Chapter 6
physically active parents
Physically active or inactive parents have children with better motor skills
false - they are different
T/F - being popular and being personally liked are the same thing
false - being sensitive to another person's emotional pain may not result in acting in prosocial behavior
T/F - being sensitive to another person's emotional pain always results in acting in prosocial behavior
False - they escalated dramatically in the 80s, but they have declined since 2012, particularly in preschool children
T/F - childhood obesity is increasing
sometimes ;P highly physically aggressive children are at risk for getting into trouble at home, in school, and with the law.
T/F - childhood rejection is a prelude to poor adult mental health
False unfortunately :(
T/F - children become more prosocial with age
false - the tendency to be overweight is epigenetically programmed.
T/F - children become obese because they eat excessively and don't exercise
true - particularly the relational kind
T/F - proactive aggression helps children climb the social ranks
false - they are apt to backfire and cause parental stress and stigma among children
T/F - school-based anti-obesity programs that measure children's BMI and inform families about this condition are effective
true :O
T/F - teenage boys were just as aggressive as teenage girls
false - the correlation between physical coordination and fitness/aerobic exercise DECREASES as children travel into their teens
T/F - the correlation between physical coordination and fitness/aerobic exercise increases as children travel into their teens
false - the level of guilt, NOT the intensity of anger
T/F - the intensity of anger best predicted that person's tendency to hold off from impulsively lashing out
false - they are less proficient physically than children of the past. Average scores on standard motor-skill tests are lower today than in previous cohorts
T/F - today's elementary school children are more proficient physically than in the past
psychological problems
being friendless during childhood predicts psychological strength/problems as young adults
genetic causes (according to twin studies), prenatal maternal smoking, being born premature, delayed maturation of the frontal lobe, lower brain center impairments, lower than normal outputs of dopamine.
causes of ADHD
it does not hinge on one quality
children's self-esteem does hinge/does not hinge on one quality
frontal lobes
the area at the front uppermost part of the brain, responsible for reasoning and planning our actions
emotion regulation
the capacity to manage one's emotional state
self-awareness
the capacity to observe our abilities and actions from an outside frame of reference and to reflect on our inner state
internalizing
the classic victim has __ issues
induction
the ideal discipline style for socializing prosocial behavior, involving getting a child who has behaved hurtfully to empathize with the pain he has caused the other person
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
the most common childhood learning disorder in the US, disproportionately affecting boys; characterized by inattention and hyperactivity at home and at school -executive function deficits, especially in inhibition
body mass index (BMI)
the ratio of a person's weight to height; the main indicator of overweight or underweight
hostile attributional bias
the tendency of highly aggressive children to see motives and actions as threatening when they are actually benign
psychostimulant medications, supplemented by parents and sometimes teacher training
treatment for ADHD
performing tasks under time pressure, less affected by punishments and rewards, school, more apt to be bullied by siblings, view their parents as over-controlling, least likely to get sensitive parenting, receive power assertion as a discipline technique
troubles children with ADHD experience
85% 5th graders 10% kindergarteners
what % of 5th graders use rehearsal? what % of kindergarteners used it?
hitting and yelling
what are some examples of direct forms of aggression
-it offers children concrete feedback about exactly what they did wrong -it moves them off of focusing on their own punishment to the other child's distress -it allows for reparations
what are the virtues of induction?
if the class norm supports relational aggression
what can be a factor in increasing aggressiveness in elementary schools?
boys who do not conform to gender stereotypes, low-income children in middle-class schools, immigrant children in white societies, and children with disabilities.
what children are at risk of being rejected?
a chum fulfilled the developmental need for self-validation and intimacy that emerges around age 9
what did Sullivan believe a chum fulfilled?
Harter believes that when children reach concrete operations, they realistically evaluate their abilities and decide whether they like or dislike the person they see.
what does Harter believe (3YO vs 4th grader)
most readily
3YO's who shared most readily/most reluctantly at every age were prosocial at every age
-scholastic competence/academic talents -behavioral conduct/obedience/being good -athletic skills -peer likeability/popularity -physical appearance/looks
5 areas of self-esteem according to Harter
working memory
In information-processing theory, the limited-capacity gateway system, containing all the material that we can keep in awareness at a single time. The material in this system is either processed for more permanent storage or lost.
internalizing tendencies
a personality style that involves fear, social inhibition, and often depression -they are timid and self-conscious
childhood obesity
a BMI at or above the 95th percentile compared to the US norms established for children in the 1970s
shame
a feeling of being personally humiliated
reactive aggression
a hostile or destructive act carried out in response to being frustrated or hurt -involves white-hot, disorganized rage
relational aggression
a hostile or destructive act designed to cause harm to a person's relationships
proactive aggression
a hostile or destructive act initiated to achieve a goal
selective attention
a learning strategy in which people manage their awareness so as to attend only to what is relevant and to filter out unneeded information
rehearsal
a learning strategy in which people repeat information to embed it in memory
externalizing tendencies
a personality style that involves acting on one's immediate impulses and behaving disruptively and aggressively
bullying
a situation in which one or more children (or adults) harass or target a specific child for systematic abuse
sympathy
a state necessary for acting prosocially, involving feeling upset for a person who needs help
learned helplessness
a state that develops when a person feels incapable or affecting the outcome of events, and so gives up without trying
executive functions
abilities that allow us to plan and direct our thinking and control our immediate impulses; every frontal lobe feat of self-control
age of reason = 7
age of reason according to Jesuits
age 9 = beginning of pruning of frontal lobe
age that pruning of the frontal lobe begins
aggression
any hostile or destructive act
2YO's share with everyone 5YO's become more selective, reaching out to those who are kind
at what age do children share with everyone, and at what age do they become more selective about sharing?
as early as 1st grade
at what point are socially anxious children apt to be avoided?
they can encourage relational aggression and bring out the worst in a child -they can also promote and "us-against-them" mentality and promote a hostile attributional worldview
cons of having friends
yes, to some extent
do bully-prevention programs in operation work?
the answer is no
do we have to be taught to reach out in a caring way?
decreases; increases
during middle school, rates of open aggression __ and and relational aggression __
cortisol spikes; no change
elementary schoolers who were bullied experienced __ at school; but a victimized child who had a best friend showed __ in the basic barometer of stress
self-esteem
evaluating oneself as either "good" or "bad" as a result of comparing the self to other people
bully-victims
exceptionally aggressive children (with externalizing disorders) who repeatedly bully and get victimized
excessive weight gain during the first year of life
excessive weight gain in what life stage strongly predicts later obesity
empathy
feeling the exact emotion that another person is experiencing
guilt
feeling upset about having caused harm to a person or about having violated one's internal standard of behavior -we have violated a moral standard
defiant, antisocial kids
how are children classified if they are unusually aggressive in elementary school?
the working memory bin capacity size is roughly the size of a city and local street address; 7 chunks of info
how big is working memory for adults
1 in 10
how many children does ADHD affect?
less than 1 in 2 second graders
how many second graders spent at least 4 days per week engaging in vigorous physical exercise (outdoors or inside) for a single hour
connect them to a playmate who might become a close friend
how to help a temperamentally anxious child
how to = enhance self-efficacy and promote realistic perceptions of self, praise child for effort, give accurate feedback, gently point out reality not = you are a terrific kid!, don't make comments on basic ability, don't have fixed labels
how to promote and to not promote self-esteem
-provide the right socialization climate -foster a secure, loving attachment -remind children of ethical principles -induction -avoid teasing and shaming
how to socialize moral children
-avoid punitive shaming discipline style that exacerbates hostile attributional biases as boys travel into their teens -socialize prosocial behavior
how to tame excessive aggression
3YO's talk about themselves in external facts, and they can also describe themselves in unrealistic, positive ways. Living in a bubble
in regards to self-awareness, how do 3YO's respond?
their descriptions are internal and psychological, anchored in feelings, abilities, and traits. They give deficiencies and strengths in different areas of life. They focus on how do they measure up to classmates.
in regards to self-awareness, how do 4th graders respond?
African-American communities and Korea
in what communities are obese children not likely to be stigmatized or bullied?
discounting discounting to the extreme
minimizing the problem minimizing the problem in an essential area of life
girl comforts the victim boy confronts the bully
one reaches out and comforts the victim, one reaches out and confronts the bully. What does the boy do, and what does the girl do?
competition
popularity involves __
more physically active
preschoolers with superior motor talents tend to be more or less physically active during middle childhood
-first, we hold a stimulus arriving from the outside world briefly in a sensory store -then, features that we notice enter the most important store called working memory -there are limited capacity bins and an executive processor, and the executive processor allows us to mentally process material for permanent storage
process of making a memory according to information processing theorists
they can mute children's genetic tendency toward developing depression or help reduce the symptoms of ADHD they also offer on-the-job training in being our best prosocial self since we have to dampen our immediate impulses since their love is contingent
pros of having close friends
moral disengagement
rationalizing moral or ethical lapses by invoking justifications, such as "He deserved that."
working memory bin size ENLARGES during early elementary school. It also matures well into teens
researchers find that working memory bin size enlarges or becomes smaller during early elementary school
-denying reality -impulsively blame others in order to preserve unrealistic self-worth
self-esteem distortions for children with externalizing problems
-can read failure into everything -having overly low self-esteem. Consequence = continuing to fail because they decide that they cannot succeed and stop working
self-esteem distortions for children with internalizing problems; what is the consequence
prosocial behavior
sharing, helping, and caring actions
age 10; exercising more
skill at catching and throwing balls at age __ predicts exercising more or less in high school
they tend to be more active as adults
sports oriented children tend to be more or less active as adults
cyberbullying
systematic harassment conducted through electronic media
-different age children saw different cards with animals and household items -they were all told to remember the animals, and older children were better at recalling animal names -when asked to remember the household items, both age groups performed equally well. -This suggests that young children clog their memory bin space with irrelevant info because they cannot selectively attend as well.
what happened in the selective attention study?
fostering inhibition, which is not doing what we feel like doing
what is a continual socialization goal
being fearless in the first year of life
what is a quality that predicted being highly competent at age 40
-the toddler's exuberant/difficult temperament evokes harsh discipline like power assertion -the child is rejected by teachers and peers in school (starts in Kindergarten) It is extra sad because these children need loving parenting the most, but they get the harshest, most punitive care
what is the 2 step pathway to being labeled as a highly aggressive child?
similarity other reasons are shared morals and loyalty
what is the essence of friendship
10-20%
what is the percentage of children who are subject to chronic harassment
friends protect and enhance the developing self friends teach us to manage our emotions and handle conflicts
what personal development do friends stimulate?
friendly, outgoing, prosocial, kind, but they can also be linked to high levels of relational aggression
what qualities make a 3rd grader popular?
-do not pressure child to complete demanding, time-based tasks -provide white background noise because they learn better in noisy environments -have small reinforcers for good behavior -more physical activity in the day
what should adults do to help children with ADHD?
caregivers should encourage outdoor activities but not micromanage or hover over a child
what should parents do to produce physically skilled children?
having externalizing issues
what trait universally lands a child into the rejected category?
they develop ADHD at younger ages
when adults have ADHD, their affected children tend to develop this condition at younger/older ages
if classmates do not condone this behavior
when are children less apt to bully
during early childhood. This explains why vision develops rapidly and why children master basic physical milestones, like walking, at a young age
when are neurons in the visual and motor cortices in their pruning phase?
in 6th grade. An agenda of being popular mattered more than being prosocial in 5th grade
when do prosocial goals matter in regards to popularity
when children get older and become skilled at regulating their emotions
when do rates of open aggression decline?
At age 2.5
when does physical aggression reach its peak?
it propels popularity in preadolescence because rebellion is in flower and social status often becomes children's primary goal
when does relational aggression propel popularity and why?
it becomes a major issue in elementary school
when does self-esteem become an issue?
frustration-aggression hypothesis
when human beings are thwarted, we are biologically primed to strike back
they offer aid to people who they can effectively offer aid to.
who do older children offer aid to?
they report that they do not have the skills to act prosocially
why do elementary school kids report not acting prosocially?
revenge/reactive aggression, recreation/fun, offers social rewards/reinforcement from peers
why do kids bully
expanding working memory explains why theory of mind capacities blossom during elementary school
why does theory of mind blossom during elementary school?
it is easy, there is a relentless presence, there is a scary public nature, and the bullies are free from sympathy and experiencing immediate consequences
why is cyberbullying worse than traditional bullying?