Chapter 5: Entering the Social World

Gender Differences in play

2-3 years of age children prefer to play with same sex peers. This separation occurs spontaneously and children usually resist playing with member of the other sex. This preference increases during childhood reaching peak in preadolescence. 10-11 same sex play and sex typed play. EX: boys play sports and girls are playing with dolls.

Later Development

5-6 year olds experience regret and relief and by 9 years of age, most children experience both emotions appropriately. Fear about the dark and imaginary creatures are replaced by fear of school, health, personal

True Attachement

6-8 months to 18 months. By 7-8 months most babies have signed out the mother as a special individual. The attachment figure is now the infants stable socioemotional base. Ex: baby will explore a new environment but will periodically look at parent. (This indicates that attachment relationship is established (there is trust). In addition this shows cognitive growth: It means that the infants has a mental representation of the mother, an understanding that she will be there to meet the infants needs.

attachement in the making

6-8 weeks to 6-8 months. Babies laugh an smile when in presence of familiar caregiver. They also calm down better when held by caregivers. They (babies) identify the caregivers as the person they can depend on when anxious or distressed.

Will

A blend of autonomy, shame, and doubt give rise to will, the knowledge that within limits, youngsters can act their world intentionally.

The growth of attachement

According to evolutuary psychology: Many humans behavior represents successful adaptation to the environment. Some behaviors make it more likely that people will pass in their genes to the following generations. Ex: being social (protection with numbers)

Skills Underlying Altruistic Behavior

Altruistic behavior is related to perspective taking. Youngsters who understand others thoughts and feeling shares better with others and help them more often. Related to perspective talking is empathy, which is the actual experiencing of another feeling. More inclined to help out another person if they can feel the sorrow, disappointment, loneliness, etc.

gender schema theory

Children first decide if an object, activity, or behavior is female or male, then use this information to decide whether or not they should learn more about the object, activity, or behavior Children are gender detectives.

What happens if children can't regulate emotions well?

Children that can't regulate emotions well usually have problems adjusting and interacting with peers. When children can't control their anger or worry, they often have difficulty resolving the conflict inevitably surface in peer relationships. More frequently conflict with peers and as a result less satisfying peer relationship and less adoptive adjustment to school.

Cultural Differences in Emotional Expressions

Emotional restraints is encouraged in countries like Asia. But outward emotional affection is encouraged in US and Europe. Also cultures differ in the events that trigger emotions particularly complex emotions. Ex: a situation that evokes pride in one culture may evoke embarrassment or shame in another. EX: America: child is happy when scored high in a test. In Asia the child is embarrassed by public display of individual achievement, but are happy when class achieve something.

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

Erikson's stage in which a toddler learns to exercise will and to do things independently; failure to do so causes shame and doubt

Functions of Emotions

Functional approach: Emotions are useful because they helo adopt to their environment. Fear: help you avoid danger Happiness- smile to one another strengthens relationships. Disgust- we wont eat expired food.

Biopsychosocial framework in attachment

Infant smiles or cry's (biological origins) responsive parents (sociocultural forces) trust builds (psychological forces)

Reciprocal Relationships (18 months +)

Infants grow cognitive and langage skilles and their accumulated experiences with primary caregivers make infants better able to act as partners in the attachement relationship. Iniatiate interaction with parent and negotiate with them. Social referencing based off parents. Cope with separation better because they know parents will return.

Consequence of Attachment

Infants-parent relationship lays the foundation for all the infatns later social relationships. Infants (trust and compassion from secure relationship) confidence and successful communication with peers. Infants with no secure attachment are more prone to problems in social interactions with peers. Metanalysis shows secure attachment relationships are more compete socially and less prone to externalizing disorders such as bullying and fighting and less prone to internalization disorders such as depression. Why? Secure attachment equals positive outlook on world. and exposure to higher quality parenting promotes secure attachment in infancy and positive social relationships in childhood and adolescents.

What determines the quality of Attachment

Interaction between parent and baby. Parent responds to baby predicable and appropriately. This conveys to baby that social interactions are predicable and satisfying. Infants develop an internal working model, a set of expectation about parents availability and responsiveness generally and in times of stress. Babies believe their parents are concerned about their needs and will to try and meet them. When parents respond angrily or slowly infants see the social interactions inconsistent and frustrating. Securely attached babies expect parents to respond, insecurely attached don't expect mothers to respond. Training can help make parents more responsively, paving the way for secure attachment and the life long benefits associated with a positive internal working model of interpersonal relationship.

Simple Social play Cooperative play

Interactive play. Second birthday cooperative plays emerges: Now a distinct theme organizes children's play and they take on special roles based on theme. Ex: hide and seek (switching the roles of hider and seeker. Tea party (switching role of guest and host).

Steps towards Attachment

John Bowlby: children who forms an attachment to an adult that is an enduring and socioemotional relationship are more likely to survive. The key is a strong emotional relationship with responsive caring person.

Basic emotions

Joy, anger, fear, disgust, and sadness *Experienced by people worldwide, and each consist of 3 elements: a subjective feeling, a physiological change and overt behavior. Ex: you're angry (your heart races) and behaviorally you scowl.

Development of Basic Emotions

Many scientists believe babies just experience positive and negative emotional states. - 8-9 months babies can experience all basic emotions. Ex: smiles when asleep or when touched softly The social smile appears around 2-3 months of age. Social smile infants smile when they see another human face. - Anger is another one (4-6 months) Fear (6 months) infants become wary in the presence of an unfamiliar adult, a reaction known as stranger wariness. -- what leads to fearful baby feel scared around strangers, unfamiliar settings, stranger's behavior (talk to trusted adult the baby knows let baby warm up). -- Wary of strangers starts to develop around the time babies start crawling (avoid strangers in order to stay safe and stay near parent) - Disgust: learned by parents. Reveals child by smell of spoiled milk, feces, etc. Good because disgusting thing can lead to potential illness.

Socialization of Altruism

Modeling: Children seeing adults do it. Disciplinary practices: less prosocial if parent is threatening or includes physical punishment.

4 stages of attachment

Preattachment (birth -6 to 8 weeks); Attachment in the making (6-8 weeks to 6-8 months); True attachment (6-8 months to 18 months); Reciprocal relationships (18 months +)

Solitary play

Preschool years many children prefer to play alone. Should parents be worried? Not really some children are not really sociable and enjoy spending time alone but are also able to interact effectively with peers. Others are socially avoidant (they play alone not because they like it but because they uncomfortable interacting with others. Tend to be anxious and lonely and tend to excluded by peers. This is worry some.

Emergence of Complex Emotions

Pride and guild, and embarrassment (18-24 months of age) because they depend on the child having an understanding of themselves (happens 15-18 months)

Recognizing and Using Others' Emotions

Reading emotions. 4-6 months infants begin to distinguish facial expressions associated with different emotions. - Distinguish them happy and sad faces. - Match happy voices with smiles. Infants are biased towards negative emotions. Stare at an angry face rather than a happy face longer. Infants also use others emotions to direct their behavior often look at a parent as if searching for cues to help them interpret the situation, phenomenon known as social referencing. (older children are better at recognizing subtle signals of an emotion.

Attachment, work and alternative caregiving:

Research shows that overall childcare experiences are not linked to mother infant attachment: a secure mother infant attachment is just as aliely regardless of the quality of childcare the time the child spends in care, the age when the child begins care, how frequently location changes. However insecure attachments are more common when infants and toddlers of less sensitive mothers experience low quality or large amounts of childcare. Another finding shows that children who experience many hours of nonparental childcare are often overly aggressive have more conflicts with teachers and have less self-control.

Forms Attachment

Secure attachment, avoidant attachment, resistance attachment, disorganized (disoriented) attachment * Insecure attachement equals angry and not close with parents. Stressful life events are associated with insecure attachements during adolescents and young adulthood. When stressful things happen to insecure attachement the relationship is still insecure. But when secure relationships the relationship (attachement) becomes insecure. Why? parents are less attentive and less responsive. Mom and dads are both equally able to be attachable to the baby.

Initiative vs. Guilt

Take responsibility for themselves (dress themselves) Identify with adults and parents Understand opportunities that are avabliles in their culture. As questions about their world and explore environment imagine possibilities for themselves. ** This is initiative is moderated by guilt as children realize that their initiative may place them in conflict with others, They cannot pursuer their ambitions with abandon. Purpose is achieved with a balance between individuals initiative and a willingness to cooperate with others.

Avoidant Attachment

The baby is not upset when mother leaves and when she returns, may ignore her by looking or turning away. 20 percent of American infants have avoidant attachment relationships, which is one of the three forms of insecure attachment

Resistant Attachment

The baby is upset when the mother leaves and the baby remains upset or even angry when she returns and is difficult to console. - About 10-15 percent of American babies have this resistant attachment relationship, which is another form of insecure attachment.

Secure attachment

The baby may or may not cry when the mother leaves, but when she returns, the baby wants to be with her and if the baby is crying, her or she will stop 65 percent of American babies have secure attachment relationships - Infants with secure attachement relationships tend to report as adolescents and young adult that they depend on their parents for care and support.

Disorganized (disoriented attachment)

The baby seems confused when the mother leaves and when she returns, seems not to understand what is happening. 5-10 percent of children have this. Last of the 3 kinds of insecure attachment.

Basic Trust vs. Mistrust (Erikson)

Trust in oneself and others is the foundation of human development. When parents respond to their infants need consistently, the infant comes to trust and feel secure in the world. - When parents mess up (don't respond to crying baby quick enough or feed baby hot food) the baby learns mistrust. ***With a proper balance of trust and mistrust, infants can acquire hope and openness to new experiences tempered by wariness that discomfort or danger may arise.

Regulating Emotions

Try to suppress fear, anger, and joy. Sometimes people regulate their emotions behaviorally. Example we close out eyes to shut out a disturbing scene in a movie, move closer to a loved one when were frightened or bit our cheek to stop laughing. 4-6 month olds do this by looking away or moving closer to parent. Regulate emotions cognitively by repressing the meaning of feeling or thoughts so that it provokes less emotions.

Gender related differences

Verbal ability (girls more talkative and larger vocab and better readers) guys are diagnosed with more language reated problems. Mathematics elementary school years girls are more advanced then boys. Spatial ability guys can visualize stuff better depending on the task Memory girls remember accurately and describe in more detain Social influence girls follow rules better, give in underpressure (maybe they value group harmony more? Aggression guys more physically aggressive girls resort to relational aggression Emotional sensitivity - better able to identify facial expressions accurately. Express guild and shame more then boys. Effortful control: girls are able to control themselves better then boys and are able to prevent more socially unacceptable behavior.

Why are there gender difference in play?

Want to play with others like themselves. They play differently boys are more tough and girls are more prosocial conversations orientated. Usually don't like the others style of play. Girls interactions with one another are typically enabling - their actions and remarks tend to support others and sustain the interaction. In contrast boys interaction as the victor by threating or contradicting the other by exaggerating and so on. Boys also tend to ignore polite suggestions from girls. Spending time with other girls or boys reinforces gender differences. Ex: boys become more aggressive and active girls are less active and less aggressive.

Hope arises from

a proper balance of trust and mistrust infants acquire hope, an openness to new experiences tempered by wariness that discomfort or danger may arise.

Purpose

achieved with a balance between individuals initatiatve and a willingness to cooperate with others.

Prosocial

any behavior that benefits another person. Ex: cooperation (although cooperation usually varies because individuals gain more then they would by not cooperating.

Altruism

behavior that is driven by feeling or responsibility towards other people. Such as helping and sharing, in which individuals do not benefit directly from their actions. Ex: sharing half of your lunch. It is believed humans are programmed to be helpful and concerned because people who are frequently helped also get help often. 18 month old's try and comfort each other (hugging or patting the person. Adolescents are more likely to help than children, who are more likely to help than preschoolers.

Gender stereotypes

beliefs and images about males and females that are not necessarily true

Preattachment

birth to 6 -8 weeks Recoginze caregiver, smile, cry

Why do children who experience many hours of nonparental childcare are often overly aggressive have more conflicts with teachers and have less self-control.

children who spend a long time in child care are likely to experience low quality care, which is typically assocaiated with children being less skilled socially. Most affects disappeared afted first grade (not significant). Can enroll their infants and toddlers in high quality day care programs with little fear of infants and toddlers in high quality day program with little fear of life long harmful consequences.

Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development

development as a series of 8 stages each with a unique crisis for psychosocial growth. When the crisis is not resolved, that aspect of psychosocial strength is established when the crisis is not resolved that aspect of psychosocial development is stunted, often limiting the individuals ability to resolve future crisis.

Situational influences of altruistic behavior

feeling of responsibility (sibling, friend, etc.), feeling of competence (feel that they have the skills needed to help), mood (in a good mood), cost of altruism (few or modest sacrifices), the contribution of heredity (twin more close in prosocial then fraternal twins.)

Parallel play

in which each youngster plays alone but maintains a keen interest in what another child is doing. Have own toys but watches the other play. Transition from playing alone to playing with others. Firsts birthday

High quality daycare

low number of kids per caregiver (3) Well trained caregivers, responsive, provide age appropriate stimulating activities, communicate well with parents.

Opportunities to become prosocial

more likely to be prosocial when given the opportunity multiple times. Children can help with household chores. This makes children more sensitive to the needs of others.

Joys of play

parallel play, simple social play, cooperative play emerges, solidary play

Parental Influences

playmates, social director, coach, and mediator.

Social role

set of cultural guidelines about how one should behave, especially with other people