Chapter 7-8 Psyc311 Jen Wright Early Childhood Chapter 7-8 Psyc311 Jen Wright

Theory of mind The ability to understand the existence of mental states in the minds of others Desires Beliefs etc. Strongly explanatory and predictive. Yet, non-tangible.

concerned with the person Desires – “I want…” children speak about early (2 years) Beliefs – “I believe that…” don’t show up in speech until 4-5 years Desires – simple constructs mind-to-world fit concerned with the person How we want the world to be similar to emotions (non-representational) Beliefs – more complex constructs world-to-mind fit concerned how the world How it really is representational

Maxi “false-belief” tasks ? ?

Succeeding at the false belief task… Requires understanding that Maxi has a mental state (belief) that is different from the child’s mental state. has a mental state (belief) that is different from reality. Beliefs come apart from reality they can be false. Desires don’t.

Children can use belief states to explain behavior before they will use them to predict. Katie is looking for her kitty. Her kitty is in the garage. Katie is looking for her under the piano. Why is Katie looking under the piano? When confronted with a behavior they can’t otherwise explain, children will appeal to a (false) belief. She is looking under the piano cause she thinks the kitty is there.

examples Experimenter: Why does Jason cry? Child: Because he was scared. Experimenter: Why else does Jason cry? Child: He thought it was a rattlesnake. Experimenter: Was it really a rattlesnake? Child: No. Experimenter: Why is Ann smiling? Child: ’Cause she likes cookies. Experimenter: Why else is Ann smiling? Child: ’Cause she’s happy. Child: She thinks she can eat it? Experimenter: Can she really eat it? Child: It’s not real.

Appearance-reality tasks

What do all of these tasks have in common? Executive function The ability to override current information with New information Past information Additional information The ability to hold 2+ thoughts in mind and compare them.

emotions and self-development Emotions are important in the emergence of self-awareness: Self-efficacy awareness that you can affect events in your surrounding Self-control learning to modulate emotional reactions Self-concept episodic memories external vs. internal characteristics

Emerge end of 2nd year, with sense of self Self-esteem: higher order emotions that involve injury or enhancement to sense of self shame, embarrassment, guilt, envy, pride Emerge end of 2nd year, with sense of self Accompanies other self-recognition tasks Awareness of expectations/reactions of others Important distinction between shame and guilt. What is the difference? Why do we call these emotions “moral emotions”?

Emergence of the conscience: moral awareness- sense of good vs. bad Self-regulatory emotions Guilt/Shame Pride Disgust Inhibition of bad behavior, promotion of good behavior socialization- culturally relevant norms and feelings

empathy May be more important for moral socialization than negative emotions Global distress Emotional contagion Egocentric empathy (2 yrs) Non-egocentric empathy (3 yrs+) Cognitive empathy (middle childhood) Abstract perspective-taking

Play Play: a pleasurable activity that is engaged in for its own sake Theorists have focused on different aspects of play: Freud and Erikson: play helps child master anxieties and conflicts, satisfies our exploratory drive Play therapy Piaget: play advances cognitive development; children’s cognitive development constrains the way they play Vygotsky: play is an excellent social setting for cognitive development 18

Importance of play Cognitive development Social competence Appearance – reality shift (make believe) Theory of mind Imagination Social competence Empathy Role-playing Emotional regulation

Types of Play: Sensorimotor play Practice play Pretense/symbolic play behavior by infants to derive pleasure from exercising their sensorimotor schemes Practice play the repetition of behavior when new skills are being learned or mastered Pretense/symbolic play occurs when the child transforms the physical environment into a symbol Social play play that involves interaction with peers Constructive play combines sensorimotor/practice play with symbolic representation Games activities that are engaged in for pleasure and have rules 20

Levels of social complexity Parallel play Simple social play Parallel aware play Simple social play Complementary/reciprocal play Cooperative social pretend play Complex social pretend play Meta-communication about play

Parenting styles Authoritarian: restrictive style in which parents demand obedience and respect Parent places firm limits and does not allow discussion Parent rigidly enforces rules but rarely explains them Children are often unhappy, fearful, and anxious Authoritative: encourages children to be independent while placing limits and controls on actions Extensive verbal give-and-take Parents expect mature, independent, age-appropriate behavior Children are often cheerful, self-controlled, and self-reliant 22

Parenting Styles Neglectful: parent is very uninvolved in child’s life Children feel that other aspects of the parent’s life are more important than they are Children tend to be socially incompetent, immature, and have low self-esteem Indulgent: parents are highly involved but place few demands or controls on the child Children never learn to control their own behavior and always expect to get their way

Two Dimensions: Responsiveness Demandingness

Gender Sex: biological classification of male or female Gender Identity: the sense of being male or female Gender Roles: sets of expectations that prescribe how females or males should think, act, and feel

Gender Two basic types of theories Gender differences are built-in Psychoanalytic: unconscious urges/tensions Epigenetic: biological/genetic underpinnings Gender differences are learned Behaviorism: behavior is conditioned by reward/punishment Cognitive: learned schemas (same as “restaurant” schema) Socio-cultural: socialization, internalizing norms

Parental Influences: Mother’s Socialization Strategies: Mothers socialize daughters to be more obedient and responsible than sons Mothers place more restrictions on daughters’ autonomy Father’s Socialization Strategies: Fathers show more attention to sons than daughters, engage in more activities with sons, and put more effort into promoting sons’ intellectual development

Peer Influences: Children’s Groups: Peers extensively reward and punish gender behavior Greater pressure for boys to conform to traditional gender roles Children’s Groups: Children show preference toward same-sex playmates by age 3 From age 5 onward, boys are more likely than girls to form large groups and participate in organized group games Boys engage in rough play, competition, conflict, etc. Girls engage in “collaborative discourse”

Emotions and motivation Extrinsic – reference to rules, rewards, punishment Intrinsic – reference to internal (emotional) states of self or other E.g. makes me feel bad, hurts someone’s feelings Providing extrinsic motivation (rewards) can interfere with intrinsic motivation. Difference in rewards given after and those promised before hand.