Lecture Notes/Chapter Outine Chapter 9: Middle Childhood

Chapter 9 - Middle Childhood: Personality & Sociocultural Development

I. Personality Development in an Expanding Social World
A. Three perspectives on middle childhood
1. Social learning view
2. Psychodynamic view
3. Cognitive developmental view

B. Self concept
1. How children define who they are
2. Less realistic and accurate in younger children
3. Frequently compare themselves with their peers and draw conclusion when seeing how they relate to other people

C. INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY – In Erikson’s theory, the third stage of development in which the child attempts to establish a sense of personal competence and mastery

D. SELF ESTEEM – one’s attitude toward oneself, which can range from positive to negative

II. Social Knowledge and Reasoning
A. The development of social cognition
1. SOCIAL COGNITION – thought, knowledge, and understanding that involve the social world
2. SOCIAL INFERENCE – an individual’s guesses and assumptions about what another person is feeling, thinking, or intending
3. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY – an individual’s obligations to family, friends, and to society
4. SOCIAL REGULATIONS – the customs and conventions that govern social interactions

B. The development of morality
1. MORALITY – a person’s ideas about fairness and justice and right and wrong
2. Moral realism and moral relativism
a. MORAL REALISM – Piaget’s term for the first stage of moral development; children believe in rules as real, indestructible things, not as abstract principles
b. MORAL RELATIVISM – Piaget’s term for the second stage of moral development; children realize rules are created and agreed upon cooperatively by individuals and can change if necessary
3. Kohlberg’s preconventional, conventional, and postconventional reasoning
a. Preconventional – stage 1 and 2 – obey rules in order to avoid punishment and obey rules to obtain rewards or to have favors returned
b. Conventional – stage 3 and 4 – conform to win the approval of others and conform to avoid disapproval or dislike of others
c. Postconventional – stage 5 and 6 – abide by laws of the land for the community’s welfare and abide by universal ethical principles, which may or may not conform to society’s laws or expectations
d. MORAL DILEMMAS – in Kohlberg’s research, stories in which individuals are asked to judge whether a character’s behavior was moral or immoral
4. Critiques of Kohlberg’s theory
a. Argue that his research investigates moral attitudes and not moral behavior
b. Moral development is not as predictable as his model suggests
c. MORAL ABSOLUTISM – any theory of morality that disregards cultural differences in moral beliefs
5. Gender differences in moral development
a. Kohlberg based his theory on male subjects
b. Women’s moral judgments are based on justice or caring
c. Boys are trained to strive for independence while girls are taught to nurture and care

III. Peer Relationships
A. Functions of friendship
1. Help children learn social concepts and social skills
2. Allow the child to develop self esteem
3. They can share their feelings, fears, and details of their lives
4. Allow someone to confide in

B. Developmental patterns in friendship
1. Selman’s stages of friendship development
2. Stage 1 – friendship is based on physical or geographic factors and children are self centered with no understanding of the perspectives of others
3. Stage 2 – friendship begins to be based on reciprocity and awareness of others’ feelings and friendship begins to be based on social actions and evaluation by each other
4. Stage 3 – friendship is based on genuine give and take and friends are seen as people who help each other; mutual evaluation of each other’s actions occurs and the concept of trust appears
5. Stage 4 – friendship is seen as a stable continuing relationship based on trust and children can observe the friendship relationship from the perspective of a third party

C. PEER GROUP – a group of three or more people of similar age who interact with each other and who share norms and goals
1. Developmental trends
a. Peer groups take on greater significance when children reach ages 10 to 12
b. Separation of the sexes becomes noticeable
c. Peer pressure becomes more effective & conformity to group norms becomes important
2. Peer group conformity
a. Some children become dependent on their peer group to meet their needs of belonging and social support
b. Children who conform most often are especially sensitive to social cues and tend to self monitor
c. Can influence and encourage academic motivation
d. Can also encourage antisocial acts (particularly in boys)

D. In groups, out groups, and prejudice
1. PREJUDICE – a negative attitude formed without adequate reason and usually directed toward people because of their membership in a certain group
2. DISCRIMINATION – treating others in a prejudiced manner
3. The development of ethnic identity
a. Develops during early childhood
b. Reflects the culture in which the child is raised
c. Complex concept that is only gradually acquired
d. Understanding group differences and what it means to be a member of the group requires social cognition that only comes with cognitive development
4. Popularity within the peer group
a. Popular children are likely to have good emotional control
b. They can cooperate and share
c. Academic performance and athletic ability become important in determining popularity
d. Children who are overly aggressive, timid, or different are less popular
e. Unpopular children can be encouraged to change behaviors that are objected to

IV. Family Influences in Middle Childhood
A. Parent child interactions and relationships
1. SELF REGULATED BEHAVIOR – behavior that is controlled and directed by the child rather than by parents, teachers, or other external forces
2. COREGULATION – the development or a sense of shared responsibility between parents and their children
3. Parents need to effectively monitor their children’s activities and behavior
4. Less stress economically, socially, and emotionally can make parenting easier

B. The changing nature of the family
1. Families and stress
a. When stress is chronic and extreme, children and adults may develop symptoms, such as nightmares, fearfulness, depression, anxiety, trouble with concentration, aggressive behavior, or blunted emotions
b. Stress is better dealt with when events do not pile up
c. When family and social support is available stress becomes more manageable
d. Some children are more resilient and are better able than others to deal with stress
e. RESILIENT CHIDREN – children who are able to overcome difficult environments to lead socially competent lives
2. Stress and single parenting
a. Single parents are especially vulnerable to stress because of lack of social support and economic resources
b. When stressed, they use less effective parenting techniques
c. The development of their children is more susceptible to harm
d. Social support and clear rules and expectations for children can help them deal more effectively
3. Children of divorce
a. Half of all marriages in the US end in divorce
b. Divorce is more traumatic for children when parents are hostile
c. Children are more likely to exhibit behavioral difficulties, anxiety, depression, and low self esteem when parents divorce
d. RECONSITITUTED CHILDREN – also known as stepfamily; a family where a mother or a father with children has remarried to produce a new family