Midterm

• Self-concept


  Sense of self; descriptive and evaluative mental picture of one's abilities and traits
• Self-definition


  Cluster of characteristics used to describe oneself
• Real self


  The self one actually is
• Ideal self


  The self one would like to be
• At about age 5 or 6, Jason begins to make logical connections between one aspect of himself and another
• In middle childhood children begin to integrate specific features of the self into a general, multidimensional concept
• Individualism vs collectivism


  Major cultural dimension that impacts the understanding of the self in relation to others
• Chinese parents tend to encourage interdependent aspects of the self, while European American parents tend to encourage independent aspects
• Children absorb cultural styles of self-definition as early as age 3 or 4, and these differences increase with age
• Self-esteem


  The self-evaluative part of the self-concept, the judgment children make about their overall worth
• Most young children wildly overestimate their abilities and their self-esteem is not based on reality
• Contingent self-esteem


  When self-esteem is based on success, leading to a "helpless" pattern when faced with failure
• Noncontingent self-esteem


  When self-esteem is not based on success, leading to perseverance in the face of failure
• Generic praise is associated with giving up after failure, while targeted praise preserves mastery in children
• Emotional self-regulation


  The ability to control one's feelings and adjust responses to meet societal expectations
• Individualistic cultures tend to value free expression of emotions, while collectivistic cultures tend to suppress negative emotions
• By about 5 years of age, children understand the public aspects of emotions - what causes them, how they look, and that reminding someone can elicit them again
• By about 4-5 years, most children can recognize the facial expressions of basic emotions
• Social emotions


  Emotions involved in the regulation of social behavior that require self-awareness and the understanding of others' viewpoints
• Children as young as 2 or 3 years of age can experience true clinical depression, although they are unable to verbalize what is going on
• Initiative versus guilt


  Erikson's third stage in psychosocial development, in which children balance the urge to pursue goals with reservations about doing so
• Gender identity


  Awareness, developed in early childhood, that one is male or female
• Even in the womb, male fetuses are already more active than female fetuses
• Gender differences


  • Psychological or behavioral differences between males and females
  • Measurable differences between baby boys and girls are few
  • Boys and girls on average remain more alike than different
• One clear behavioral difference between young boys and girls is boys' greater physical aggressiveness
• Gender roles


  Behaviors, interests, attitudes, skills, and traits that a culture considers appropriate for males or females
• Gender-typing


  Socialization process whereby children, at an early age, learn appropriate gender roles
• Gender stereotypes


  Preconceived generalizations about male or female role behavior
• Theoretical perspectives on gender development

  • Biological
  • Evolutionary
  • Psychoanalytic
  • Cognitive
  • Social learning
• Across the life span and starting early in development, men, on average, have larger brain volume than women
• Girls' brains have a higher proportion of gray matter (neurons) and show greater cerebral blood flow, while boys' brains contain more white matter (axons for communication between neurons)
• Analysis of fetal testosterone levels has shown a link between higher testosterone levels in utero and male-typical play in boys
• Girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), who have high prenatal levels of androgens (male sex hormones), tend to show preferences for boys' toys, rough play, and male playmates, as well as strong spatial skills
• Merely telling a boy or a girl what he or she is not enough to alter gender identity
• Transgender people are individuals whose gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth
• Transgender people


  Individuals whose gender identity is different from their biological sex
• Many young children play with their identity—for example, dressing up in different clothes or pretending to be something they are not
• Children, especially girls, who will later identify as transgender show strong and persistent gender dysphoria early in childhood
• Biological women who later identify as male


  Have markers that suggest high androgen exposure in the womb
• Research on twins suggests there may be genetic influences on gender identity