Socioemotional Development

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Slide 1

John W. Santrock

Socioemotional Development in Middle and Late Childhood

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Slide 2

Socioemotional Development in Middle and Late Childhood

• What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood?

• What Are Some Changes in Parenting and Families in Middle and Late Childhood?

• What Changes Characterize Peer Relationships in Middle and Late Childhood?

• What Are Some Important Aspects of Schools?


Slide 3

The Self

• Development of self-understanding

– Children increasingly describe themselves with physiological characteristics and traits

– Self-understanding includes social references and comparisons

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood?


Slide 4

The Self

• Understanding others

– Perspective taking increases with age

• Judging others’ intentions, purposes, actions

• Important in social attitudes and behaviors

• Increased skepticism of others’ claims with age



Slide 5

The Self

• Self-esteem

Global evaluations of the self

Self-worth

Self-image


• Self-concept

Domain-specific evaluations of the self


Slide 6

The Self

• Self-esteem and self-concept

– Variations related to development

– High self-esteem linked to higher initiative

– Concerns: too much or undeserved praises• inflated self-esteem

• Inability to accept criticism and competition

• Most research is correlational



Slide 7

The Self

• Increasing Children’s Self-Esteem

– Identify causes of low self-esteem

– Provide emotional support and social approval

– Help children to achieve

– Encourage coping skills



Slide 8

The Self

• Self-regulation– Increased capacity with age, development

• Erikson’s Industry versus Inferiority– Encouragement increases child’s sense of

industry; criticism results in inferiority– Develop sense of competence or

incompetence in attempt to master skills



Slide 9

Emotional Development

• Increased ability to understand complex emotions

• Increased understanding that more than one emotion can be experienced in a situation

• Self-initiated strategies for redirecting feelings

• More fully take into account events leading to emotional reactions

• Improved ability to suppress or conceal negative emotional reactions



Slide 10


• Emotional intelligence

– Ability to monitor feelings and emotions of oneself and others

– Four main areas• Developing emotional self-awareness

• Managing emotions (self-control)

• Reading emotions (perspective taking)

• Handling emotions (resolve problems)



Slide 11


• Coping with Stress

– Use of alternative cognitive strategies increase with age, maturity

• Intentional thought shifting

• Reframing or changing one’s view

• Context or environment may overwhelm coping



Slide 12


• Helping children cope with stress

– Reassure safety and security

– Allow retelling of events; be patient listener

– Encourage discussion of disturbing feelings

– Help make sense of what has happened

– Protect child from re-exposure and trauma



Slide 13

Moral Development

• Piaget’s morality– Heteronomous: unchangeable rules– Autonomous: consider intentions and

consequences of people

• Kohlberg’s theory– Three levels, six stages of moral reasoning– Stage change based on perspective taking

opportunities and experienced conflict



Slide 14

Moral Development

• Kohlberg’s theory– Based primarily on

moral reasoning;


Level Stage Description

Preconventional Reasoning:

external rewards or punishment

1 Heteronomous morality: moral thinking tied to punishment

2 Individualism, instrumental purpose, and exchange: persons pursue own interests

Conventional Reasoning: intermediate

internalization

3 Mutual interpersonal expectations, relationships, and interpersonal conformity: moral standards seen as ‘good’ or ‘bad’

4 Social systems morality: based on understanding of social order, law, etc.

Postconventional Reasoning: morality fully internalized

5 Social contract: individual and human rights

6 Universal ethical principles: conscience


Slide 15

Moral Development

• Kohlberg’s Beliefs– Levels and stages occurred in sequence

– Cognitive development does not ensure moral reasoning development

– Peer interaction stimulates moral reasoning

– Universal support found for first four stages



Slide 16

Moral Development

• Kohlberg’s Critics– Not enough emphasis on moral behavior

– Culture and Moral Development

– Dismissed family processes importance

– Gender-biased: males use justice view, females use caregiver perspective

– Social conventional reasoning; rules for social control differ from moral rules



Slide 17

Moral Development

• Prosocial moral behavior

– More emphasis on behavior development

– Empathy, altruism behaviors

– Empathy and adult encouragement fosters obligation to share

• Definitions of ‘fairness’ change with age

• Give-and-take of peer interactions affects most



Slide 18

Moral Development

• Moral personality

– Three components

• Moral identity (view of self)

• Moral character (behavior shown to others)

• Moral exemplars (model for others)



Slide 19

Gender

• Gender stereotypes – Broad categories of beliefs, impressions

• Traditionally: males dominant, females nurturant• Some influence by culture and religion

– Some social inequalities have diminished

– As sexual equality increases, gender stereotypes and behaviors may diminish



Slide 20

Gender

• Gender difference and similarities

– Average differences: not all females or males

– Even in differences, there is large overlap

– Differences may be biological, sociocultural, or both



Slide 21What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood?

Gender

• Physical development– Men taller, shorter life expectancy, more

likely to develop physical/mental disorders

– Females have more fat, hormone growth stops at puberty

– Female brains smaller and more folds, larger corpus callosum

– Hypothalamus and area of parietal lobe are larger in men



Gender

• Cognitive Development– Early research: females had better verbal

skills, males better math and visuospatial skills

– Later research suggests differences slight

– Differences persist on standardized test scores of children; suspect other factors



Gender

• Socioemotional Development– Boys more physically aggressive; affected

by biology and environment• Girls equally or more verbally aggressive• Relational aggression

– Communication differs• Others talk to boys and girls differently• Rapport and Report Talk


Slide 24

Gender

Report talk• Favored by males• Provides information• Public speaking

such as jokes and storytelling

Rapport talk• Favored by females• For conversation,

establishing connections, and negotiating relationships



Slide 25

Gender

• Socioemotional Development – Communication

• Girls use more affiliative speech; boys use more self-assertive speech

• Differences affected by

– Group size

– Speaking with peers or adults

– Familiarity

– Age



Slide 26

Gender

• Emotion– Boys hide more negative emotions, girls

show less disappointment

– Girls experience more intense emotions in adolescence

– Males show less self-regulation, more likely to have behavior problems

– Girls engage in more prosocial behaviors in childhood and adolescence



Slide 27

Gender

• Gender role classification– Androgyny: possessing both positive

feminine and masculine characteristics

– Sandra Bem: androgynous persons• More flexible, competent, mentally healthy

• Classification affected by context

– Despite societal changes, traditional raising of boys continues



Slide 28

androgynous feminine

masculine undifferentiated

Feminine

MasculineH

igh

Low

Low

High


Gender-Role Classification


Slide 29

Gender

• Gender in context

– Gender stereotypes usually expressed

as personality traits

– Gender behavior affected by context

– Gender roles prescribed in many cultures

• Division of labor

• Childrearing and socialization



Slide 30

Developmental Changes in Parenting

• Parent-child interactions: decrease as children get older

– Autonomy and parental regulation

– School-related and out-of-school matters

– Discipline

– Co-regulation: gradual process

What Are Some Changes in Parenting and Families in Middle and Late Childhood?


Slide 31

Stepfamilies

• Divorce and remarriage common– Higher divorce rate in remarriages– Remarried parents face unique tasks

• Strengthen and define new relationships• Renegotiate divorced biological parental roles

– Three common types of stepfamilies• Stepfather, stepmother, and blended



Slide 32

Latchkey Children

• Both parents work outside home

• Largely unsupervised; experiences vary– 2 to 4 hours on school days– Much more during summer months– Risks to child

• Grow up too fast, too many responsibilities• Easier to get into trouble, negative behaviors

– Out-of-school care exists, more needed



Slide 33

Gay Male and Lesbian Parents

• Families with children created by– Heterosexual parent identifies as gay male

or lesbian after birth of children

– Donor insemination

– Adoption

• Custody arrangements can vary– Few, if any, differences between children

raised in heterosexual and gay/lesbian families



Slide 34

Developmental Changes

What Changes Characterize Peer Relationships in Middle and Late Childhood?

• Peers become more important– Peer interaction increases for recreation,

group identification, and friendships– Peer competence impacts on future– Size of group increases and adult

supervision decreases with age – Same-sex group preferences until age 12


Slide 35

Peer Statuses

Rejected

Frequently nominated as someone’s best friend and as being dislikedControversial

Average

Popular

Infrequently nominated as a best friend; actively disliked by peers

Receive average number of positive and negative nominations from peers

Frequently nominated as a best friend; rarely disliked by peers

NeglectedInfrequently nominated as a best friend but not disliked by peers



Slide 36

Peer Status


• Skills of popular children– Give out reinforcements, act naturally– Listen carefully, keep open communication– Are happy, control negative emotions– Show enthusiasm, concern for others


Slide 37

Peer Status


• Behaviors of rejected children– Less classroom participation– Negative attitudes on school attendance– More often report being lonely– Aggressive peer-rejected boys

• Impulsive, problems being attentive, disruptive• Emotionally reactive, slow to calm down• Have fewer social skills to make friends


Slide 38

Social Cognition


• Thoughts about social matters

• Thoughts about peers is important for understanding peer relationships

• Interpreting intentions determines response and appropriateness

• Social knowledge creates social bonds


Slide 39

Bullying

• Verbal or physical behavior intended to disturb someone less powerful– Most likely affected are males and

younger middle school students– Targeted children unlikely to retaliate– Bullies more likely to have lower grades,

smoke or drink alcohol– Victims suffer many other effects



Slide 40Bullying Behavior Among U.S. Youth

Subject of sexual comments or gestures

Belittled about religion or race

Subject of rumors

Hit, slapped, or pushed

Belittled about looks or speech

Males

5 250 10 15 20

Percent experiencing bullying

Females

Fig. 13.6


Slide 41

Friends

Not all friendshipsand not all friends are equal


• Friendships serve six functions– Companionship– Stimulation– Physical support– Ego support– Social comparison– Affection and intimacy


Slide 42

Friends


• Intimacy in friendship• Self-disclosure• Sharing of private thoughts• May not appear until adolescence

• Friendless students• Showed less prosocial behaviors• More emotionally depressed• Had lower grades


Slide 43

Contemporary Approaches to Student Learning

• Controversy over best instructional approach

– Constructivist: learner-centered

– Direct instruction: teacher-centered

• Criticized as rote memory, teaching irrelevant material, and creates passive learners

What Are Some Important Aspects of Schools?


Slide 44

Contemporary Approaches to Student Learning and Assessment

Constructivist

Directinstruction

Emphasizes the child’s active construction of knowledge/understanding with teacher guidance. Child encouraged to discover, reflect, critically think. Emphasis on collaboration and opportunities.

Characterized by teacher direction and control, mastery of academic material, high expectations for students’ progress, and maximum time spent on learning



Slide 45

Contemporary Approaches to Student Learning

• Accountability– Demanded by public and government– State-mandated tests more powerful role– No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act critics

• Single score from single test as indicator

• Tests don’t measure creativity, other skills

• Teaching to the test



Slide 46

Socioeconomic Status and Ethnicity

• Education of students from low-income – Schools:

• More students with low achievement test scores• Low graduation rates• Low numbers attend college• More inexperienced teachers• More rote memory encouraged• Old and crumbling buildings and classrooms



Slide 47

Socioeconomic Status and Ethnicity

• Ethnicity in schools– Large inner city school districts attended by

• 1/3 of all African American and Latino students• 22% of all Asian students• 5% of all white students

– School segregation exists; effects of SES and ethnicity intertwined

– Schools grossly underfunded, lack adequate opportunities for effective learning



Slide 48

Improving Ethnically Diverse Schools

– Turn the class into a jigsaw classroom– Use technology to foster cooperation– Encourage positive personal contact– Encourage perspective taking– Help critical thinking, emotional intelligence– Reduce bias– View school and community as team– Be a competent cultural mediator



Slide 49

The End

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Socioemotional Development