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Chapter 8 Socioemotional Development in

Middle and Late Childhood

© 2006 Pearson Education/Prentice-Hall Publishing

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Psychosocial Development: Industry vs. Inferiority

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Psychosocial Development: Industry vs. Inferiority

Success = feelings of mastery, proficiency, and confidence. Interest in the world.

Difficulties = feelings of failure and inadequacy; withdrawal from academics and socialization. Parents who confuse exploration with mischief

Industry associated with adult success (more so than intelligence and family background).

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Views of self become more differentiated

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Self esteem during middle childhood

Social Comparison Increasingly compare themselves to others. Develop internal standards. For most, increases during middle childhood.

Self-Regulation - dev’l advances in prefrontal cortex

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Self-Efficacy

Belief that one can master a situation and produce favorable outcomes

Influences a student’s choice of activities Low self-efficacy > may avoid

learning tasks, especially those that are challenging

high-self-efficacy > work at learning tasks

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Moral Development

Kohlberg’s theory of moral development: People pass through stages of the kind

of reasoning they use to make moral judgments, primarily based on cognitive characteristics.

Reasoning moves from concrete rules to abstract principles in three stages.

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Criticisms of Kohlberg’s Theory

Kohlberg's theory is a good account of moral judgment but not adequate at predicting moral behavior.

Based on data from boys; may be inadequate in describing moral development of girls.

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Carol Gilligan

Professor of Gender Studies, Harvard University

• Challenged Lawrence Kohlberg's theories of moral development on the basis of gender bias;

• Pioneer in the research on moral development of women;

• One of Time Magazine's 25 most influential people of 1996.

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Gilligan sees morality in girls developing in 3 stages.

Orientation toward individual survival - where females concentrate on what is practical and best for them.

Goodness as self-sacrifice - where females think they must sacrifice their own wishes to what others want.

Morality of nonviolence - women come to see hurting anyone as immoral, including themselves.

Gilligan

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Developmental Changes in Emotion

Increased understanding that more than one emotion can be experienced in a particular situation

Increased awareness of events that lead to emotional reactions

Ability to suppress or conceal negative emotional reactions; use of self-initiated strategies for redirecting feelings

Genuine empathy

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Socioemotional differences

Relational aggression -- girls are more verbally aggressive

Reactive aggression

Boys are more likely to hide emotionsGirls more prosocial, kinder, empathic

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Relationships: Building Friendship in Middle Childhood

• Children’s development is seriously affected by the formation of friendships in middle childhood.

• Friendships influence children's development in several ways…

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Stages of Friendship(William Damon)

1. Basing friendship on other’s behavior. ~Preschool to KG > friends are children who like you and

with whom you share toys and activities. 2. Basing friendship on trust.

Elem school > focus on mutual trust. Objective ideas about fairness

3. Basing friendship on psychological closeness. Beginning w/adolescence > focus on intimacy and loyalty Self-disclosure; sharing of private thoughts

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Six functions companionship  stimulation physical support ego support social comparison affection and intimacy

Functions of Friendships

Reciprocity becomes especially important in peer interchanges

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Individual Differences in Friendship: What Makes a Child Popular?

Children's friendships show clear hierarchies in terms of STATUS

High status children have greater access to resources

Friendships form with regards to status

Lower status children are more likely to play with younger or less popular children.

5 peer statuses Popular childrenAverage children Neglected children Rejected children Controversial children

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Behaviors favored in friends during middle childhood

Most-liked Sense of humor Nice/friendly Helpful Complementary Sharing Loyalty

They Show: Social competence Social problem-solving

Least-liked Verbal aggression Dishonesty Critical Greedy/bossy Teasing Physical aggression

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Cross-Race Friendships

Research shows that children's closest friends tend largely to be with others of the same race. Why?

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Bullying Victims

• Cry easily• Lack social skills• Passive• Lonelier, more withdrawn, anx

Watch for psychosomatic symptoms:headache, stomachache; sleep dx.

• Learn skills; report to teachers Aggressors

• Misbehave at home more than others• Tend to prefer violent TV• More likely to be poor students; higher incidence of drug and

alcohol use.• More likely to break the law as adults

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The Changing Family

Single parent household negatively associated with achievement

~70% live with two married parents; ~50% from birth till at least 18

~27% of children born to never-married women ~70 of Black children

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Divorce

1/2 of children in the U.S. will pass through childhood living with both parents, each of whom has been married only once.

School-age children tend to blame themselves for the breakup (self-esteem)

Most experience problems anxiety depression sleep disturbances phobias

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Consequences of Divorce Children in divorced families are more likely to

have academic problems (more parental management = higher grades, more success in school)

show externalized problems (such as acting out and delinquency) and internalized problems (such as anxiety and depression)

have less competent intimate relationships drop out of school become sexually active at an early age take drugs have low self-esteem A majority of children in divorced families do not

have significant adjustment problems “by the time they are adults”

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Impact of divorce

Most children will live with their mother and the mother-child relationship may decline.

Twice as many children of divorced parents require psychological counseling as do children from intact families.

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Impact of divorce

Divorce brings a decline to both parents' standard of living—especially the mother’s.

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~ 1/2 of all children whose parents divorce will have a stepparent

Simple families show better adjustment than complex (blended) families

Stepfamilies

The Academic Environment

Constructivist approach -- learner-centered > emphasizes importance of individuals actively constructing knowledge with guidance from the teacher

children should be encouraged to explore, discover knowledge, reflect, and think critically

Direct instruction approach -- structured, teacher-centered > teacher direction and control, high expectations for progress, maximum time for academic tasks, order, and disciplineImportant goal: maximizing student learning

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Cultural Differences in Attribution

African-American children are less likely to attribute success to internal causes; prejudice and discrimination are to blame.

Women tend to attribute failure to low ability; success to luck.

In Asian countries, academic success is perceived as being caused by hard work.

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Schools in low-income areas are more likely to:

have more students with low achievement test scores have low graduation rates have small percentages of students going to college have young teachers with less experienceOften get MORE gov’t money than higher income areas

Socioeconomic Status and Ethnicity

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Expectation Effects

Teacher Expectancy Effect

becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy

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Should Schools Teach Emotional Intelligence?

David Goleman: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

not universally accepted.

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Home and Alone

Self-care/“latchkey” 12 to 14 percent of children in US

between ages of 5 and 12 spend some time alone after school

A few hours alone may be a good thing, as children can decompress and develop sense of autonomy.