PART 4: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENTCHAPTER 11: PERSONALITY DEV… Getting Started Copyright © 2007 Allyn & Bacon Mayer’s Personality: A Systems Approach Personality Development in Childhood and Adolescence Focus on Infancy and Young Childhood This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any image; any rental, lease, or lending of the program.

PART 4: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENTCHAPTER 11: PERSONALITY DEV… Do Infants Have a Personality? © Copyright 2006 Allyn & Bacon Mayer’s Personality: A Systems Approach The Infant’s Challenge Buzzing, blooming confusion? Not hardly Facial recognition virtually from birth 6-10 weeks: Social smile months: Self-recognition in mirror

PART 4: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENTCHAPTER 11: PERSONALITY DEV… Do Infants Have a Personality? © Copyright 2006 Allyn & Bacon Mayer’s Personality: A Systems Approach Infant Temperament Easy Child –Rhythmic in hunger, sleep-wake, excretion –Positive approach to others –Low or mild intensity of reactions –Positive mood Difficult Child –Irregular in hunger, sleep-wake, excretion –Withdrawal from others –High intensity of reactions –Negative mood

PART 4: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENTCHAPTER 11: PERSONALITY DEV… Do Infants Have a Personality? © Copyright 2006 Allyn & Bacon Mayer’s Personality: A Systems Approach Attachment Patterns Secure Attachment –Mother accurate and sympathetic about infant feeling –Infants enjoy mother; tolerate her absence –Mother is comforting, dependable figure Anxious Resistant Attachment –Mothers attend inconsistently to infant –Infants have difficulty tolerating being apart from mother –Infants are tentative at reunion; unsure –Mothers (and others) are unpredictable and not always comforting Anxious-Avoidant Attachment –Mothers seem uninterested in their infants, and rebuff them consistently –Infant does not seek out caretaker –Deny importance of contact

PART 4: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENTCHAPTER 11: PERSONALITY DEV… How Does the Young Child’s Personality Develop? © Copyright 2006 Allyn & Bacon Mayer’s Personality: A Systems Approach Self Concept 2 ½ - 5 years Infantile amnesia lifts –Children have no cognitive organization of memories before about 3 years of age –Now, sustained memories are laid down that form the basis of the person’s life story 3, 4, & 5 year-olds were ushered from a daycare center when a popcorn maker caught fire (Pillemer, Picariello & Pruett (1995). –7 years later, 4 & 5-year-olds clearly remembered the event –3 years old mistakenly recalled where they were

PART 4: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENTCHAPTER 11: PERSONALITY DEV… How Does the Young Child’s Personality Develop? © Copyright 2006 Allyn & Bacon Mayer’s Personality: A Systems Approach Changes in Temperament In Infancy, a “Big Three” of temperament are: –Positivity –Negativity, and –Cuddliness In Young Children, Self-Control replaces Cuddliness –Important in social interactions, meal-time, having friends, toilet training

PART 4: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENTCHAPTER 11: PERSONALITY DEV… How Does the Young Child’s Personality Develop? © Copyright 2006 Allyn & Bacon Mayer’s Personality: A Systems Approach Parents and the Family Context Styles of Parenting (modified from Maccoby & Martin, 1983) Nurturance Responsive, child-centered Rejecting, Parent-centered Control Demanding, High on control AuthoritativeAuthoritarian Undemanding, Low on control PermissiveUninvolved

PART 4: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENTCHAPTER 11: PERSONALITY DEV… How Does the Young Child’s Personality Develop? © Copyright 2006 Allyn & Bacon Mayer’s Personality: A Systems Approach Birth Order Sulloway (1996) –First-born children may identify most closely with parents –As they grow, tend to be more conservative and to uphold society as it stands –In one study: 83 scientist siblings (brothers, sisters, or brothers and sisters), Both on record regarding an innovative scientific theory First-borns supported innovation 50% of the time Later-borns supported innovation 85% of the time

PART 4: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENTCHAPTER 11: PERSONALITY DEV… How Does the Young Child’s Personality Develop? © Copyright 2006 Allyn & Bacon Mayer’s Personality: A Systems Approach The Gendered World Sex and Gender –Sexual development diverges for the male and female fetus at 9 weeks –Upon birth, most children can be identified as one or the other sex –Social understandings of gender also come into play Children were studied in 90 nations on an International Survey. –Example; “One of these people is emotional. They cry when something good happens as well as when everything goes wrong. Which is the emotional person?” –The pointed to male or female figure –Children indicate women more than men in response to the question by 5-years By Five Years of Age –Children play in same sex groups (through to adolescence) –Children take care to choose toys and television shows preferred by other members of their sex

PART 4: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENTCHAPTER 11: PERSONALITY DEV… What Are the Challenges of Middle Childhood? © Copyright 2006 Allyn & Bacon Mayer’s Personality: A Systems Approach Self Concept The child increasing focuses on life tasks –Doing well in school If industry fails, individual may feel inferior –Making friends If relationships fail, child may be victimized Begins thinking about adult relationships and occupations

PART 4: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENTCHAPTER 11: PERSONALITY DEV… What Are the Challenges of Middle Childhood? © Copyright 2006 Allyn & Bacon Mayer’s Personality: A Systems Approach From Temperament to the Big Five Traits Dimensions of Temperament The Big Five Traits Extrav.Neurot.OpenConsc.Agree. Surgency Neg. Affect Sensitivity Paying attention

PART 4: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENTCHAPTER 11: PERSONALITY DEV… What Are the Challenges of Middle Childhood? © Copyright 2006 Allyn & Bacon Mayer’s Personality: A Systems Approach Friendship Patterns Children rely very much on their friendships –Some children are far more socially skilled and have more successful relationships –Other children gradually become isolated This can be teased out in the “entry” situation, in which children are asked to join a dyad of children already at play. What will they do? –Skilled children take on roles relevant to the dyad: “Oh, you are superman and batman? I’ll be spiderman” –Unskilled children speak in unrelated terms: “Oh, okay, my mom is taking me to a restaurant today.”

PART 4: PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENTCHAPTER 11: PERSONALITY DEV… What Are Adolescents Doing? © Copyright 2006 Allyn & Bacon Mayer’s Personality: A Systems Approach ~ end ~