Social and Personality Development in Early Childhood Chapter 8: Social and Personality Development in Early Childhood

Theories of Social and Personality Development Psychoanalytic Perspectives Freud: gain control over bodily functions and renegotiate parent relationships Anal Stage Phallic Stage Freud: Gain control over bodily functions and renegotiate parent relationships Anal Stage Toilet training battles Control over bodily functions Phallic Stage Oedipus or Electra Complex Identification with the same sex parent

Theories of Social and Personality Development Psychoanalytic Perspectives Erikson: agreed with Freud with added focus on social skill development Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt Initiative versus Guilt Freud and Erikson saw the changing role of the parent as the child exerts more control on the environment. Freud and Erikson did not talk about peers or their significance in development. Erikson: agreed with Freud with added focus on social skill development Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt Centered around toddler’s new mobility and desire for autonomy Initiative versus Guilt Ushered in by new cognitive skills Developing conscience dictates boundaries

Personality and Self-Concept Me, myself, and more Components of Self-Concept Categorical Self Emotional Self Social Self Self-Concept Categorical Self Focus on visible characteristics Emotional Self Acquisition of emotional self-regulation Associated with peer popularity Lack of control associated with aggression Ability to obey moral rules Associated with emergence of empathy Social Self Child sees self as player in social games Learns many social scripts, which provide appropriate situational behaviors Personality begins to replace temperament as children interact with peers and family. Control of emotions shifts from parental control to the child. Children begin to internalize the values of the parent. Parents who expect age-related behaviors increase the switch to self control.

Gender Development Explanations and Theory: Psychoanalytic Explanations Social-Cognitive Explanations Gender Schema Theory Psychoanalytic Explanations Identification with same sex parent Social-Cognitive Explanations Linked to gender-related behavior Becomes motivated to exhibit same-sex behaviors Parents shape sex role behaviors and attitudes Gender Schema Theory Learn gender scripts Learn likes and dislikes of own gender Develops a complex view of other gender

Gender Development Gender Concept Sequence Gender understanding develops in stages: Gender identity Gender stability Gender constancy Gender understanding develops in stages: Gender identity Child’s ability to label his or her own sex correctly Gender stability Understanding that you are the same gender throughout life Gender constancy Recognition that someone stays the same gender even though appearances may change with clothing

Figure 8.2 Gender Stereotyping in a Child’s Drawing “This is how I will look when I grow up.” What is this five-year-old conveying about her understanding of gender?

Self and Gender Concept

Gender Development Sex-Role Knowledge Gender stereotypes: Men Gender stereotypes: Women Women associated with gentleness, weakness, appreciativeness, and soft-heartedness Men associated with aggression, strength, cruelty, and coarseness. Children learn these stereotypes by 3 or 4 Can assign stereotypical behaviors to jobs, toys, and activities By age 5, children begin to associate personality traits with gender What are the stereotypes?

Gender Development Sex-Typed Behavior Sex-type behavior: Develops earlier than ideas about gender Learned from older same-sex children Learned differently by gender Develops earlier than ideas about gender 18 – 24 months – children prefer sex-stereotyped toys Age 3 – children prefer same-sex friends Learn from older same-sex children Sex-typed behaviors are learned differently. Girls use an enabling style Supporting a friend, expressing agreement, making suggestions Boys use a constricting or restrictive style Derails inappropriate interactions, bringing them to an end

Figure 8.3 Gender and Playmate Preferences How would you structure preschooler play opportunities?

Family Relationships and Structure Parenting Styles: Diana Baumrind Dimensions Parenting Styles Diana Baumrind Focused on 4 dimensions Warmth or nurturance Clarity and consistency of rules Maturity of expectations and demands Communications between child and parent Three parenting styles Authoritarian Permissive Authoritative Maccoby and Miller add uninvolved, neglecting

Figure 8.4 Control, Acceptance, Parenting Style Maccoby and Martin expanded on Baumrind’s categories

Family Relationships and Structure Parenting Styles: Authoritarian Parenting Characteristics High levels of demand and control Low levels of warmth and communication Child Consequences Good school performance Lower self-esteem and less peer interaction skills Some subdued; others highly aggressive Traits last well into high school

Family Relationships and Structure Parenting Styles: Permissive Parenting Characteristics High in warmth and communication Low in demand and control Child Consequences Poor adolescent school performance More aggressive and immature Less responsible and independent

Family Relationships and Structure Parenting Styles: Authoritative Parenting Characteristics High in warmth and communication High in demand and control Child Consequences Higher self-esteem, independence, and altruism More parental compliance Self-confident and achievement-oriented Better school performance Most consistently positive outcomes

Family Relationships and Structure Parenting Styles: Uninvolved Parenting Characteristics Low in levels of demand and control Low in levels of warmth and communication Child Consequences Disturbances in social relationships More impulsive and antisocial in adolescence Less competent with peers Much less achievement-oriented in school Maccoby and Martin add the Uninvolved Type Most consistently negative outcomes

Figure 8.5 Parenting Style and Grades Making the grade Grades varied with parenting style in Steinberg and Dombusch’s Study. Can you think of a way to explain this?

Parenting Patterns

Family Relationships and Structure Effects of Parenting Styles: Spanking Most parents believe spanking effective if used sparingly Short-term effects Long-term effects Premack’s principle ST: works; temporarily reduces undesirable behavior LT: models infliction of pain; associates spanking parents with physical pain; leads to family climate of emotional rejection; higher levels of aggression between children who are spanked and those who are not Premack’s principle: Any high-frequency activity can be used as a reinforcer for any lower-frequency activity.

Is “authoritative” always best? Authoritative pattern Positive outcomes seen in all ethnic groups More common in white families and middle class Usually more common among intact families Least common among Asian Americans See Figure 8.4, page 206. Teenagers raised in and authoritative household showed more self-reliance and less delinquency in whites and Hispanics. Strong connections between authoritarian pattern and school performance and social competence appear for Asian Americans and African Americans.

Figure 8.6 Social Class, Ethnicity, and Parenting Style Key variables may be parenting goals rather than ethnicity Parenting style may be related to style which enhances child’s potential for success

Ethnicity, Socio-Economic Status and Parenting Styles Authoritarian pattern in Asian American families High levels of school achievement in Asian American children Economic success Maintenance of ethnic identity

Ethnicity, Socio-Economic Status and Parenting Styles Authoritarian pattern in African American families Enhances children’s potential for self-control and success Prepares children to deal with social forces such as racism that impede social success Reduces use of substance abuse More common among poor families

? ? Questions To Ponder What kind of parenting style was used to raise you? What effects did it have on your development? What style will you use as a parent?

Family Relationships and Structure Family Structure: Diversity in Two-Parent and Single-Parent Families Only 70% of U.S. children lived with both biological parents in 2007. Many children from two-parent families have experienced single-parenting. 2% of U.S. children live with custodial grandparents.

Ethnicity and U.S. Family Types Estimate of 3 family types among white, African American, Asian American, Native American, and Hispanic American children in U.S. Figure 8.7 Ethnicity and Family Structure

Family Structure and Ethnicity Single Parents Family Structure: Single-Parent Families More common among African Americans and Native Americans Single mothers are less likely to marry. Grandparents and other relatives traditionally help support single mothers. Some single mothers are financially secure. More common among African Americans and Native Americans These groups have higher rates of births to single mothers Single mothers are less likely to marry Grandparents and other relatives traditionally help support single mothers Look at Figure 8.5 Look at Figure 8.6

Family Relationships and Structure Other Types of Family Structures Custodial Grandparents Aging and parenting stress cause anxiety and depression. Gay and Lesbian Parents No expressed social or cognitive developmental differences between the children of gay and lesbian parents and the children of heterosexual couples. Concerns about children’s sex-role identity and orientation are not supported by research

Family Relationships and Structure Divorce: Impact on Children Declines in school performance More aggressive, defiant, or depressed behaviors Higher incidence of adolescent criminal behavior Step-children differences Higher risk of mental problems in adulthood Lack financial and emotional support needed for success in college Struggle with fears of intimacy in relationships More likely to divorce themselves Short term: effects are more severe for boys Children in step-parent families have higher rates of delinquency, more behavior problems, and lower grades Divorce Creates financial hardships. Transitions create upheaval lasting several years. Parenting patterns shifts away from authoritative. Extended families can mitigate some difficulties with divorce.

Peer Relationships Kinds of Play Successful play associated with development of social skills Solitary play Parallel play Cooperative play Solitary play All ages of children Parallel play 14 – 18 months Cooperative play 3 – 4 years old

Can you define two types of aggression? Aggression: Behavior intended to hurt another or object Instrumental Hostile Initial aggression in 2 – 3-year-olds Hitting and throwing things Instrumental – intended to obtain something a child wants Older children Hostile aggression – used to hurt another or to gain advantage With good verbal skills comes verbal aggression Physical aggression declines as dominance hierarchies emerge Dominance hierarchies – arrangements of children into pecking order of leaders and followers.

Prosocial Behavior and Friendships Prosocial behavior: Actions that benefit or help another person Development of prosocial behavior increases during preschool years. Parental influences affect children’s empathy. Development of Prosocial Behavior Evident at 2 – 3 years of age Some behaviors increase with age Children who show altruistic behaviors are popular with peers Parental Influences Loving and warm family climate Explain consequences clearly to children Provide prosocial attributions – positive statements about the underlying cause for helpful behavior