PSYC 206 Lifespan Development Bilge Yagmurlu 1

Chapter Overview Identity Development Socialization Developing Prosocial Behaviors Understanding Aggression Developing Self-Regulation

Lack of Theory of Mind Ability to represent others’ mental states such as thoughts, beliefs, and desires There is a single reality and people may have different representations Understanding false belief: how someone comes to have a mistaken belief about something A child has a mature understanding of the mind around 4-4.5 years of age

Universality of ToM and Language 2-6-years-old Baka children, who lived in the rain forests of southeast Cameroon. Similar to findings reported for Western children, false belief understanding of Baka children displayed a significant development between 3 and 5 years of age. This was the first study carried out with children growing up in a preliterate society with a hunter-gatherer life-style and with no school experience. Thus, it provided a strong support for the universality claim about ToM development.

Vinden (1996): cultures (Junin Quechue) without explicit mentalistic vocabulary Junin Quechua children had an earlier understanding of appearance-reality distinction than of false belief. While the understanding of the appearance-reality distinction improved with age, even children over 6 years of age performed poorly in tasks of false belief. In Western children, understanding false belief and appearance-reality distinctions tends to display parallelism in development and both abilities increase significantly from 3 to 5 years of age. Hence, Vinden suggested that abilities requiring the ability to represent may develop differently across cultures and this may be related to linguistic properties.

Universality of ToM and Language Vinden and Astington (1998): language and ToM are two interconnected abilities language and aspects of the context where language is learned must be taken into account in developmental studies.

Information-Processing Approaches to Cognitive Development The working of the mind as analogous to the digital computer

Information-Processing Young children’s cognitive difficulties caused by limitations of general cognitive factors: Knowledge Memory Attention control Processing speed Strategies for acquiring and using information

Chapter 9 Overview Identity Development Developing Prosocial Behaviors Developing Self-Regulation Understanding Aggression

Social and Emotional Development Socialization: The process by which children acquire the standards, values, and knowledge of their society. Personality Formation: The process through which children develop their own unique patterns of feeling, thinking, and behaving in a wide variety of situations.

Identity Development Identification: Erikson: A psychological process in which children try to look, act, feel, and be like significant people in their social environment. Erikson: initiative versus guilt

Identity Development Acquisition of Sex-Role The Sense of Self

Sex-Role Identity Psychodynamic View Social Learning View Cognitive-Development View Gender Schema View

Psychodynamic View Sigmund Freud Still influential, even though not always substantiated by evidence Assumes young children are caught in hidden conflicts between their fears and desires.

Psychodynamic View Phallic Stage: The period around the fourth year when children begin to regard their own genitals as a major source of pleasure.

Phallic Stage Mental conflicts with same-sex parent Oedipus complex Electra complex

Phallic Stage Resolution: Child identifies with same-sex parent Differentiates self from opposite-sex parent

Phallic Stage Male Oedipus Complex Greek mythology (Sophocles) Lusting for female in the home; intuitions about sexual life Castration anxiety Solution: a. develop superego b. give up on sex

Phallic Stage Female Oedipus Complex Penis envy: bigger is better but no protruding organ, no fear of losing Sexual identification with mum, special relationship with dad develop superego

Social Learning View Emphasizes two processes: Modeling The process by which children observe and imitate individuals of their own sex. Differential Reinforcement The process by which girls and boys are differently rewarded for engaging in gender-appropriate behavior.

Cognitive-Development View Central Idea: A child’s own conceptions are central to the formation of sex-role identity. Jean Piaget Lawrence Kohlberg

Kohlberg Basic Sex-Role Identity: Sex-Role Stability: Labeling oneself as a boy or girl Sex-Role Stability: Understanding the stability of sex roles over time Sex-Role Constancy: Understanding their sex remains the same no matter what the situation

Gender Schema View Includes features of both social learning and cognitive-developmental theories. Gender Schema: A mental model containing with information about males and females that is used to process gender-relevant information.

How Gender Schemas Work

Developing Prosocial Behaviors Voluntary actions intended to benefit others, such as sharing, helping, caregiving, and showing compassion.

Altruism “intrinsically motivated, voluntary behavior intended to benefit another: acts motivated by internal motives such as concern for others or by internalized values, goals, and self-rewards rather than by expectation of concrete or social rewards or the avoidance of punishment.” Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998

Empathy Empathy: Relationship to egocentrism The sharing of another person’s emotions and feelings. Relationship to egocentrism “an affective response that stems from the apprehension or comprehension of another’s emotional state or condition, and that is identical or very similar to what the other person is feeling or would be expected to feel.”

Sympathy Sympathy: Personal Distress: Feelings of sorrow or concern for another. Other-oriented emotional reaction to another’s emotional state or condition. Personal Distress: A self-focused aversive emotional reaction to another person’s distress.

Example A man is talking about his father's death, which had occurred a week earlier. As he talks about missing his father and his powerful love for him, the man's voice gradually becomes filled with anguish and then he bursts into tears in front of a friend who is listening to him. He is remembering his father with pain. Poor Roger. "I'm sorry for your loss" "I feel your pain." The person using empathy would share the grieving man's emotional pain, but not necessarily feel sorry for or pity him.

Hoffman’s Theory of Empathy Development Biological preparedness: reflexive crying of infants Empathic arousal without self-other differentiation Unsure about what’s happening to who. Self-other differentiation without perspective taking Attribute own feelings to others and show comforting interventions Perspective-taking Finds true source of distress.

Hoffman’s Theory of Empathy Development High level cognition Extended range of reaction with awareness of continuing existence of others

Understanding Aggression Two main categories of aggression: Hostile aggression: intended to hurt someone in some way Instrumental aggression: intended to achieve a particular goal

Forms of Aggression Physical aggression Teasing Relational aggression By age 2, more likely to tease siblings than hurt them physically Relational aggression

Gender Differences Boys: Girls More often use direct, physical aggression Girls Use more relational aggression: Indirect aggression aimed at excluding a child or harming their friendships