Life span Chapter 6

In watching boys and girls at recess in an elementary school, which two observations are you likely to make?

A and C.

Shame

A feeling of being personally humiliated.

Reactive aggression

A hostile or destructive act carried out in response to being frustrated or hurt.

Gender-segregated play

Play in which boys and girls associate only with members of their own sex-typical of childhood.

Hostile attributional bias

The tendency of highly aggressive children to see motives and actions as threatening when they are actually benign.

(a) If a child (or adult) is being regularly bullied, name the core qualities that may be making this person an easy target. (b) Then, based on what you just read, describe in a sentence what you personally might do to change this situation.

(a) She may be highly aggressive, and is bullied, then victimized. Or, more typically, she is anxious, has few friends, and has trouble standing up for herself. (b) Speak up against the perpetrators while the group is around, or—if the situation involves cyberbullying—post a comment on-line, telling the writer to "lay off X. He is a real prince."

Relational aggression

A hostile or destructive act designed to cause harm to a person's relationships.

Pro-active aggression

A hostile or destructive act initiated to achieve a goal.

Externalizing Tendencies

A personality style that involves acting on one's immediate impulses and behaving disruptively and aggressively.

Internalizing Tendencies

A personality style that involves intense fear, social inhibition, and often depression.

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 pro-socially, involving feeling upset for a person who needs help.

Learned helplessness

A state the develops when a person feels incapable of affecting the outcome of events, and gives up without trying.

When Melanie and Miranda play, they love to make up pretend scenes together. Are these two girls likely to be about age 2, age 5, or age 9?

About age 5.

Alyssa wants to replace Brianna as Chloe's best friend, so she spreads horrible rumors about Brianna. Brianna overhears Alyssa dissing her and starts slapping Alyssa. Of the four types of aggression discussed in this section - direct, proactive, reactive, relational- which two describe Alyssa's behavior, and which two fit Brianna's actions?

Alyssa = proactive, relational. Brianna = direct, reactive.

Aggression

Any hostile or destructive act.

Describe in a sentence or two the core difference between being popular and well liked.

Being popular refers to being in the in-group. But being in the high-status crowd does not necessarily mean a child is personally well liked by the other kids.

You interviewed a 4-year-old and a fourth grader for your class project in lifespan development, but mixed up your interview notes. Which statement was made by the 4-year-old? a. "My friend Megan is better at math than me." b. "Sometimes I get mad at my friends, but maybe it's because I'm too stubborn." c. "I have a cat named Kit, and I'm the smartest girl in the world."

C. "I have a cat named Kit and I'm the smartest girl in the world."

Contonia tells you that children need to be taught to be caring and helpful. Callista disagrees, saying that the impulse to be pro-social is built into human nature. In a sentence or two explain why both statements are correct.

Callista is right that the impulse to be pro-social seems biologically built in, as toddlers get joy from spontaneously performing helpful acts. Cotonia is correct, however, that adults need to nurture this behavior by modeling caring acts, being sensitive to a child's emotions, defining the child as good, and using induction.

Which of the following children is NOT at risk of being rejected in later elementary school? a. Miguel, a shy, socially anxious child. b. Lauren, a tomboy who hates "girl's stuff". c. Nicholas, who lashes out in anger randomly at other kids. d. Elaine, who is relationally aggressive.

D. (Unfortunately, relationally aggressive children can be popular.)

Initiative Versus Guilt

Erik Erikson's term for the preschool psycho-social task involving actively taking on life tasks.

Industry Versus Inferiority

Erik Erikson's term for the psycho-social task of middle childhood involving managing our emotions and realizing that real-world success involves hard work.

Erik and Maria are arguing about the cause of gender-stereotyped behavior. Erik says the reason why boys like to run around and play with trucks is biological. Sophia argues that gender-stereotyped play is socialized by adults and other children. First, argue Erik's position and then, make Sophia's case by referring to specific data in this section.

Erik can argue that gender-stereotyped play must be biologically built in, as this behavior occurs in primates and appears in societies around the world. He can mention that masculine-type play and interests are programmed by high levels of testosterone. Sophia can say differing gender roles are strongly socialized by parents, teachers, and media messages from a young age. Most important, peers powerfully reinforce traditional "girl" or "boy" behavior as they segregate into same-sex play groups. Children are highly motivated to conform to these "correct" ways of acting or risk being socially excluded.

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.

Gender schema theory

Explanation for gender-stereotyped behavior that emphasizes the role of cognitions; specifically, the idea that once children know their own gender label (girl or boy), they selectively watch and model their own sex.

Collaborative pretend play

Fantasy play in which children work together to develop and act out the scenes.

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.

Best friends in elementary school (pick false statement): support each other/have similar moral values/encourage good behavior.

Friends can promote negative behavior (third alternative is wrong).

Mario, a fourth grader, feels that everyone is out to get him. Give the name for Mario's negative worldview.

Mario has a hostile attributional bias.

Krista, a school psychologist, is concerned about two students: Paul, who bursts out in rage and is continually misbehaving; and Jeremy, who is timid, anxious, and sad. Krista describes Paul as having internalizing/externalizing tendencies and Jeremy as having internalizing/externalizing tendencies, and she says that issues with emotion regulation are a problem for Paul/Jeremy/both boys.

Paul has externalizing tendencies; Jeremy has internalizing tendencies; and issues with emotion regulation are problems for both boys.

Fantasy Play

Play that involves making up and acting out a scenario; also called pretend play.

Rough-and tumble play

Play that involves shoving, wrestling, and hitting, but in which no actual harm is intended; especially characteristic of boys.

Identify which of the following boys has internalizing or externalizing tendencies and then, for one of these children, design an intervention using principles spelled out in this section: Roman sees himself as wonderful, but he is having serious trouble getting along with his teachers and the other kids; Jared is a great student, but when he gets a B instead of an A, he decides that he's dumb and gets too depressed to work.

Ramon= externalizing tendencies. Jared= internalizing tendencies. Suggested intervention for Ramon: Point out his realistic problems ("You are having trouble in X, Y, Z areas."), but cushion criticisms with plenty of love. Suggested intervention for Jared: Continually point out reality ("No one can always get A's. In fact, you are a fabulous student."). Get Jared to identify his "hopeless and helpless" ways of thinking, and train him to substitute more accurate perceptions.

Pro-social behavior

Sharing, helping, and caring actions.

Cyberbullying

Systematic harassment conducted through electronic media.

Self Awareness

The ability to observe our actions from an outside frame of reference and to reflect on our inner state.

Emotion Regulation

The capacity to manage ones emotional state.

Induction

The ideal discipline style for socializing pro-social behavior, involving getting a child who has behaved hurtfully to empathize with the pain he has caused the other person.

A teacher wants to intervene with a student who has been teasing a classmate. Identify which statement is guilt-producing, which is shame-producing, and which involves the use of induction. Then, name which responses would promote pro-social behavior. a. "Think of how bad Johnny must feel." b. "If that's how you act, you can go sit by yourself. You're not nice enough to be with the other kids." c. "I'm disappointed in you. You are usually such a good kid.

a= induction; good for promoting pro-social behavior; b=shame; bad strategy; and c=guilt; good for promoting pro-social behavior.