Chapter 10

1. Chapter 10 Socio-emotional Development in Middle and Late Childhood ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

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4. The Self • The Development of Self-Understanding • Self-Esteem and Self-Concept • Industry versus Inferiority ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

5. The Development of Self-Understanding • Self-understanding shifts from defining oneself through external characteristics to defining oneself through internal characteristics. • Elementary school children are more likely to define themselves in terms of social characteristics. • Self-understanding now includes increasing reference to social comparison—what they can do in comparison with others. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

6. Self-Esteem and Self-Concept • What Are Self-Esteem and Self-Concept? • Research on Self-Esteem • Increasing Children’s Self-Esteem ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

7. What Are Self-Esteem and Self-Concept • Self-esteem – global evaluations of the self • Also referred to as self-worth or self-image • Self-concept – domain-specific evaluations of the self • Children can make evaluations about themselves academically, athletically, based on their appearance, etc. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

8. Research On Self-Esteem • Self-esteem found to be stable at least across a month or so of time. • Self-esteem can change, especially in response to transitions in life. • Elementary school children engage in social comparison, which can lower their self-esteem. • Low-self esteem is related to depression. • Much research is correlational, not experimental. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

9. Increasing Children’s Self-Esteem • Identification of the causes of low self-esteem and the domains of competence important to the self • Emotional support and social approval • Achievement • Coping ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

10. Industry Versus Inferiority • In Erikson’s fourth stage, industry refers to the fact that children become interested in how things are made and how they work. • When encouraged in their efforts to make, build, and work, children’s sense of industry increases. • Parents who see their children’s efforts as “making mischief” or “making a mess” encourage children’s development of a sense of inferiority. • School plays a very important role in this stage. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

11. Emotional Development • Developmental Changes • Emotional Intelligence • Coping with Stress ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

12. Developmental Changes • Increased ability to understand such complex emotions as pride and shame • Increased understanding that more than one emotion can be experienced in a particular situation • Increased tendency to take into fuller account the events leading to emotional reactions • Marked improvements in the ability to suppress or conceal negative emotional reactions • Use of self-initiated strategies for redirecting feelings ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

13. Emotional Intelligence • The concept of emotional intelligence initially was proposed as a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action. • Goleman’s view of emotional intelligence involves: • Developing Emotional Self-Awareness • Managing Emotions • Reading Emotions • Handling Relationships ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

14. Coping with Stress • As children get older they become more accurate at appraising a stressful situation and how much control they have over it. • Children who have a variety of coping techniques are best equipped adapt and function completely during traumatic events. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

15. Recommendations • Recommendations for helping children cope with stress: • Reinforce ideas of safety and security. • Listen and tolerate children’s retelling of events. • Encourage children to talk about confusing feelings, worries, daydreams, and disruptions of concentration. • Help children make sense of what happened. • Provide reassurance to children so that they will be able to handle stressful feelings over time. • Protect children from re-exposure to frightening situations and reminders of the trauma. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

16. Moral Development • Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development • Kohlberg’s Level 1: Preconventional Reasoning • Kohlberg’s Level 2: Conventional Reasoning • Kohlberg’s Level 3: Postconventional Reasoning • Kohlberg’s Critics • Prosocial Behaviour and Altruism ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

17. Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development • Lawrence Kohlberg stressed that moral development is based primarily on moral reasoning and unfolds in stages. • He arrived at his view after 20 years of using a unique interview with children in which they are presented with a series of stories in which characters face moral dilemmas. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

18. Internalization • A key concept in understanding is internalization. • It is the developmental change from behaviour that is externally controlled to behaviour that is controlled by internal standards and principles. • As children and adolescents develop, their moral thoughts become more internalized. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

19. Kohlberg’s Level 1: Preconventional Reasoning • Stage 1: Heteronomous morality – thinking is often tied to punishment. • Stage 2: Individualism, instrumental purpose, and exchange – individuals pursue their own interests but also let others do the same. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

20. Kohlberg’s Level 2: Conventional Reasoning • Stage 3: Mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships, and interpersonal conformity – individuals value trust, caring, and loyalty to others as a basis of moral judgments. • Stage 4: Social systems morality – moral judgments are based on understanding the social law, justice, and duty. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

21. Kohlberg’s Level 3: Postconventional Reasoning • Stage 5: Social contract or utility and individual rights – individuals reason that values, rights, and principles transcend the law. • Stage 6: Universal ethical principles – the person has developed a moral standard based on universal human rights. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

22. Kohlberg’s Critics • Moral Thought and Moral Behaviour • Culture and Moral Development • Family Processes and Moral Development • Gender and the Care Perspective ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

23. Moral Thought and Moral Behaviour • Kohlberg’s theory has been criticized for placing too much emphasis on moral thought and not enough emphasis on moral behaviour. • Moral reasons can sometimes be a shelter for immoral behaviour. • Cheaters and thieves may know what is right yet still do what is wrong. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

24. Culture and Moral Development • Kohlberg’s theory has been criticized for being culturally biased. • Moral reasoning is more culture-specific than Kohlberg envisioned. • His scoring system does not recognize higher-level moral reasoning in certain cultural groups. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

25. Family Processes and Moral Development • Kohlberg claimed family processes are essentially unimportant in children’s moral development, and that peers are more likely to be an influence. • Many developmentalists believe that Kohlberg underestimated the contribution of family relationships to moral development. • They emphasize that inductive discipline positively influences moral development. • Parents’ moral values are also believed to influence children’s developing moral thoughts. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

26. Gender and Care Perspective • Kohlberg’s theory is a justice perspective that focuses on the rights of the individual; individuals stand alone and independently make moral decisions. • The care perspective is a moral perspective that views people in terms of their connectedness with others and emphasizes interpersonal communication, relationships with others, and concern for others. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

27. Gender and Care Perspective (cont’d) • Carol Gilligan believed Kohlberg greatly under-played the care perspective in moral development, due to being male, using primarily males for his research, and basing his theory on male responses. • Gilligan’s research found that girls consistently interpret moral dilemmas in terms of human relationships. • Other research has found that the gender differences in moral reasoning are not absolute. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

28. Prosocial Behaviour and Altruism • Prosocial Behaviour –the positive aspect of moral development, such as showing empathy to someone or showing altruistic behaviour. • Altruism– an unselfish interest in helping someone else; has its beginnings in sharing. • Equality– everyone is treated the same; one of the first principles of morality used by elementary school children. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

29. Gender • Gender Stereotypes • Gender Similarities and Differences • Physical Similarities and Differences • Cognitive Similarities and Differences • Socio-emotional Similarities and Differences • Gender-Role Classification ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

30. Gender Stereotypes • Broad categories that reflect our impressions and beliefs about females and males. • Refer to an image of what the typical member of a particular social category is like. • Males are widely believed to be dominant, independent, aggressive, achievement-oriented, and enduring. • Females are widely believed to be nurturant, affiliative, less esteemed, and more helpful. • Genders were perceived more similar in Christian than in Muslim societies. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

31. Gender Similarities and Differences • When examining gender similarities and differences, keep in mind: • The differences are average. • Even when differences are reported, there is considerable overlap between the genders. • Differences may due primarily to biological factors, socio-cultural factors, or both. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

32. Physical Similarities and Differences • Females have a longer life expectancy. • Females are less likely to develop physical or mental disorders. • Males have twice the risk of coronary disease. • Females produce more “good” cholesterol. • Women have about twice the body fat of men. • Fat is concentrated around breasts and hips in women, the abdomen in men. • On average, males grow to be 10% taller. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

33. Cognitive Similarities and Differences • Controversy exists as to true cognitive differences between males and females. • Some studies have shown that males perform better on math and visuospatial tasks, while females have better language skills. • Overall, girls are found to be far superior students, while boys do slightly better at math and science. • Girls are taking similar math and science courses in high school and use computers in a variety of ways. However, they are still far less likely to go into careers in science and technology. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

34. Socio-emotional Similarities and Differences • One of the most consistent gender differences is that boys are more aggressive than girls. • Boys are more active than girls. • Males usually show less self-regulation than females. • Low self-regulation has been found to be linked with greater aggression, the teasing of others, overreaction to frustration, low cooperation, and inability to delay gratification. • Girls are more likely to engage in relational aggression – involves behaviours as trying to make others dislike a certain child by spreading malicious rumours about the child or ignoring them if they are angry with him or her. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

35. Gender-Role Classification • What is Gender-Role Classification? • Androgyny • Gender in Context ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

36. What is Gender-Role Classification? • In the past, a well-adjusted boy was supposed to be independent, aggressive, and powerful. • A well-adjusted girl was supposed to be dependent, nurturant, and uninterested in power. • Society considered masculine characteristics healthy and good, feminine characteristics undesirable. • The concept of androgyny was developed in the 1970s in response to dissatisfaction by both males and females with the burdens imposed by their roles. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

37. Androgyny • Refers to the presence of desirable masculine and feminine characteristics in the same person. • The Bem Sex-Role Inventory is used to assess androgyny. • Sandra Bem argues that androgynous individuals are more flexible, competent, and mentally healthy than their masculine or feminine counterparts. • To some degree, which gender-role classification is best depends on the context involved. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

38. Gender in Context • Gender-role classification involves a personality-traitlike categorization. • It may be helpful to think of personality in terms of person-situation interaction, rather than personality traits alone. • Different gender roles might be more appropriate, depending on the context or setting involved. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

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40. Parent-Child Issues • Introducing chores and payment • Helping children learn to entertain themselves • Monitoring children’s lives outside the family in school and peer settings • Discipline is easier than during early childhood and often easier than in adolescence • Coregulation of control • Life changes for parents ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

41. Societal Changes in Families • Stepfamilies • Latchkey Children ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

42. Stepfamilies • These children have more adjustment problems. • Problems mimic those of children of divorce: • academic problems • externalizing and internalizing problems • lower self-esteem • early sexual activity • delinquency • There is an increase in adjustment problems of children in newly remarried families. • Restabilization may take up to 5 years longer than in divorced families. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

43. Boundary Ambiguity • The uncertainty in stepfamilies about who is in or out of the family and who is performing or responsible for certain tasks in the family system. • In early remarriage, stepfathers tend to behave like polite strangers to win over stepchildren. • In longer established stepfamilies, a distant, disengaged parenting style predominates for stepfathers, although conflict can remain high. • Stepmothers have a more difficult time integrating themselves into stepfamilies. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

44. Latchkey Children • These children typically do not see their parents from the time they leave for school in the morning until about 6 or 7 P.M. • Latchkey children are largely unsupervised for 2 to 4 hours a day during the week. • During the summer they may be unsupervised for entire days, 5 days a week. • The experiences of latchkey children vary enormously. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

45. Findings on Latchkey Children • Some grow up too fast, due to responsibilities. • Without limits and parental supervision, many more easily find their way into trouble, possibly stealing, vandalizing, or abusing a sibling. • Parental monitoring and authoritative parenting help the child cope more effectively with latchkey experiences, especially in resisting peer pressure. • The Canadian Safety Council recommends that parents prepare their children for household emergencies. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

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47. Peer Status • Popular children– frequently nominated as a best friend, rarely disliked by peers. • Neglected children– infrequently nominated as a best friend, not disliked by peers. • Rejected children– infrequently nominated as a best friend, actively disliked by peers. • Controversial children– frequently nominated both as someone’s best friend and as being disliked. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

48. Rejected Children • Often have more serious adjustment problems later in life than do neglected children. • The key factor in predicting whether rejected children would engage in delinquent behaviour or drop out of school during adolescence was aggression towards peers in elementary school. • Not all are aggressive; 10%–20% are shy. • The goal of training programs for rejected children is to help them listen to peers, instead of trying to dominate peer interactions. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

49. Bullying • Criteria for bullying include: • Intention to hurt • Repetition of the action • Lack of clear provocation • Imbalance of power • Impact on the victim ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.

50. Reducing Bullying • Teachers can do the following to reduce bullying: • Get older peers to serve as monitors and intervene when they see bullying taking place. • Develop schoolwide rules and sanctions against bullying and post them throughout the school. • Form friendship groups for adolescents who are regularly bullied by peers. • Incorporate the message of the antibullying program into church, school, and other community activities in which adolescents are involved. ©2005 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.