Child Growth and Development, ELED 132

1. Child Growth and Development, ELED 132 Dr. Andrew Whitehead More information at: www.esu.edu/~andrew

2. Developing a Sense of Self • Self-concept – beliefs that people have about themselves, their characteristics and their abilities • Self-esteem – feelings that people have about their own capabilities and self-worth • Self-efficacy – belief that one is capable of executing certain behaviors or reaching certain goals in a particular task or domain

3. Factors Influencing the Development of Self-Perception • The behaviors of others play a role • Parents • Teachers • Other students • Another factor is a child’s own past behaviors and performance

4. Development of Self Across Childhood and Adolescence • Infancy • Develop the idea that they are physical beings • Early Childhood (Ages 2-6) • Most have positive self-concept • Middle Childhood (Ages 6-10) • When students enter elementary school, self-concept goes down

5. Development of Self Across Childhood and Adolescence • Early Adolescence (Ages 10-14) • Self-concept drops again – especially for girls • Imaginary audience – belief that one is the center of attention in any social situation • Personal fable – belief that one is completely unlike other people, cannot be understood and is impervious to danger

6. Development of Self Across Childhood and Adolescence • Late Adolescence (Ages 14-18) • Identity – people’s self-constructed definition of who they are, what they find important and what goals they want to accomplish in life • Identity crisis – period during which an individual actively struggles to choose a course in life

7. Development of Self Across Childhood and Adolescence • What are some things we can do to help children enhance their sense of self? • Talk among your groups for a few minutes

8. Enhancing Children’s Sense of Self • Be kind to children • Promote success on academic, social and physical tasks • Focus children’s attention on their own improvement rather than on how others are performing • Give constructive and encouraging feedback • Consider the unique needs of girls and boys

9. Social Cognition • Speculation about what others are thinking and feeling • Theory of Mind • Awareness that people have inner thoughts, beliefs, and feelings • Promoting factors • Brain maturation • Environmental factors

10. Social Cognition • Social Information Processing • Steps used to process and respond to social events • Attention • Elaboration • Storage • Retrieval

11. Social Cognition • Social-Cognitive Bias and Prejudice • Social-cognitive biases • Mental shortcut in thinking about other people or social events • Stereotype • Rigid, simplistic mischaracterizations about a particular group • Prejudice • Display of negative attitudes, feelings and behaviors toward individuals based on their group affiliation

12. Social Cognition • Diversity in Social Cognition • Children of many cultures acquire a theory of mind at similar ages • Extent to which children think about others’ thoughts and feelings varies by culture • Some disabilities may hinder children’s ability to think about other people • Mental retardation • Autism • ADHD

13. Social Cognition • Fostering Development of Social Cognition • Talk about psychological phenomena and other people’s perspectives in age-appropriate ways. • Encourage thinking about others’ perspectives in age appropriate ways • Help children become aware of nonverbal cues • Work to break down stereotypes and prejudice

14. Interpersonal Behaviors • As children grow, they develop greater social skills • Strategies used to interact effectively with others • Largely as a result of experience and practice • Can also acquire these skills vicariously

15. Interpersonal Behaviors at Different Ages Infancy (Birth-2) Interactions with caregivers involve a common focus on external objects Developing language skills facilitate meaningful exchanges Early Childhood (Ages 2-6) Greater interactions with age mates Presence of parallel play Middle Childhood (Ages 6-10) Increased opportunity to interact with peers Greater eagerness to conform to social norms Forming of larger peer groups Early Adolescence (10-14) Increased reliance on peers for support and recreation Increased group division by race or ethnicity Late Adolescence (14-18) Greater ability to view others as individuals Increased social maturity Interpersonal Behaviors

16. Development of Prosocial Behavior and Aggression Prosocial behavior Action taken to promote well-being of others Aggression Actions taken to intentionally hurt another person Have both a biological and environmental basis Interpersonal Behaviors

17. Interpersonal Behaviors • Diversity in Interpersonal Behavior • Gender differences are evident as early as preschool • Boys tend to place a higher priority on physical action • Girls tend to be slightly more kind and considerate • Cultural values affect the number of opportunities to interact with peers • Different cultural groups model different interpersonal skills • Children with higher intelligence tend to have higher social skills • Many children with disabilities still manage to have strong interpersonal skills

18. Interpersonal Behaviors • Fostering Effective Interpersonal Skills • Teach specific social skills and problem solving strategies • Label appropriate behaviors as they occur • Plan cooperative activities • Expose children to multiple examples of prosocial behavior • Provide opportunities for children to make a positive impact in their communities • Give concrete guidelines for behavior • Seek intervention for youngsters with a history of aggression • Develop a peer mediation program