MIDDLE CHILDHOOD: Emotional and social development

The Quest for Self-The Quest for Self-UnderstandingUnderstanding

EricksonErickson

Erikson’s Stage of Industry Versus Inferiority

Self-Image: The overall view that children have of themselves.

Self-EsteemSelf-Esteem Coopersmith: Parental attitudes associated

with development of high self-esteem. High self-esteem; accepting of children Enforced clearly-defined limits Respect for children’s rights and opinions

Self-Regulated BehaviorsSelf-Regulated Behaviors

Emotionally Disturbed (ED) children: Cannot control their over-impulsive or aggressive behaviors toward others.

Understanding EmotionUnderstanding Emotion

Fear: unpleasant emotion aroused by impending danger, pain or misfortune.

Phobia: excessive, persistent and maladaptive fear response.

Stress: process involving the recognition of and response to a threat or danger.

CopingCoping

The responses we make in order to master, tolerate, or reduce stress

Problem-focused Emotion-focused

Locus of controlLocus of control

Our perception of who or what is responsible for the outcome of events and behaviors in our lives.

Trauma: any extremely stressful event that affects a child’s emotional and psychological well-being.

Continuing Family InfluencesContinuing Family Influences

Mothers and FathersMothers and Fathers

Employed Mothers 77% of all mothers work.

Caregiving Fathers

Sibling RelationshipsSibling Relationships

Average of three children under age 18 in household

Stepsiblings, half-brothers, half-sisters, adopted siblings, nonrelated “siblings”

Children of DivorceChildren of Divorce

Wallerstein and Kelly tasks for child: Accept divorce Get back to previous routine Resolve the loss of the family Resolve anger and self-blame; forgive Accept permanence of divorce Believe in relationships

Single-Parent FamiliesSingle-Parent Families

Bray and Heatherington: If children have a good relationship with the

single parent and income stress is not a factor, they are inclined to be better adjusted than if they remain in a two-parent home that is a divided and hostile environment.

StepfamiliesStepfamilies

75-80% of divorced parents remarry. Reconstituted or blended families

Later Childhood: The Later Childhood: The Broadening Social Broadening Social

EnvironmentEnvironment

The World of The World of Peer RelationshipsPeer Relationships

Peer relationships assume a vital role in children’s development.

Developmental Functions of Developmental Functions of Peer GroupsPeer Groups

Arena in which children can exercise independence from adult control

Experience relationships with equal footing with others

Position of children is not marginal Peer groups transmit informal knowledge.

Gender CleavageGender Cleavage

The tendency for boys to associate with boys and girls with girls

Children fashion coherent gender-based identity.

Maccoby - Factors for segregation: Differing styles for interacting Girls have difficulty influencing boys

Popularity, Social Acceptance Popularity, Social Acceptance and Rejectionand Rejection

Group: two or more people who share a feeling of unity and are bound together in relatively stable patterns of social interactions

ValuesValues

Criteria people use in deciding the relative merit and desirability of things

Sociogram: depicts patterns of choice among members of a group.

Physical AttractivenessPhysical Attractiveness Culturally defined

Behavioral characteristicsBehavioral characteristics

Popular: Successful

Unpopular: Social isolates Introverted Overbearing, aggressive

Social MaturitySocial Maturity

Increases during early school years

Racial Awareness and Racial Awareness and PrejudicePrejudice

Prejudice: a system of negative conceptions, feelings and action orientations regarding the members of a particular religious, racial, or nationality group

The World of SchoolThe World of School

Developmental FunctionsDevelopmental Functions

Teach specific cognitive skills Share with family responsibility for

transmitting cultural goals and values Serve as “sorting and sifting” agency

selecting young people for upward social mobility

Motivating StudentsMotivating Students

Motivation: the inner states and processes that prompt, direct, and sustain activity.

Intrinsic: undertaken for its own sake. Extrinsic: undertaken for some purpose

other that its own sake. Causality: factors that produce given

outcomes.

Social ClassSocial Class

The higher the social class: Greater number of grades children complete Greater participation in extracurricular

activities Higher scores on achievement tests

Lower rates of failure, truancy, suspensions and dropping out

Middle-Class BiasMiddle-Class Bias

Middle-class teachers, unaware of prejudice, find lower socioeconomic status students unacceptable

Subcultural Differences Different experiences and attitudes

Educational Self-Fulfilling Prophecies Teacher expectation effects