Social and Personality Development in Middle Childhood

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Chapter 10

• Social and Personality Development in Middle
  Childhood

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In This Chapter
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Theories of Social and Personality
DevelopmentPsychoanalytic Theories

• Freud challenge is to form emotional bonds with
  peers and move beyond sole earlier formed bonds
• Erikson challenge is to develop a sense of
  competence and willingness to work toward goal
• Industry versus Inferiority Stage

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Theories of Social and Personality Development
Trait Approach

• What trait or traits describe you best?

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The Big Five Personality Traits
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Theories of Social and Personality Development
Social-Cognitive Perspectives

• Bandura and reciprocal determinism
• Three components
• Person component (traits)
• Behavior
• Environment
• These three mutually influence one another

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Figure 10.1 Banduras Determinism Model
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Self-ConceptThe Psychological Self

• Psychological self Persons understanding of his
  or her enduring psychological characteristics
• More complex
• Comparisons in self-descriptions
• Less tied to external features

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Self-ConceptSelf-Efficacy

• Self-efficacy Individuals belief in their
  capacity to cause intended events
• Social comparisons
• Encouragement from valued sources
• Actual experiences

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Self-ConceptThe Valued Self

• Nature of self-esteem

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Self-ConceptSelf-Esteem

• Key components
• Discrepancy between what desires and perceived
  achievement
• Perceived support from important people

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Self-ConceptOrigins of Self-Esteem

• Direct experience with success or failure
• Labels and judgments from others
• Value attached to some skill or quality affected
  by peers and parents attitudes

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Figure 10.2 Harters Research on Social
Support, Domain Values and Self Esteem
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Advances in Social CognitionSelf-Concept

• The Child as Psychologist
• Focuses on internal traits and motivations of
  others
• Better understanding that same person plays
  different roles in life
• Less emphasis on external appearance

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Figure 10.3 Changes in Childrens Descriptions of
Others
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Self-ConceptMoral Reasoning Piaget

• Moral reasoning Judgments about rightness and
  wrongness of specific actions
• Moral realism
• Moral relativism

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The Social World of the School-Aged ChildFamily
Relationships

• Parental Expectations
• Parents recognize childrens increasing abilities
  to self-regulate
• Culture may play a role in the age of expected
  behaviors

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The Social World of the School-Aged ChildFamily
Relationships

• Parental Expectations
• Boys given more autonomy
• Girls held more accountable
• Parental authoritative style more often produces
  socially competent children

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The Social World of the School-Aged ChildFamily
Relationships

• Only Children and Siblings
• Only children
• As well adjusted as children with siblings
• Siblings
• Positively contribute to childrens social and
  emotional understanding

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The Social World of the School-Aged Child

• Friendships
• Peer importance increases in middle childhood
• Best Friend emerges
• Friendships depend on reciprocal trust by age 10
• Friends help with problem solving and conflict
  management

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Figure 10.4 A 10-Year-Olds Explanation of
Friendship
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Gender Segregation

• Cultural influence
• Age of appearance
• Playmate preference
• Playmate style by gender

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The Social World of the School-Aged ChildGender
Segregation

• Boundary violations
• Play group composition by gender
• Play focus
• Cooperative play

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The Social World of the School-Aged
ChildPatterns of Aggression
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The Social World of the School-Aged
ChildPatterns of Aggression

• Girls display more relational aggression
• Both boys and girls increase retaliatory
  aggression
• Can you think of examples to illustrate each kind
  of aggression?

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The Social World of the School-Aged ChildSocial
Status

• Social status Degree to which children are
  accepted by peers

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The Social World of the School-Aged ChildTwo
Types of Rejected Children

• How are these types of rejected children alike?
  How are do they differ?

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The Social World of the School-Aged ChildTwo
Types of Rejected Children

• Neglected or rejected
• Very different from peers, shy, highly creative

The invisible child
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Influences Beyond Family and Peers After-School
Care Pros and Cons
CONS/DISADVANTAGES

• PROS/ADVANTAGES

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Influences Beyond Family and Peers Poverty

• Childhood poverty rate
• Rate is higher for younger children
• Characteristics of parents in poverty

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Figure 10.5 Poverty, Age and Time
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Influences Beyond Family and Peers Poverty

• Children in poverty
• More often ill
• Lower average IQ scores
• Perform poorly in school
• Exhibit more behavior problems

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Influences beyond Family and Peers Inner-City
Poverty
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Influences beyond Family and Peers Inner-City
Poverty

• Children of inner-city poverty may grow up
• Exposed to street gangs and street violence
• In over-crowded homes
• Subject to more abuse and drug use
• Witnessing or becoming victims of more violent
  crimes
• Subject to PTSD

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Questions To Ponder

• What are three factors that schools can focus on
  to help a student develop their sense of
  industry?
• Since we know poverty is a major factor in poor
  developmental outcomes for education, what can we
  do to encourage poor students to be successful?

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True or False?

• There is a causal link between viewing violent
  television and aggressive behavior in children.

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Television

• Prosocial behavior
• Enhanced by quality programs that teach children
  moral and social values
• Mr. Rogers Neighborhood
• Sesame Street

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Computers and the Internet

• Economic differences
• Uses
• Gender differences

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Video Games

• Influences on child behavior
• Violent content and game preferences

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Influences Beyond Family and Peers Policy
QuestionTest-Based Reform

• National Assessment of Educational Progress
• NAEP The Nations Report Card
• Assessment of educational improvement
• Teaching to the test
• Student efforts

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Figure 10.6 NAEP Average Scores Over Time