©Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 9 Understanding the Reasons Positive and Negative...

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Chapter 9

Understanding the Reasons Positive and

Negative Behavior

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Defining Problem Behavior

• Adult-centered definitions of misbehavior focus on effect child’s behavior has on the adult

• Child-centered definitions of misbehavior…– Consider appropriateness or inappropriateness of

actions– Focus on ability level, motives and long-term well-

being

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Children misbehave because they…

—Are bursting with energy and joy

—Do not understand what we expect

—Cannot do what we expect

—Feel bored, tired or miserable

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Children misbehave because they…(Continued)

—Are desperate for attention

—Are overwhelmed by frustration

—Are angry or resentful

—Feel totally hopeless or helpless

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Dysfunctional Behavior

• Compulsive, inappropriate, or self-destructive behavior

• Uncooperative social interactions

• Hazardous actions

• Improper use of environment

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Inappropriate Behavior

–Behavior not desirable in a specific situation

–It does not suggest fault or blame

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Inappropriate behavior is…

—Not in the best interest of the child

—Troublesome

—Sometimes unsafe

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Functional Behavior

• Appropriate actions that serve some productive or positive function

• Cooperative social interactions

• Safety-conscious actions

• Proper use of environment

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Socialization

• The process by which children learn acceptable behavior

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Components of Moral Development

• Empathy

• Conscience

• Altruism

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Methods to support children’s moral development

• Provide nurturing and support

• Set limits

• Model appropriate behavior

• Teach democratic decision-making and discussion

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Stages of Moral Development

• Morality

– ability to distinguish right from wrong and act accordingly

• Moral development

– process by which human beings learn to monitor their own actions

– deciding whether a tempting behavior is appropriate or inappropriate

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Stages of Moral Development (continued)

• Moral affect

– Internalization of moral values from adult role models

– Feelings associated with guilty or clear conscience

• Moral reasoning

– Thinking processes for deciding what is or is not moral behavior

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Stages of Moral Development (continued)

• Preconventional morality

• Lawrence Kohlberg’s first stage of morality

– Children perceive right and wrong in terms of what the behavior will do for them.

• “Will action get what I want?”

• “Will action avoid what I don’t want?”

– Explaining reasons for rules fosters moral development.

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Stages of Moral Development (continued)

• Conventional morality

• Kohlberg’s second stage of morality– Develop self-control and learn to get along with others

– Focus on simplistic perceptions of goodness and badness

– Desire to please others

– Try to follow rules of family and community

– Begin to adopt ethical standards of important role models

– Attachment, love and respect trigger internalization of values

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Stages of Moral Development (continued)

• Postconventional morality

• Kohlberg’s highest stage of morality

– Older children and adults develop internal conscience

– Conscience hinges on internalized principles and values that guide behavior

– Focus on being responsible part of cooperative society

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Justice Orientation

• Perspective in which integrity tends to be the dominant “moral compass” for making autonomous, independent and self-oriented ethical and principled decisions

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Responsibility Orientation

• Perspective in which sensitivity to others, interpersonal involvement and ethical and moral decision-making reflect…– Loyalty– Responsibility– Self-sacrifice– Peacemaking

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Judging

• The process of using perceptions to create conclusions and value judgments

• Some adults judge children’s behavior

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Induction

• The process of stimulating children’s understanding of the reasons for choosing one behavior over another

• The process of thinking about the impact a behavior will have

• Some adults use inductive reasoning to help children learn self-control

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Guidance

• Positive child guidance focuses on…

– Child’s ability level

– Severity and intent of behavior

– Possible reasons for behavior

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Underlying Causes of Problem Behavior

• Inappropriate expectations

• Misunderstood expectations

• Immature self-control

• Gleeful abandon, group contagion

• Boredom

• Fatigue and discomfort

• Desire for recognition• Discouragement• Frustration• Rebellion

Temperament

– Three main types:• Easy• Difficult• Slow to warm up

– Emotions are felt, but reactions to the emotions are learned.

– Appropriate responses to an emotion need to be taught.

Temperament Children are born with their natural style of interacting with or reacting to

people, places, and things—their temperament

• Biological Predisposition

• Rhythmical functioning

• Circadian rhythmicity

• Interest in novelty

• Approach to new situations, curiosity

• Inclination to “outside’ or “inside”

Goodness of fit

• Relationship with caregiver’s style:

• Good fit, or poor fit

• Parent adapts caregiving to child’s unique characteristics

• Parent modifies expectation

TemperamentChess & Thomas

• Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess began a classic longitudinal study in the 1950s regarding infant temperament.

• The study focused on how temperamental qualities influence adjustment throughout life.

• Chess and Thomas rated young infants on a variety of characteristics, such as activity level, mood, sleeping and eating patterns, and attention span.

TemperamentChess & Thomas

• The found that most babies could be categorized into one of three groups: – Easy– Difficult– Slow to warm-up

• About one third of all infants tested were characterized as average babies because they did not fit neatly into one of these three categories (Thomas & Chess 1977).

Temperament

• Easy babies readily adapt to new experiences, generally display positive moods and emotions and also have normal eating and sleeping patterns.

• Difficult babies tend to be very emotional, irritable and fussy, and cry a lot. They also tend to have irregular eating and sleeping patterns.

• Slow-to-warm-up babies have a low activity level, and tend to withdraw from new situations and people. They are slow to adapt to new experiences.

• Thomas and Chess found that these broad patterns of temperamental qualities are remarkably stable through childhood.

Temperament

• Most experts agree that temperament does have a genetic and biological basis; but researchers also agree that environmental experiences can modify a child's temperament.

• Adults can encourage new behaviors in children, and with enough support a slow-to-warm-up child can become less shy, or a difficult baby can become more emotionally stable.