Social Development in Early Childhood

The Development of Children (5th ed.)Cole, Cole & Lightfoot

Chapter 10

Social Development: Two-Sided

Socialization Personality Development

Integrated into the larger social

community

Differentiated as distinctive

individuals

Acquire the standards, values, and knowledge

of society

Develop unique patterns of feeling,

thinking, and behaving

Overview of the Journey

Acquiring a Social and Personal Identity

Moral Development Developing

Self-Regulation Aggression and Pro-

social Behavior

Identification Psychological process in

which children try to look, act, feel, and be like significant people in their social environment

Essential to the process of socialization

Sex Role Identification Girls want to be like the

parent they are closes to Boys want to be different

than the parent they are closest to

How do children learn to be who they are? Three theories

Freud: Psychodynamic view Bandura: Social Learning view Kohlberg: Cognitive view

Psychodynamic View (Freud) Boys: Identification through differentiation

from mother and affiliation with father Oedipus complex: Desire to take father’s place

in mother’s affection (resolution = sexual identity) Girls: Identification through affiliation only

Woman’s psychological makeup never becomes as independent of its emotional component as does a man’s

Social-Learning View (Bandura) Identification through

observation & imitation Adults not only provide

models for children to imitate, but also reward gender-appropriate behavior and punish cross-gender behavior

Girls and boys are differently rewarded for engaging in gender-appropriate behavior

Parental encouragement is one reason boys assume

traditional masculine roles

Cognitive View (Kohlberg) Identity formation as

conceptual development “I am a boy; therefore I want

to do boy things and doing boy things (and gaining approval for doing them) is rewarding.”

Identity is formed as a result of the child’s actively structuring his/her experience

Cognitive View (Kohlberg)Three stages:

Basic sex-role identity: By 3 years old, children can label themselves as “boy” or “girl”

Sex-role stability: During early childhood, they begin to understand that gender roles are stable over time

Sex-role constancy is completed when they understand that their gender remains the same no matter what the situation

Ethnic & Racial Identity Children are aware of their

ethnic group and racial differences by the time they are 4 years old

Young children of parents who were active in promoting (Native American) cultural awareness and social rights more often chose dolls representing their culture.

Personal Identity: how children describe themselves

Early childhood: Focus on specific, concrete characteristics

physical attributes “I am a girl with brown hair”, what they can do “I can run fast”, their possessions “I have a cat”, social relations “I have a big brother”, preferences “My favorite color is red”) tend to be unrealistically positive (“I know all my

ABCs”) Adults assist in identity formation through the

recall and interpretation of events, such as family stories or going through a family scrapbook

Moral DevelopmentLearning about

Right and Wrong

Role of Internalization

Learning about Right and WrongThree levels of rules

Moral rules: Most general; based on principles of justice and the welfare of others; cannot be transgressed

Social conventions: Important for social coordination; includes school rules, forms of address, attire and appearance, sex roles, etiquette

Personal rules: Children can make decisions based on personal preference; are able to develop individual uniqueness

InternalizationExternal culturally-organized experiences

internal psychological processes organize how people behave

Id: Present at birth; is unconscious, impulsive, and concerned with the immediate satisfaction of bodily drives

Ego: The first phase of self-regulation; serves as the intermediary between the demands of the id and the demands of the social world, which are often at odds with each other

Superego: Formation of the conscience occurs around age 5; results from children’s internalization of adult standards, rules and warnings

Conscience emerges once children have generalized and internalized standards for the way they behave

Involves self-observation, self-guidance, and self-discipline

Child develops a capacity for feelings of shame and guilt

In essence, children must have both the ability and the desire to behave in

socially acceptable ways

Self-regulation and Self Control

Self-Control

Regulating Thought and Action

Regulating Emotions

Self-Control Ability to inhibit initial

impulses by stopping and thinking before acting;

Balancing personal desires and social standards Movement (“Simon says”) Emotions (deciding not to cry

when they fall down) Choice (delayed gratification is

being able to wait for the reward)

Regulating Thoughts Leads to Making Healthy Decisions

The child selects and maintains a mental representation that directs her behavior “I need to hold up the string and

put the end through the hole in the bead.”

Monitors her own progress “I got one on right; now I’ll try

another.” Modifies her problem-solving

strategies “This bead won’t go on; I need

one with a bigger hole.”

Regulating One’s Own Emotions Babies: Suck on their fingers or pacifier

or rock themselves to self-calm Ages 2-6: Avoids or reduces emotion

by closing their eyes, turning away, or putting their hands over their ears Uses language (self talk) to reassure and encourage

themselves (“I’m a big girl; big girls can do it”) Use active engagement to focus their attention on

something else to control their interest in a forbidden toy Preschool children who display characteristics

of socio-emotional competence are better liked by both their peers and teachers

Aggression and Pro-social Behavior

Development and Causes of Aggression

Controlling Aggression

Understanding Others’ Emotions

Developing Pro-social Behavior

Development of Aggression Aggression: Committing acts

intended to hurt another Instrumental aggression:

Directed at obtaining something (hitting another child toobtain a toy)

Hostile aggression: Intentionally hurting another person as a means of establishing dominance (bullying)

Development of Aggression

Changes in aggression Between ages of 1 & 2: Rapid increase in

instrumental aggression due to new sense of self Age 2: Begin to notice “ownership rights”

boys become physically aggressive girls display relationship aggression

Ages 3-6: Physical tussles over possessions decrease, while verbal aggression increases and hostile aggression (bullying) makes its appearance

Causes of Aggression

1. Aggressors are rewarded Victim gave in or retreated,

resulting in “victory” Adults provided positive

reinforcement by paying more attention, laughing, signaling approval, or simply by stopping coercing the child

Causes of Aggression2. Children imitate the

behavior of older role models Physical punishments,

particularly with anger, may teach children to behave aggressively

Research: Aggressive behavior of children who had observed adult aggression was substantially higher than that of children who had watched non-aggressive interactions; made little difference whether the adult models were live or filmed…

Individual Differences Research findings

Environment: Poverty associated with increased aggression (parents are likely to use harsh and inconsistent discipline, perhaps due to increased stress)

Cognition: Aggressive children more often misinterpret social interactions in negative ways that foster aggressive responses

http://meero.worldvision.org/news_article.php?newsID=339

4 Ways to Teach Children How to Control Aggression Model self-control Punish the child Reward non-aggressive behaviors Talk it over to so child cognitively

understands

1. Adults Model Self-controlHelp children learn self control by giving them ways to vent negative feelings in a “safe way” before they explode violently Children will practice selecting

and using socially acceptable and non-acceptable ways of venting anger and frustration

Adults and older children who show self-control of emotions will give children a positive role model

2. Children are punished

Children become more likely to suppress aggressive behavior when the child identifies strongly with the person administering the punishment, and it is employed consistently

When used inconsistently punishment is likely to provoke children to further aggression

Attempts to control children’s behavior by means of physical punishment, or by threats to apply raw power, also increase aggressiveness

3. Children are rewarded for non-aggressive behavior

Since young children sometimes become aggressive in order to gain attention, one strategy is to ignore it and to pay attention to children only when they are engaged in cooperative behavior

For example, an adult may step in between the children involved and pay attention only to the victim (comfort the child, give the child something interesting to do)

Side benefit: Other children may have observed that it is appropriate to be sympathetic to the victim of aggression

4. Children Express Cognitive Understanding Short, individual discussion

with the aggressor focusing on Aggression hurts another person

and make that person unhappy Aggression does not solve problems

and only causes resentment in the other child Children can often resolve conflicts by sharing and

taking turns In essence, helping children to become aware of

the feelings of others (empathy) decreases aggression

Table Talk Review the 4 ways of controlling aggression

to be sure you understand each method Discuss as a group:

What ways did you learn to control aggression? What were some of the positive outcomes? What were some of the negative outcomes? As a teacher, what would you do to help children

control aggression?

Pro-Social Behavior:

Deciding to act in ways that builds trust

and healthy relationships

This requires empathy and self-control

Empathy:Understanding Others’ Emotions 6-7 months: Babies can “read” their mothers’ faces as a

guide to how they should feel about a situation 2 years old: Know that other people feel bad when you

hit them and that giving them something nice makes them feel good

3 years old: Usually interpret other children’s emotions correctly

5-6 years old: Agreed with adult assessment of others emotional states and of the events likely to have caused them more than 80% of the time

Empathy – the sharing of another person’s emotions and feelings – is foundational; includes sharing, helping, caregiving, showing compassion, altruism

Four stages Neonates: Babies as young as 2 days

become stressed and cry at the sound of another infant’s cries

Second Year: Seek to comfort others, although some of their attempt to help may be inappropriate

Early Infancy: Empathize with people they have never met

Ages 6-9: Interest in social/political issues (poverty, oppression, illness)

Developing Pro-social Behavior Strategies

Reward: Not very effective (4-year-olds most likely to act pro-socially were those who received no recognition for their pro-social acts)

Explicit modeling: Increased pro-social behavior as long as 2 weeks later

Induction (adults give explanations of what needs to be done/why): 12-year-old children displayed higher levels of empathy and pro-social behavior

Table Talk Discuss with a partner

Why are pro-social skills important to the family? Why are pro-social skills important to the

community? How can teachers teach pro-social skills to

children?