1. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 11: Socioemotional Development in Middle and Late Childhood

2. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Emotional and Personality Development

3. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. During middle and late childhood: –Defining one’s “self” shifts to using internal characteristics or personality traits. –Social comparison of the self increases. –Self-perception may not be a reality. –High self-esteem and positive self-concept are very important to child’s well-being. –One study: efforts to increase student self- esteem did not effect academic performance.

4. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Persons with high self-esteem are more likely to have negative or positive outcomes in interactions. Four ways to improve child’s self-esteem: –Identify causes of low self-esteem. –Provide emotional support and social approval. –Help child achieve (teach skills). –Help child cope (teach to address not avoid). Children’s social worlds include school: teachers and environment affect child’s self-esteem and effort.

5. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Important emotional changes in elementary school years: –Increased ability to understand emotions. –Understanding that situations can result in more than one emotion. –Tendency to attend to events leading to emotional reactions. –Greater increases in ability to suppress or hide emotional reactions.

6. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Self-efficacy, the belief that one can master a situation and produce favorable outcomes, is an important aspect of the self. Bandura believes it is a critical factor. According to Erikson, children at this stage must struggle with industry versus inferiority. At this age, children’s social world extends beyond their families—school becomes very important. Children at this stage further develop their understanding and self-regulation of emotions.

7. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Goleman (1995), emotional intelligence has 4 areas: –Developing emotional self-awareness. –Managing emotions. –Reading emotions. –Handling relationships. Children and stress: –Older children are better at reframing situations. –By age 10, they use many cognitive strategies to cope. –Hopelessness and despair harm moral development.

8. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Lawrence Kohlberg advanced Piaget’s view of moral development in children: –Used dilemmas to identify moral development. –Levels were age-related. –Stages occurred in sequence. –Before age 9, most children use level 1. –Most adolescents reason at stage 3. –Early adulthood: few use postconventional ways. Research on Kohlberg’s theory: –No 10-year-olds use level 4. –62% of 36-year-olds used stage 4. –Stage 5 did not appear until age 20–22.

9. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Kohlberg’s Three Levels and Six Stages of Moral Development Level 1 Preconventional level: no internalization Level 2 Conventional level: intermediate internalization Level 3 Postconventional level: full internalization Stage 1 Heteronomous morality: child obeys because adults say so Stage 3 Mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships, and interpersonal conformity Stage 5 Social contract or utility and individual rights Stage 2 Individualism, purpose, and exchange: each pursues own interests, lets others do same Stage 4 Social system morality: moral judgements based on understanding of social order, law, justice, and duty Stage 6 Universal ethical principles: one’s moral judgments based universal human rights Fig. 11.1

10. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 1214161820222426283032343610 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 70 Age in years Mean percentage of moral reasoning at each stage Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5 Stage 1 Age and Percentage of Individuals at Each Kohlberg Stage Fig. 11.2

11. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory: –Too much emphasis on thought. –Not enough emphasis on moral behavior. –Need other means of measuring moral reasoning. –Dismissed family and peer relations as influences of moral values. –Some cultures influence moral values that conflict with Kohlberg’s. Albert Bandura: people engage in harmful conduct after they justify morality of their actions to themselves.

12. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Others criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory: –Children focus on consequences of actions. –Recent research: Kohlberg’s results have male bias—females socialized as more care-oriented. –Need distinction between moral reasoning and social conventional reasoning. –Moral behavior can be negative and antisocial. –Altruism is unselfish effort. Prosocial behavior is positive aspect of moral behavior like empathy.

13. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Gender development: –Gender stereotyping—broad categories that reflect general impressions and beliefs about males and females—is extensive. –Men and women living in highly developed countries see themselves as more similar than those living in less developed countries, and more educated women seem themselves more similar to men. –Male and females are perceived as more similar in Christian than in Muslim societies.

14. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. There is some physical similarities and differences in males and females: –Females more resistant to infections; their blood vessels are more elastic. –Women have about twice as much body fat. –Male hormones promote growth of longer bones to make them taller. –Male and female brains are different in development and functioning.

15. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Males: –Hypothalamus (sexual behavior) and parietal lobe (visuospatial skills) are larger. –Do slightly better in math and science. –Show less self-regulation. Females: –Bands of tissues between brain’s hemispheres (communication) are larger. –Areas of brain for emotional expression are larger. –Significantly better readers. –Have better writing skills.

16. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. GirlsBoys 0 250 200 150 100 50 Average national reading score Fig. 11.3 National Reading Scores for Fourth-Grade Boys and Girls

17. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Gender-role classification giving way to concept of androgyny—masculinity and femininity should be seen along a continuum. The nature and extent of gender differences in behavior may depend upon context: –Females are more likely to help people take care of their children and personal problems, but males are more likely to help a woman with a flat tire. Point is, both are helpful in their way depending on the context. –Males turn anger into outward aggression. Females are more likely to discuss emotional aspects of relationships and to show their feelings.

18. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Families

19. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Parent–child interaction time: –Much less with children age 5-12 than before age 5. –Even less with parents with little education. –Centers on scheduling, discipline and temper control, regulating behaviors. –Discipline often easier in middle and late childhood as children mature. –Coregulation approach is best.

20. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Society and families are changing: –Almost half of all children from a divorced family will have a step-parent within 4 years. –Most difficult adjustments for child are in blended family. –Adjustment problems include academic problems and low self-esteem—especially for adolescents. Dual-earner families create latchkey children: –Coming home to unsupervised self-care. –5-6 full days a week in summer without parent. –At higher risk for delinquency involvement.

21. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Latchkey experiences vary by: –Parenting styles. –Child-care arrangements. –Effects of peer pressure. After-school programs are associated with better academic achievement and social adjustment. Four types of out-of-school care: –Before- and after-school programs. –Extracurricular school activities. –Father care. –Nonadult care (older sibling or other).

22. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Peers

23. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Why friendship and more time spent with peers is important in middle and late childhood: –Companionship (familiar playmate). –Stimulation (excitement, etc.). –Physical support (time, assistance). –Ego support (feedback, etc.). –Social comparison. –Intimacy/self-disclosure, affection. –Not all friendships are alike. In childhood, friends are usually similar in age, sex, race, attitudes, aspirations, etc.

24. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Identifying 5 types of peer status: –Popular children. –Average children. –Neglected children (not disliked). –Rejected children (disliked by peers). –Controversial children. Social skills affect being well-liked: –Giving out reinforcements. –Careful listening. –Keeping communication lines open. –Showing enthusiasm and concern. –Being self-confident, not conceited.

25. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Neglected child has low rate of peer interactions. Social cognition is important to peer relationships. Rejected children: –Have serious social adjustment problems. –Often find that rejection increases antisocial behavior over time. –Best predictor of delinquency or dropping out from school may be aggression toward peers. Bullying: –Has many forms. –Ranges in effects on both victims and bullies.

26. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Child victims often tend to: –Be lonely and have difficulty making friends. –Be seen as “different”. –Have overly protective parents. –Lose interest in school, have excessive absences. –Suffer low self-esteem and depression. Child bullies: –Have low grades in school. –Come from homes with intrusive, demanding, or unresponsive parents. –Tend to use alcohol and/or tobacco.

27. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Bullying Behavior among U.S. Youth Fig. 11.4 Subject of sexual comments or gestures Belittled about religion or race Subject of rumors Hit, slapped, or pushed Belittled about looks or speech Females Males 5250101520 Percentage experiencing bullying

28. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. To reduce bullying, teachers and schools can: –Get older peers to serve as monitors for bullying and intervene. –Develop school-wide rules against bullying. –Form friendship groups for chldren who are bullied. –Be aware that bullying can take place on the playground, bus, and in school corridors.

29. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Child friendships serve six functions: –Companionship. –Stimulation. –Physical support. –Ego support. –Social comparison. –Affection and intimacy.

30. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Schools

31. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. High school: –By graduation, student has spent 12,000 hours in classroom. –A small society for socialization by rules that define and limit behaviors, feelings, and attitudes. School provides: –Direct instruction. –Constructivist, exploratory learning. –Accountability teaching/learning. –Changes homechild to schoolchild. These can be positive and negative based on effects of other factors.

32. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Minority and low-SES children: –Face more barriers to learning. –Live in high-risk neighborhoods with affect on learning. Low-SES parents: –Are poorly educated. –Do not set high educational goals for children. –Are unable to buy educational materials. Most low-SES area schools tend to have: –Fewer resources and older buildings. –Lower achievement test scores and graduation rates. –Fewer students going on to college.

33. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Minority students: –Segregation is still a factor in the U.S. In some places, the minority population in schools is 80 to 90 percent. –Almost one-third of all African American and Latino students attend schools in the 47 largest city school districts in the U.S., compared with only 5 percent of all White and 22 percent of all Asian American students. –Many inner-city schools are still segregated, grossly underfunded, and do not provide adequate learning opportunities.

34. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. –Minority students are less likely to be in college prep programs, but are more likely to be in remedial or special education programs. –Black students are twice as likely to be suspended from school than any other group. –90% of U.S. teachers are White –Asian students take more advanced math and science courses than any other group.

35. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Student success depends on teachers: –Pushing high academic standards. –Using creative strategies for learning in ethnically diverse classrooms: Make a “jigsaw” classroom. Encourage positive personal contacts. Encourage perspective taking. Encourage critical thinking, use emotional intelligence on cultural issues, reduce bias. Make school and community a team. Parents’ attitudes affect student learning.

36. ©2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Fig. 11.5 AbilityEffort 5 Mean rating 0 1 2 3 4 U.S. Japan Taiwan Mothers’ Belief’s About the Factors Responsible for Children’s Math Achievement in Three Countries