1. PSYC 206
Lifespan Development
Bilge Yagmurlu

2. Chapter Overview Peer Relationships Moral Development
The Influence of Parents
A New Sense of Self

3. Peer Popularity and ToM
Villanueva Badenes et al.: Is there a link?
The link between ToM and popularity was significant for 3.5 year-olds but was even stronger for 6 year-olds.
Implications:
Unpopular children were slightly behind in this representational ability in early years but their limited social experience further contributed to their disadvantage in ToM.

4. Importance of Early Peer Relations
The link between positive social behavior and ToM ability is reciprocal and bidirectional:
That is, having a better understanding of what other people think and know might facilitate more adaptive social behavior.
And social relationships provide a context where children have extensive social experience with peers which helps to facilitate the development of ToM ability.

5. Friendships
Close, one-to-one relationships where parties feel special affinity
Children with best friends
Higher self-esteem, more positive feelings of self-worth, more advanced social skills, lower stress

6. Cognitive-Development Approach
Development of a more sophisticated understanding of their friendships
Friends’ unique needs, motives, and goals
Increasing perspective taking
Aspects of social interaction
Common-ground activity, clear communication, exchange of information, resolution of conflict

7. Keeping Friends Importance of behavioral similarities
E.g., shyness, aggression

8. The Influence of Parents
Parents’ changing expectations
Expect proper behavior
More critical of mistakes
Children
Embarrassed at public affection
Less likely to cry, more likely to argue
Coregulation: indirect social control in which children and parents cooperate

9. Parents and Peers
Research: Peers play an important role in social development after controlling for present parental effects.
Judith R. Harris: transmission via peer group
The culture acts upon children through the peer group.
The environment that shapes the child is outside the home.

10. Influence of Parents on Peer Relationships
Direct influence
E.g., choosing neighborhoods, schools, and activities
Parents’ regulation of peer activities (monitoring) and access to peers
Indirect influence
Parent-child interaction 10

11. Parents and Peers Parent-child interaction
Parental warmth, control, involvement, democratic attitude
Intrusiveness, coercive interactional style, being distant and negative affect
Affect management skills (modelling emotion display rules, coaching etc.), sociocognitive skills (via elaborative conversations etc.)

12. Parents and Peers Quality of attachment
Early experience is incorporated into the internal working models of the self and the relationship
carried forward into social representations in subsequent interpersonal settings
related to interpersonal cognition (including attribution biases) and long- vs. short-term relationships
identification with parents and internalization

13. Parents and Peers
Research: Peers play an important role in social development after controlling for present parental effects.
Explanation: Much of what appears to be peer influence is actually the end result of familial influence at an earlier point in child’s development.
Early family conditions (monitoring, coercive cycle etc.), attachment, social representations
Parenting, skill development (emotion, sociocognitive and social interaction) and social outcomes

14. Parents and Peers The role of SES in peer rejection
Poverty, maltreatment, minority status and peer relations

15. A New Sense of Self Changing conceptions of the self
Changes in sense of self parallels the changes in cognitive and social processes

17. Self-Esteem One’s evaluation of one’s own self-worth
Erikson’s Industry versus inferiority
Changes in self-evaluations

18. Industry versus Inferiority
Children judge themselves to be industrious and successfully meeting the new challenges posted by adults at home and school, or inferior and incapable of meeting such challenges.

19. Changes in Self-Evaluations
Self evaluations change
More differentiated
Cognitive/academic, social, and physical competence
More integrated
Ability to form overall sense of self-worth
Compare “actual self” with “ideal self”

20. Self-Evaluations An “ideal self” versus “actual self”
There will likely be a discrepancy
Perceived degree of discrepancy may determine effect
Whether the domain is a core part of sense of self determines its impact

21. Foundations of Self-Esteem
Parental characteristics for high self-esteem in late middle childhood:
Parents’ acceptance of their children
Parents’ respect for individuality

22. Reconsidering Middle Childhood
Many significant changes occur between ages 6 and 12
New responsibilities and expectations
Peer group as a context for development
New cognitive capacities
Anatomical and neurophysiological changes

23. Apply – Connect – Discuss
In what ways do changing conceptions of self appear as related to cognitive developments characteristic of middle childhood (see Chapter 11)?