative and through the development of superego, or conscience, that us not overly strict and/or guilt-ridden.

Psychological control

Parental behaviors that intrude on and manipulate children's verbal expression, individuality, and attachments to parents.

What personality changes take place during Erikson's stage of initiative versus guilt?

Preschoolers develop a new sense of purposefulness as they grapple with Erikson's psychological conflict of initiative versus guilt. A healthy sense of initiative depends on exploring the social world through play and experiencing supportive child rearing that fosters a secure but not overly strict) conscience.

Identify changes in understanding and expressing emotion during early childhood, citing factors that influence those changes.

Preschoolers have an impressive understanding of the causes, consequences, and behavioral signs of basic emotions, which is supported by cognitive development, secure attachment. and conversations about feelings. By age 3 to 4 children are aware of various strategies for emotional self-regulation. Temperament, parental modeling, and parental communication about coping strategies influence preschoolers capacity to handle negative emotion. As their self-concepts become better developed, preschoolers experience self-conscious emotions more often. However, they depend on parental feedback to know when to feel pride, shame, or guilt. Empathy also becomes more common in early childhood. The extent to which empathy leads to sympathy and results in prosocial, or altruistic, behavior depends on temperament and parenting.

Moral imperatives

Standards that protect people's rights and welfare.

Androgyny

The gender identity held by individuals who score high on both traditionally masculine and traditionally feminine personality characteristics.

Self-esteem

The judgments individuals make about their own worth and the feelings associated with those judgments.

What are the central features of psychoanalytic, social learning and cognitive-developmental approaches to moral development?

The psychoanalytic perspective emphasizes the emotional side of moral development. Although Freud was correct that guilt is an important motivator of moral action, contrary to his theory, discipline that promotes fear of punishment and loss of parental love does not foster conscience development. Induction is far more effective in encouraging self-control and prosocial behavior. Social learning theory focuses on how moral behavior is learned through reinforcement and modeling. Effective adult models of morality are warm and powerful, and they practice what they preach. Frequent harsh punishment does not promote moral internation. and socially desirable behavior. Alternatives, such as timeout and withdrawal of privileges, can help parents avoid the undesirable side effects of punishment. When parents do use punishment, they can increase its effectiveness by being consistent, maintaining a warm relationship with the child, and offering explanations. The most effective discipline encourages good conduct by building mutually respectful bond with the child. The cognitive - developmental perspective views children as active thinkers about social rules. By age 4, children consider intentions in making moral judgments and distinguish truthfulness from lying. Preschoolers also distinguish moral imperatives from social conventions and matters of personal choice. But they tend to reason rigidly about morality, focusing on salient features and consequences and neglecting other important information. Through sibling and peer interaction, children work out their first ideas about justice and fairness. Parents who discuss moral issues with their children help them reason about morality.

Me-self

The self as an object of knowledge and evaluation, consisting of all physical, psychological, and social characteristics that make the self unique.

I-self

The self as knower and actor, which is separate from the surrounding world, remains the same person over time, has a private inner life not accessible to others, and can control its own thoughts and actions.

Self-concept

The set of attributes, abilities, attitudes, and values that an individual believes defines who he or she is.

Gender constancy

The understanding that sex is biologically based, remaining the same over time even if clothing, hairstyle, and play activities change.

Describe the impact of child-rearing styles on children's development, and explain why authoritative parenting is effective.

Three features distinguish the major child-rearing styles: (1) acceptance and involvement, (2) control, and (3) autonomy granting. Compared with the authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved styles, the authoritative style promotes cognitive, emotional, and social competence. Warmth, explanations, and reasonable demands for mature behavior account for the effectiveness of the authoritative style. Psychological control is associated with authoritarian parenting and contributes to adjustment problems. Certain ethnic groups. including Chinese, Hispanic, Asian Pacific Island, and African-American, combine parental warmth with high levels of control. But when control becomes harsh and excessive, it impairs academic and social competence.

Nonsocial activity

Unoccupied, onlooker behavior and solitary play.