Middle Childhood: Psychosocial Development
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Transcript Middle Childhood: Psychosocial Development
13 - MIDDLE CHILDHOOD:
PSYCHOSOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
Nature of the child
Erikson’s stage
vs. inferiority (4th. Stage)
Skill mastery
Self-image of being industrious or inferior
Industry
Freud
Latency
Emotional
drives & unconscious sexual conflicts are quiet
Self-Concept
Comparison to others
An unrealistically high self-concept reduces
“effortful control” (trying to control your emotions) –
lowers achievement & increases aggression
The me-self
“I-self” = I know what I want, I am
Thinks,
acts, & feel independently
“Me-self” = What do others think of me?
Based
on the perception of what others think
Culture and self-esteem
The culture influences how you are supposed to see
yourself
Japanese
vs. US
Handling Stress
Healthy children tend to be resilient to stress
Cope
with stressful situations without being
overwhelmed
Social support (family, friends, church) helps deal
with stress
Cumulative stress
Accumulated small daily stresses over time = more
devastating than isolated major stress
Child’s interpretation of the situation is important
Families and children
Individual children are influenced by age, genes,
gender, resilience, parents, and home life
Children raised in same home does not = same
environment and parenting
Parents
treat different children differently
Most environmental effects may be from the
“nonshared” environment
Family structure and function
Structure = Legal & genetic connections of family
members
Structures
Nuclear (Husband, wife, and children)
Blended (Parents with children from earlier marriages)
Extended (Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, etc.)
Polygamous (Multiple spouses)
Function
How families act with each other
Function is more important than structure at all ages.
Family functions:
Material necessities
Learning
Self-respect
Peer relationships (Friendships)
Harmony and stability
Protective,
predictable routines
What interferes with family function?
Low income = stress
High conflict = stress
Money
Child
rearing
Family roles
Physical abuse
Emotional abuse
Children need a feeling of harmony
Peer group
The culture of children
Norms, values, beliefs, habits that characterize
children as opposed to an adult
Children
are their own “in group”
Encourages independence from adults
E.g. Don’t be a “tattle-tale” to an adult
Friendship & social acceptance
Both boys and girls want to be liked and have best
friends
Learn faster and feel happier with friends
Between same sex, age, ethnicity, and
socioeconomic group
People
who understand and agree with them
Social awareness
Social cognition
Understanding the causes and consequences of social
interaction
Crucial for peer acceptance
Effortful control = Ability to control your emotions
Well-liked children like themselves
See unkind remarks as accidental
Does not provoke fear, self-doubt and anger
Rejected children = poor self-concept
See unkind remarks as purposefully directed at them
Created self-doubt and anger
Bullies and Victims
Bullies lack empathy
Bullying = repeated attacks
Types of bullying
Physical (hitting, kicking)
Verbal (Teasing, name-calling)
Relational (Isolate from friends, reduce acceptance)
More
common in high school
Cyberbullying (Emails, Facebook)
Victims
Lonely, abandoned, no good friends
Chosen because of their vulnerability and isolation
Bullies
Not rejected – have admiring henchmen for friends
Boys target smaller, weaker children
Boys
Girls target shy soft-spoken girls
Girls
= physical aggression
= verbal aggression
Both sexes use relational aggression and
cyberbullying
Bullies
Socially aware but lack empathy with victim
Skilled at avoiding adult awareness
Victims counted on not to resist effectively
Causes of bullying
Possibly genetic predisposition or brain abnormality
Family
Insecure
attachment
Ineffective discipline
Hostile siblings
Intensify aggression
Peers that approve of the behavior
Consequences of bullying
Bullies often become increasing cruel
Victims
Depression
Lower
school achievement
Can bullies be stopped?
Very difficult
Victim finding new friends helps
Whole school strategy
Bully
not supported by his peers, friends, and school
staff helps
Morality
Kohlberg’s levels of moral
development
Preconventional
Egocentric
Rewards
and punishments
Conventional
Acceptance
of social rules and laws
Postconventional
“What
should be”
Ultimate good
Morality
Often guided by the culture and religion
Children use their intellectual abilities to justify their
moral actions