Ch 7 and 8 Child Dev

Describe the prevalence, symptoms, and treatment of eating disorders.

About 20% of American girls and 10% of boys in Grades 9-12 have engaged in eating disordered behavior in the past 30 days. The two most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia. About 0.3% of American adolescents have anorexia nervosa and about 0.9% have bulimia. Treatments for anorexia and bulimia include hospitalization, medication, and psychotherapy, but success rates are quite low.

Review key features of Erikson's theory, and explain how Marcia extended the theory.

According to Erikson, each of eight stages of life involves a crisis where a person may take either a healthy or unhealthy path. In adolescence, the crisis involves either successfully forming an identity or experiencing identity confusion. Building on Erikson's theory, Marcia constructed an interview measure that classifies adolescents into one of four identity statuses: diffusion, moratorium, foreclosure, or achievement.

Explain how gender schemas lead to self-socialization.

According to gender schema theory, gender is one of our most important schemas from early childhood onward. By the end of early childhood, on the basis of our socialization we have learned to categorize a wide range of activities, objects, and personality characteristics as "female" or "male." Once young children possess gender schemas, they seek to maintain consistency between their schemas and their behavior, a process called self-socialization.

Explain how gender inequity is related to gender differences.

According to social identity theory, seeing oneself as a member of a social group, such as being female or male, leads to common biases. These biases include in-group favoritism, conformity to in-group norms, exaggeration of group contrasts, and out-group hostility. Also, members of higher-status groups tend to guard ingroups boundaries more strictly than members of lower-status groups. This may be why males (fathers, male peers) exceed females (mothers, female peers) in enforcing gender conformity.

Describe the gender-intensification hypothesis and the extent of support for it.

According to the gender-intensification hypothesis, psychological and behavioral differences between females and males become more pronounced in the transition from childhood to adolescence because of intensified socialization pressures to conform to culturally prescribed gender roles. Also, according to this hypothesis, these pressures are greater for girls than for boys. Research provides evidence for gender intensification in early adolescence, but with boys generally showing more intensification than girls.

Describe the extent to which androgyny has been linked to positive outcomes.

Androgyny is the term for the combination of feminine and masculine traits in one person. Some research has found that androgynous children and adolescents are more flexible and creative than other children and adolescents. Also, androgynous girls have a more positive self-image than girls who are either highly feminine or highly masculine.

Explain why ethnic identity development comes to the forefront in adolescence and differentiate among ethnic identity statuses.

As part of their growing cognitive capacity for self-reflection, adolescents who are members of ethnic minority groups are likely to have a sharpened awareness of what it means for them to be a member of that group. They also become more acutely aware of prejudices and stereotypes about their ethnic group that others may hold. Phinney has differentiated four ways that members of minority groups respond to their awareness of their ethnicity: assimilation, marginality, separation, and biculturalism.

Identify the characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder and how it affects children's prospects as they grow to adulthood.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder marked by persistent deficits in social communication and interactions across contexts, and by repetitive and restricted behavior. A small minority of children with ASD have exceptional, isolated mental skills. Adults with ASD often live with family or in government-sponsored homes. Research shows that early intervention can improve the functioning of a child with ASD, making assessment in toddlerhood all the more important.

Sex

Biological status of being female or male

Describe the development of gender identity, gender constancy, and gender roles.

By age 3, toddlers have attained a gender identity, that is, they view themselves as female or male. It is not until age 6 or 7 that children attain gender constancy, which is the understanding that femaleness and maleness are biological and will not change across situations. Knowledge of gender roles, the cultural expectations for behavior specific to females and males, develops gradually in the course of childhood.

Summarize common themes found in the socialization of adolescent girls in traditional cultures.

Common themes found in the socialization of adolescent girls in traditional cultures, include early work responsibilities, limited education, close relationships with monitoring female adults, communal constraints on sexual behaviors, and preparation for marriage and gender-specific adult work.

Explain how different ways of thinking about self-esteem are rooted in cultural beliefs.

Compared to people in other Western countries, Americans value self-esteem to a greater extent, making the gap between Americans and people in non-Western countries especially great in this respect. Generally, cultures that promote an independent, individualistic self also promote and encourage positive reflection about the self. Cultures that promote an interdependent, collectivistic self are more likely to value self-restraint and self-criticism.

Identify the different types and rates of adolescent depression, and summarize the most effective treatments for depression and suicide ideation.

Depressed mood involves a temporary period of sadness. Major depressive disorder (MDD) describes a more enduring period of sadness along with other symptoms such as frequent fatigue and feelings of worthlessness. Among adolescents, rates of depressed mood are approximately in the 20% to 35% range. MDD rates among adolescents range from about 3% to 7%. For adolescents, as for adults, the two main types of treatment for MDD and suicide ideation are antidepressant medications and psychotherapy. Research has raised concerns that use of antidepressants is associated with suicidal thoughts and behavior in adolescents.

Describe the development of primary emotions and emotion perception in infants.

From the early weeks of life, infants experience three primary emotions: distress, interest, and pleasure. Gradually, over the course of the next year, these emotions develop into other primary emotions: anger, sadness, fear, surprise, happiness, and disgust. From the first days of life, infants also perceive others' emotions, responding with distress to the distress of others. Toward the end of the first year, in a process called social referencing, infants draw emotional cues from how others respond to ambiguous situations.

Explain why gender nonconforming and transgender youth are starting to gain research attention.

Gender nonconforming youth refers to youth who typically identify as either female or male, but whose behaviors are androgynous to a degree that falls outside conventional norms. Transgender youth are those whose self-identification does not match their genetic sex. Both groups are at risk for social ostracism, harassment, and sexual assault.

Summarize how global self-esteem and differentiated self-esteem change in the course of childhood and adolescence.

Global self-esteem declines slightly in the transition from early childhood to middle childhood, as children enter a school environment in which social comparisons are a daily experience. In early adolescence, global self-esteem declines notably and then begins to rise again in late adolescence and into emerging adulthood. In the course of middle childhood and adolescence self-esteem becomes more differentiated. Children and adolescents evaluate their competence within specific domains, such as physical appearance and social acceptance.

Explain how the idea of goodness-of-fit pertains to temperament on both a family level and cultural level

Goodness-of-fit means that children develop best if there is a "good fit" between the temperament of the child and environmental demands. At the family level, research shows that infants with difficult temperaments benefit when parents respond with tolerance rather than anger. Goodness-of-fit varies culturally, given that different cultures have different views of the value of personality traits such as emotional expressiveness.

Explain the development of gender stereotypes and how boys and girls differ in this regard.

In many ways, children's gender attitudes and behavior are stereotyped in middle child-hood. Girls, however, are more flexible is their attitudes toward gender roles than boys. Also, in middle childhood, boys increasingly describe themselves exclusively in terms of masculine characteristics, while girls use both masculine and feminine self-descriptions.

Describe the capabilities that adolescent boys in traditional cultures need to demonstrate in order to achieve manhood.

In most traditional cultures, an adolescent boy must demonstrate three capacities before he can be considered a man: provide, protect, and procreate.

Give an example of why intersectionality is important in understanding gender.

Intersectionality means that individuals have more than one social identity, and that these various identities overlap. For example, researchers have described the "Cool Pose" as common to Black male adolescents and emerging adults in urban areas of the United States and have pointed out that it is associated with both benefits and risks.

Identity status model

Marcia's model for researching Erikson's theory of identity development, classifying identity development into four categories: diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, or achievement

Explain why meta-analyses are important for reaching conclusions about gender differences.

Meta-analysis is the name for the statistical technique that combines the data from many studies into one all-inclusive analysis. It indicates whether a difference exists between groups (e.g., females and males) and the size of the difference (d). Meta-analyses provide more valid results than any one study, especially when comparing one-half of the human species to the other.

Describe the complex self-conceptions that develop in adolescence.

One aspect of the complexity of adolescents' self-conceptions is that they can distinguish between an actual self and possible selves. The possible selves may be ideal or feared. Adolescents also recognize that they sometimes exhibit a false self, which is a self they present to others that does not represent what they are actually thinking and feeling.

Explain how the self-concept changes from early childhood through middle childhood.

Our self-concept, that is, how we view and evaluate ourselves, changes during early and middle childhood from the external to the internal and from the physical to the psychological. By middle childhood, children also engage in more accurate social comparison.

Describe the roles that parents, peers, media, and school play in gender socialization.

Social cognitive theory emphasizes that gender differences are based on the behaviors that children learn from those around them. Parents often encourage gender typical behavior (in dress and play) and discourage cross-gender behaviors. Children also reinforce each other for gender-appropriate behavior and reject peers who violate gender roles. Media commonly promote gender stereotypes. Schools typically reflect and enforce the prevailing cultural views of gender.

Describe how emotional development advances during toddlerhood, and identify the impact of culture on these changes.

Sociomoral emotions that develop in toddlerhood include guilt, shame, envy, pride, and empathy. They are called sociomoral emotions because they indicate that toddlers have begun to learn the moral standards of their culture. Toddlers in Western cultures have occasional tantrums, perhaps because they have a more developed sense of intentionality than infants do and so are more likely to protest when thwarted. However, tantrums are rare outside the West where cultures deemphasize self-expression.

Define infant temperament and describe two ways of conceptualizing it

Temperament includes qualities such as activity level, positive affect, adaptability, attention span, and self-regulation. Thomas and Chess conceptualized temperament by classifying infants as easy, difficult, and slow-to-warm-up. Mary Rothbart and colleagues focus on qualities such as activity level and attention span, used by previous researchers. They have also added the quality of self-regulation, which is the ability to manage emotions and reactions.

Explain the similarities and differences between biological and biosocial accounts of gender differences.

The evidence from evolutionary theory, ethological research, and research on hormonal abnormalities makes a compelling case for the biological basis of some gender differences in humans. The biosocial construction model also sees biology as important, but it emphasizes the interaction of nature and nurture rather than a one-way influence of nature upon psychological development. According to the biosocial perspective, evolution selected for humans to be adaptive to environmental variation, rather than having fixed gender characteristics once and for all. Furthermore, even as biology influences behavior, behavior (such as child care) also influences biology.

Explain how economic changes in developing countries are changing gender roles.

The massive changes in women's roles over the past century in developed countries demonstrate the enormous influence that culture can have on the raw material of biology in human development. Many female-male distinctions that were widely thought to be sex differences have turned out to be gender differences after all. Because traditional cultures are likely to continue to move further in the direction of economic development, gender roles within these cultures are likely to become more egalitarian as well.

Review the two overarching conclusions about gender differences, and summarize specific gender differences revealed by meta-analyses.

There are two overarching conclusions: (1) there are more similarities than differences between females and males; (2) the effect sizes for many gender differences are small. As to specific gender differences, boys tend to be more physically active and aggressive than girls. They have higher self-evaluations and do better on some mathematical and spatial ability tests. Girls tend to be more interpersonally and emotionally attuned as compared to boys. Girls get better grades in school.

Androgyny

a combination of "female" and "male" personality traits

Self-regulation

ability to exercise control over one's emotions and reactions

Self-recongition

ability to recognize one's image in the mirror as one's self

Empathy

ability to understand and respond helpfully to another person's distress

Differentiation theories

argue that discrete emotions are not present at birth but only develop gradually

Gender identity

awareness of one's self as female or male

Gender self-socialization model

highlights that children actively internalize gender schemas as part of their identity

Differentiated self-esteem

how a person evaluates her or himself in specific domains, such as social competence and physical appearance

Social comparison

how persons view themselves in relation to others with regard to status, abilities, or achievements

Gender-intensification hypothesis

hypothesis that psychological and behavioral differences between females and males become more pronounced at adolescence because of intensified socialization pressures to conform to culturally prescribed gender roles

Bicultural identity

identity with two distinct facets, for example, one part based on the local culture and another part based on the global culture

Machismo

ideology of manhood, common in Latino cultures, which emphasizes males' dominance over females

Identity versus identity confusion

in Erikson's theory, the crisis of adolescence, with two alternative paths, establishing a clear and definite identity, or experiencing identity confusion, which is a failure to form a stable and secure identity

Marianismo

in Latino cultures, an ideal that women should emulate the Virgin Mary, for example, by being submissive, self-denying, and pure

Emotional contagion

in infants, crying in response to hearing another infant cry, evident at just a few days old

Temperament

innate responses to the physical and social environment, including qualities of positive affect, adaptability, activity level, attention span, and self-regulation

Autism Spectrum Disorder

involves persistent deficits in social communication and interactions across contexts, as well as repetitive and restricted behavior

Primary emotions

most basic emotions, such as anger, sadness, fear, disgust, surprise, and happiness

Ethology

study of animal behavior

Depressed mood

temporary period of sadness, without any other related symptoms of depression

Social referencing

the ability to observe others' emotional responses to ambiguous and uncertain situations, and use that information to shape one's own emotional responses

Global self-esteem

the extent to which a person generally feels positive about her-or himself

Goodness-of fit

theoretical principle that children develop best if there is a good fit between the temperament of the child and environmental demands

Ruminate

to think persistently about bad feelings and experiences

Overcontrol

trait of having excessive self-regulation of emotions

Undercontrol

trait of having inadequate emotional self-regulation

Intersectionality

describes how individuals have more than one social identity and that these various identities overlap

Explain five important qualifications about gender differences revealed by meta-analyses.

Effect sizes for gender differences depend on who was studied: age (1), culture (2), and historical period (3). Effect sizes also vary depending on the research measurements used (4). Finally, meta-analyses may be skewed toward showing larger gender effect sizes than is true in real life because journals are more likely to publish findings that indicate differences between groups than findings that do not (5).

Describe today's state of affairs for girls and women in regard to education, unpaid work, and physical violence.

Even as girls still lag behind boys, the gap between girls and boys in educational attainment has been closing in the developing world. In the developed world, in contrast, girls now exceed boys in enrollment in primary, secondary, and tertiary educational institutions. Across the world, women spend more hours than men on unpaid work, such as childcare. The proportion of women who suffer physical violence from their intimate partner varies widely from country to country (e.g., less than 10% in Albania and Canada, about 50% in Peru and Zambia).

Describe the emergence of self-recognition and self-reflection in infancy and toddlerhood.

Even in the early weeks of life there is evidence that infants have the beginnings of a sense of self, a sense of being distinct from the objects and people around them. By 18 months, most toddlers demonstrate self-recognition. By this age, they also develop the beginnings of self-reflection, that is, the capacity to think about themselves as they would think about other persons and objects.

Describe how identity development varies across cultures, including the impact of globalization.

Even today, Erikson's assertions of the prominence of identity issues in adolescence may apply more to modern Western adolescents than to adolescents in traditional cultures who have limited self-determination in regard to love and work. Due to globalization, more adolescents and emerging adults around the world now develop a bicultural identity, with one part of their identity rooted in their local culture, while another part stems from an awareness of their relation to the global culture.

Summarize the results of the Experience Sampling Method studies with respect to adolescent emotionality.

Experience Sampling Method (ESM) studies show greater mood swings in adolescence than in middle childhood or adulthood. Also, emotional states became steadily more negative from 5th grade through 12th grade.

Describe the various forms identity development can take during emerging adulthood.

For most young people in developed countries, identity achievement is reached—if at all—in emerging adulthood or beyond, rather than in adolescence. Among college students, progress toward identity achievement mainly takes place in the specific area of occupational identity rather than for identity more generally.

Explain why self-regulation continues to improve in middle childhood.

From ages 2 to 6, extremes of emotional expression such as temper tantrums, crying, and physical aggression decrease. By ages 7 to 10, during middle childhood, such outbursts become quite rare. Improved self-regulation is linked to the development of the frontal cortex. Across cultures, early and middle childhood is also a time when demands for self-regulation increase. Another key reason why self-regulation increases is that children learn strategies for regulating their emotions.

Stereotype

belief that others possess certain characteristics simply as a result of being a member of a particular group

Self-reflection

capacity to think about one's self as one would think about other persons and objects

Major Depressive Disorder

clinical diagnosis pertaining to enduring period of sadness along with other symptoms such as frequent crying, fatigue, and feelings of worthlessness

Gender

cultural categories of "female" and "male"

Gender roles

cultural expectations for appearance and behavior specific to females and males

Sociomoral emotions

emotions evoked based on learned, culturally based standards of right and wrong; also called secondary emotions

Secondary emotions

emotions that require social learning, such as embarrassment, shame, and guilt; also called sociomoral emotions

Functionalist theories

emphasize how emotions serve social functions, for example, signaling desired goals both to self and others

Evolutionary theories

emphasize the existence of discrete emotions that are innate and shared by all humans

Gender schema theory

emphasizes that children learn to categorize a wide range of activities, objects, and personality characteristics as "female" or "male"

Social cognitive theory

emphasizes that gender differences are based on the behaviors that children learn from those around them

Social identity theory

emphasizes that seeing one-self as a member of a social group, such as being female or male, leads to common biases, including in-group favoritism

Social smile

expression of happiness in response to interacting with others, first appearing at age 2-3 months

Internalization theory

focuses on how children's emotion expression and regulation in social contexts are guided by adults and cultural norms

Gender schema

gender-based cognitive structure for organizing and processing information, comprising expectations for females' and males' appearance and behavior

Feared self

person one imagines it is possible to become but dreads becoming

Ideal self

person one would like to be

Possible self

person's conceptions of the self as it potentially could be; may include both an ideal self and a feared self

Actual self

person's perception of the self as it is, contrasted with the possible self

Self-concept

person's view and evaluation of her-or himself

Gender noncomforming

persons who identify as either female or male, but whose behaviors are androgynous to a degree where it falls outside conventional norms

Transgender

persons whose self-identification does not match their genetic sex

Prosocial behavior

positive behavior towards others, including kindness, friendliness, and sharing

Internalizing problems

problems that entail turning distress inward, toward the self, such as depression and anxiety

Externalizing problems

problems that involve others, such as aggression

Self-socialiaztion

process by which people seek to maintain consistency between their gender schemas and their behavior

False self

self a person may present to others while realizing that it does not represent what he or she is actually thinking and feeling

Gender constancy

understanding that femaleness and maleness are biological and cannot change across situations