Chapter 6

• Self-understanding: cognitive representation about self; characteristics that make oneself unique

  • Early childhood
  • describe themselves using concrete physical terms
  • no reference to social comparisons, absolute judgements, overly optimistic
  • Middle childhood
  • describe themselves using psychological characteristics and social affiliations
  • reference to social comparison
• Self-esteem:

  • global evaluative of self (self-worth, self-image)
  • linked to early interindividual differences in attachment
  • negative consequences of low self-esteem:
  • lower life satisfaction, higher levels of depression
• Self-concept:

  • domain-specific evaluations of self (academics, athletics)
  • both self-esteem and self-concept decline during middle childhood
• Praise can lead to:

  • inflated sense of self
  • difficulty handling competition
  • may undermine task enjoyment and reduces persistence after failure
• Self-efficacy:

  • belief that one can master a situation and produce favourable outcomes
  • influences choice of activities and task persistence
• Development of gender-stereotyped beliefs:

  • already present at 18 months
  • between 18-30 months children begin to label own and others' gender
  • beliefs become stronger over the preschool period
  • gender stereotyping continues into adolescence
• Androgyny: presence of positive masculine and feminine characteristics in the same individual
• Influences on gender typing:

  • Family
  • mother and fathers' socialization strategies
  • Peer influences
  • reject/reward gender-confirming behaviour
  • increasing preference for same-sex playmates
  • Broader social environment
• Development of self-conscious emotions:

  • 6 months
  • primary emotions
  • 2 years
  • consciousness, as in self-referential behaviour
  • embarrassment (nonevaluative), envy, empathy
  • 3 years
  • embarrassment (evaluative), pride, shame, guilt
  • acquisition and retention of standards and rules
• Piaget's levels of morality:

  1. young children (3-6) are not aware of rules and played without conforming to any rules (premoral)
  2. 7-9 year olds play according to rules (morality of constraint)
  3. 9-11 year olds play according to complex and changeable rules (morality of cooperations)
• 1. Heteronomous morality (age 4-7)
  2. rules and justice are unchangeable properties of the world
  3. there exists a unilateral respect for authority and laws
  4. Autonomous morality
  5. children recognize that rules and laws were created by people and people's intentions need to be considered
• Dimensions of child-rearing:

  1. Acceptance/warmth and hostility
  2. Control and autonomy
• Authoritative parents:

  • parents are warm, encourage independence, but also set firm limits within which autonomy is negotiated
  • most well-adjusted children
  • positive mood, good academic achievement, sociable
• Authoritarian parents:

  • parents who are not very warm, and very controlling
  • restrictive, punitive (anger towards children)
  • children are usually withdrawn
  • high anxiety, poor peer relations, unhappy
• Indulgent parents:

  • parents are warm, but set few limits on their kids
  • children rarely learn respect for others
  • problems with impulse control, rebellious, poor peer relations
• Neglectful parents:

  • parents who do not set limits for their children, nor are they warm
  • least well-adjusted children, low self-esteem
  • if parents are at the extreme (neglecting) children can have serious problems with development
  • poor social skills, antisocial, problems with emotion regulation
• Parenting styles in context:

  • some generalization of beliefs of authoritative parenting style
  • traditional Asian child-rearing practices may not fit the typology
  • domineering control reflects concern and involvement in children's lives
• Punishment:

  • physical punishment and frequent punishment have undesirable side effects
  • anxiety
  • modeling of behaviour in a stressful situation
  • lower empathy
  • spiral into abuse
• Alternatives to punishment:

  • distraction
  • remove opportunities to misbehave
  • withdrawing privileges
  • inductive discipline
  • positive discipline
• Peer status:

  1. Popular children
  2. Average children
  3. Neglected children
  4. Rejected children
  5. Controversial children
• Rejected children:

  • more impulsive, problems sustaining attention
  • more emotionally reactive, aroused to anger more easily
  • fewer social skills in making friends and maintaining positive relationships with peers
• Types of play:

  1. Sensorimotor play (infancy)
  2. Practice play (repetition of motor behaviours)
  3. Pretense or symbolic play (make-believe play)
  4. Social play (interactions with peers)
  5. Constructive play (combines sensorimotor with symbolic representations)
  6. Games (engaged in for pleasure, involving rules)
• Potential harmful effects of excessive media use:

  • displace more beneficial activities
  • passive
  • aggression
  • ADHD
  • unrealistic view of world
  • sleep deprivation
• Parents and media use:

  • parental monitoring of children's media use has been linked to better outcomes
  • parental reduction in own screen time decreases child's screen time