The Play Years: Psychosocial Development Part III Chapter Ten The Play Years: Psychosocial Development Emotional Development Parents Becoming Boys and Girls Prepared by Madeleine Lacefield Tattoon, M.A.

The Play Years: Psychosocial Development 2 to 6-year-old transformation maturation and motivation are crucial; so are emotion and experiences. psychosocial development is multifaceted, involving genes, gender, parents, peers, and culture

Emotional Development Learning when and how to express emotions is the preeminent psychosocial accomplishment between the ages of 2 and 6 years Emotional Regulation the ability to control when and how emotions are expressed

Emotional Development Initiative Versus Guilt Erickson’s third psychosocial crisis children begin new activities and feel guilty when they fail Self-esteem how a person evaluates his or her own worth, either in specific (e.g., intelligence, attractiveness) or overall Self-concept a person’s understanding of who he or she is includes appearance, personality, and various traits

Emotional Development Pride typical 3 – 5-year-olds have immodest and quite positive self-concepts, holding themselves in high self-esteem.” longer attention span—they have a purpose for what they do self-esteem and concentration are connected with maturation (but are not the cause) feeling proud of oneself is the foundation for practice and then mastery

Emotional Development Guilt people blame themselves because they have done something wrong Shame people feel that others are blaming them Guilt and shame often occur together, but don’t necessarily go hand in hand

Emotional Development Intrinsic Motivation goals or drives that come from inside a person, such as the need to feel smart or competent this differs with external motivation, the need for rewards from outside, such as material possessions or someone else’s esteem

Emotional Development Psychopathology illness or disorder (-pathology) that involves the mind (psycho-) the first signs in children usually involve emotions that seem to overwhelm the child emotional regulation begins with impulse control

Emotional Development: Balance Externalizing problems difficulty with emotional regulation that involves outward expression of emotions in uncontrolled ways Internalizing problems difficulty with emotional regulation that involves turning one’s emotional distress inward, as by feeling excessively guilty, ashamed, or worthless

Emotional Development Neurological damage in development Prenatally If a pregnant woman is stressed, ill, or a heavy drug user Infancy if an infant is chronically malnourished, injured, or frightened extensive stress can kill some neurons and stop others from developing properly

Emotional Development early care can prevent or worsen innate problems with emotional control the harm of poor caregiving is evident in maltreated 4 – 6-year-olds. if neglect or abuse occurs in the first few years it is more likely to cause internalizing or externalizing problems

Emotional Development Empathy the ability to understand the emotions of another person, especially when those emotions differ from one’s own Antipathy feelings of anger, distrust, dislike, or even hatred toward another person

Emotional Development Prosocial behavior feelings and acting in ways that are helpful and kind, without obvious benefit to one self Antisocial behavior feelings and acting in ways that are deliberately hurtful or destructive to another person

Emotional Development Aggression “The gradual regulation of emotions and emergence of antipathy is nowhere more apparent than in the most antisocial behavior of all, active aggression, which occurs when a child’s dislike erupts into action."

Emotional Development Instrumental aggression hurtful behavior that is intended to get or keep something that another person has Reactive aggression an impulsive retaliaton for another person’s intentional or accidental actions, verbal or physical Bullying aggression unprovoked, repeated physical or verbal attack, especially on victims who are unlikely to defend themselves

Emotional Development Bullying not always physical; can be verbal or relational when the goal is to disrupt a child’s friendship physical aggression declines over the preschool and school-age years, but verbal attacks may increase

Parents the primary influence on the young child’s emotions--including brain maturation and culture parents differ a great deal in what they believe about children and how they act with them

Parents differ on four important dimensions Parenting Style Parents differ on four important dimensions expressions of warmth strategies for discipline communication expectations for maturity

Parenting Styles Authoritarian parenting Permissive parenting high behavioral standards, punishment of misconduct, and low communication Permissive parenting high nurturance and communication but rare punishment, guidance, or control Authoritative parenting the parents set limits but listen to the child and are flexible

Parents Discipline and Punishment discipline varies a great deal from family to family, culture to culture ideal parents anticipate misbehavior and guide their children towards patterns that will help them lifelong disciplinary techniques do not work quickly or automatically to teach desired behavior

Parents Discipline and Punishment first step is clarity what is expected each family needs to decide its goals and make them explicit for the child second step is to remember what the child is able to do parents forget how immature children’s control over their bodies and minds is

Parents Discipline and Punishment time-out withdrawal of love induction

Parenting: Media The Importance of Content most young children spend more than three hours a day using some sort of media

Parenting: Media Content “What do children see?” Attempts to limit or restrict children’s watching have limited success Evidence from every perspective confirm that violence is pervasive Children who watch violence on television become more violent

Becoming Boys and Girls Sex differences biological differences between males and females, in organs, hormones, and body type Gender differences differences in the roles and behavior of males and females that originate in the culture

Becoming Boys and Girls Psychoanalytic Theory Phallic stage Freud’s third stage of development, when the penis becomes the focus of concern and pleasure Oedipus complex the unconscious desire of young boys is to replace their father and win their mother’s exclusive love

Becoming Boys and Girls Behaviorism virtually all roles are learned and therefore result from nurture, not nature gender distinctions are the product of ongoing reinforcement and punishment

Becoming Boys and Girls Cognitive Theory focuses on children’s understanding children develop concepts about their experience developing a gender schema, a type of cognitive schema or general belief—the understanding of sex differences

Becoming Boys and Girls Sociocultural Theory traditional cultures enforce gender distinctions with dramatic stories, taboos, and terminology adult activities and dress are strictly separate by gender, girls and boys attend sex-separated schools and virtually never play together

Becoming Boys and Girls Sociocultural Theory Androgyny a balance, within a person, of traditionally male and female psychological characteristics

Becoming Boys and Girls Epigenetic Theory that our traits and behaviors are the result of interactions between genes and early experiences gender differences based in genetics are supported by recent research in neurobiology there are dozen of biological differences between the male and female brain

Becoming Boys and Girls Gender and Destiny lead in two opposite directions… gender differences are rooted in biology biology is not destiny--children are shaped by their experiences given nature and nurture, both these conclusions are valid