Socio-emotional Development

1. Socio-emotional Development Human Development

2. Understanding Human Development • Development – Continuity and change in human capabilities over a lifespan. • Physical • Cognitive • Social • Emotional

3. Issues in Developmental Psychology

4. Temperament • Temperament refers to characteristic patterns of emotional reactions and emotional self-regulation • Thomas and Chess identified three basic types of babies • Easy • Good-natured, easy to care for, adaptable, regular behavior • Difficult • Moody and intense, react to new situations and people negatively and strongly, cries a lot, irregular behavior • Slow-to-warm-up • Inactive and slow to respond to new things, and when they do react, it is mild, inflexible behavior • Kagan has added a fourth type • Shy child • Timid and inhibited, fearful of anything new or strange • Temperament may predict later disposition

5. Temperament • New research suggests we should look out children's abilities in terms of • Effortful control (self-regulation) • Inhibition (Shyness in social situations) • Negative Affectivity (how easily frustrated) • Cultural differences • 4-day-old with cloth over face • European American: struggled • Chinese American: calmer • Genetic and environmental influences • Womb • Day care

6. Attachment • The most important social construct an infant must develop is attachment (a bond with a caregiver). • Lorenz discovered that some animals form attachment through imprinting.

7. Attachment • Emotional connection we share with those we feel closest to • Imprinting • Critical periods • Contact Comfort

8. Harry Harlow’s Study • Harry Harlow – Displayed our need for social attachment with the use of Rhesus Monkeys • Relates to human issues in: • Withdrawal • No sexual relations • Ignored & abused infants

9. Forming Attachments • Mary Ainsworth Studies • Secure Attachment – infants use mother as a base from which to explore • Usually attach to mother first • Caregiver • Calming force • Attach to father later • Playmate

10. Attachment • Critical Periods: the optimal period shortly after birth when an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experiences produce proper development. • Those who are deprived of touch have trouble forming attachment when they are older. Click on the monkey to see what a baby monkey does when he HAS attachment and imagine what it is like when he does not (like above).

11. Strange Situation Study • Studies infants response to separation from their mother • Stranger anxiety– develops at 8-9 months, peaks at 1 year

12. Strange Situation Results • Three types of attachment: • Securely attached babies • distressed when separated from mother, but easily soothed • Insecure-avoidant • Indifferent when mother leaves • Doesn’t react upon return • Insecure-anxious • Panic when mother leaves • Ambivalent upon return • Disorganized • Inconsistent, dazed, confused

13. Criticisms of Strange Situation • Mono-operation bias: drawing conclusions on the basis of only a single measure • Not very reliable • Different attachment with mother than father • Children might elicit parental attachment behaviors CLICK

14. Social Development The Role of parenting

15. Parenting • Permissive • Lenient, lots of freedom not a lot of discipline. Children have poor social competence and are disrespectful, impulsive • Authoritarian • Very strict, lots of punishment, little affection. Sometimes lack social skills, poor initiative, and compare themselves with others. • Authoritative • Happy medium – supportive but set limits. Children are self-reliant, socially competent, responsible • Uninvolved • Neglectful, children feel less important, lose social competence

16. Parenting • Cultural differences • Individualistic: better with authoritative • Collectivist: better with authoritarian • Average expectable environment • Provide basic needs for affection and discipline • What about ….. • Peers? • Group socialization theory • Dad? • Single parent homes? • Homosexual parents? • Divorce?

17. Self-Control • Ability to inhibit an impulse to act • Delaying gratification at young age predictive of future coping abilities

18. Social Development Erik Erikson’s Theory of Social Development

19. Erik Erikson • A neo-Freudian • Worked with Anna Freud • Thought our personality was influenced by our experiences with others. • Stages of Psychosocial Development. • Each stage centers on a social conflict.

20. Erikson • Four stages in childhood, four after puberty. • Shows that socio-emotional development occurs throughout a lifespan • Focus on gaining competence and maturity • At each stage the person must master a developmental task. • If not met can carry these concerns throughout life

23. Erikson Evaluation • A giant in the field of development • Only used case study research and evidence, so lacks foundation. • Leaves out some developmental tasks • Work and career during young adulthood

24. Socioemotional Development Lawrence Kohlberg vs. Carol Gilligan: How do we develop Morals?

26. Moral Development • Kohlberg (1958) – asked a series of questions about moral scenarios. • Answers to moral dilemma from participants were used to display moral development. • The Famous Heinz Scenario

27. Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development • Studied the development of children’s moral thinking • Follows a sequence and do not skip stages or go backwards • Advance at different rates • PRECONVENTIONAL- Base decisions on the consequences of behavior • Stage One- What is good helps you avoid punishment • Stage Two- What is good satisfies a person’s needs • CONVENTIONAL- Decisions conform to society • Stage Three- Do things to win approval (13 yrs) • Stage Four- Don’t do anything that’s against law and order (16yrs) • POSTCONVENTIONAL- Decisions based on your values (adults) • Stage Five- Obedience to accepted laws based on personal values • Stage Six- Decisions based on moral beliefs without concern for laws

28. Carol Gilligan • Argued that Kohlberg did not give adequate attention to relationships • Gender bias involved • Showed Kohlberg came from a justice perspective, not a care perspective (her approach) • Gilligan puts more emphasis on interpersonal communication, relationships, and concern.

29. Human Moral Development • Supportive parenting and parental monitoring connected to pro-social behavior in children • Ability to engage in self-control also shown to connect to willingness to empathize (Eisenberg, 2010) • When do children develop a conscious?

30. Socioemotional Development Social development in adolescence and adulthood

31. Adolescence • The key lies in the search for identity as the brain fully develops. • Biological-Socioemotional crossover period • Identity Status is formed through exploration, experimentation and commitment • Identity Achievement • Identity Moratorium • Identity Foreclosure • Identity Diffusion

32. Emerging Adulthood • Emerging transitional period • 18-25 years patterned by a focus on the self, being “in-between”, and instability in various aspect of life. • Early Adulthood = Point of Marriage • Nurture fondness and admiration • Turning toward each other as friends • Giving up some power • Solving conflicts together

33. Adulthood • Middle Adulthood • Preventing the midlife crisis through Generativity • Engaged parenting is one way to due this • Late Adulthood • Need to look back and evaluate life’s meaning • Ego Integrity vs. Despair (Erikson) • Meaning is a central focus of the elderly • Maximize life’s experiences