HN 144: Human Behavior Instructor: Jamie C. Sherman, MA

  Middle childhood is ages 6-12  Erickson’s stage? Industry vs. Inferiority  Focus on developing rules, ensuring fairness, and creating penalties for rule-breaking!  Successful adaptation to friendships and peer groups are major developmental task for this age group! Chapter 8: Middle Childhood

  Biophysical Growth and Development  Boys and girls exhibit slow but consistent growth pattern  Girls retain fat tissue longer; boys develop muscle tissue more quickly  Continued development in large and small muscle groups enhances coordination, agility, and smoothness  Boys develop better gross motor development, girls develop better fine motor skills Chapter 8: Middle Childhood

  Biophysical Strengths, Hazards, and Risks  Major developments occur in both cognitive and physical capacities  Advanced reasoning, increased vocabulary, and interest in reading develops  Environmental conditions can once again impact development; poverty and lack of food can be damaging  Physical activity can drop off significantly during childhood/adolescence causing obesity  Why overweight? Lack of knowledge, athletics become more competitive, parents stop signing up children for activities, academic demands take over, etc. Chapter 8: Middle Childhood

  Cognitive Development and Information Processing  Piaget says concrete operational thought! This means that thought is governed by rules of logic  Children now becoming less egocentric, can show reversible thought, and conservation skills  Information processing is also relevant to a child’s social relationships  Skill deficits in how children process information may influence behavior interactions  IQ tests measured by dividing mental age/chronological age and multiplying by 100  Multiple types of IQ tests available (such as Stanford-Binet)  Concerns with IQ tests include: labeling and classifying children as well as cultural biases Chapter 8: Middle Childhood

  Communication  Period of linguistic refinement  Communication becomes increasingly important for the social life of children; therefore deficits in communication have social consequences (speech disorders like stuttering, ones associated with other disabilities, etc)  The controversy over bilingual education (students tend to outperform but most people feel English is the most important language)  Language abilities can be influenced by cultural experiences Chapter 8: Middle Childhood

  Attitudes and Emotions  Emotional development becomes prominent, esp. in regards to social interactions  Middle-age children are often seen as more irritable, cranky, and more easily provoked  Emotional competence includes: experiencing emotions, expressing emotions, and understanding emotions Chapter 8: Middle Childhood

  Social Cognition and Regulation  Social role-taking is the reduction of egocentric thought  Role-taking ability-to see things from another person’s perspective-changes around 12 years of age (child can think of him/herself AND someone else)  A child’s interpersonal awareness, involvements in friendships and peer groups can be seen as a series of steps that a child progresses through  Peer relationships/friendships can help children adjust to other difficulties throughout life Chapter 8: Middle Childhood

  Psychological Strengths, Hazards, and Risks  One of the most important strengths during this time is development of self-esteem/self-worth  How other people see them and how they see themselves develops into their thoughts/feelings about who they are (but can also depend on the situation)  ADHD affects 8-10% of children (3 boys for every 1 girl), impacts attention and activity levels  Cause ADHD is most likely imbalance in brain’s neurotransmitters  Can treat with medication but may also need combination of behavioral treatment/interventions Chapter 8: Middle Childhood

  Groups, Families, Communities, and Support Systems  Children now prefer to spend time with peers, can lead to development of cliques  Friendships provide for unique learning of critical social skills, children who are rejected by peers are at risk for adjustment problems  Although children of this age prefer to spend time with friends, its important that parents still provide for a safe, authoritative structure  DISCIPLINE!  Power-assertive-physical discipline, threat of punishment (tends to increase aggressive tendencies)  Love withdrawal-withdrawing love when a child’s behavior is inappropriate (can create fear)  Induction-use of explanation and rationality in attempting to influence child’s reactions (helps to develop internal moral standards, helps children to exercise self-control) Chapter 8: Middle Childhood

  School!  Major socializing agent  As much as 10% of children experience school phobia (anxiety and fear related to school)  PL (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is the amended Pl94-142)-addresses educational rights of students with disabilities, also addressed transition services  Under this law, children must be evaluated by a multi- disciplinary team to develop objectives and create an IEP that is specific to that particular child’s needs  Many professionals within the school are involved in the IEP process Chapter 8: Middle Childhood

  Multicultural and Gender Considerations  Racial identity begins to form in middle childhood  Families who identify with their ethnic roots are more likely to teach their children about their ethnic background  Rites of passage and mentoring programs are helping young African-American men cope with the difficulties they face from stereotyping and other societal pressures. These programs reinforce values such as self-respect, responsibility, and dedication to family, community, and one another  Children also begin sex-typed behavior and become aware of sex-role stereotypes Chapter 8: Middle Childhood

  Social Strengths, Hazards, and Risks  Neighborhoods and communities provide social context for child’s development  Witnessing violence in the harm can lead to negative effects-children may repeat same patterns  Bullying occurs most frequently between the 6 th and 8 th grades, depression and anxiety are factors  Divorce rates impact children-girls tend to fare better following divorce  Five factors help adjustment to divorce-financial support, adequate parenting by the custodial parents, emotional support from the noncustodial parent, additional social support, and a minimum of stressors Chapter 8: Middle Childhood

  Seminar 5 complete!  Any questions? Chapter 8: Middle Childhood