Chapter 10, to page 351 Emotional and Social Development in
Middle Childhood
Slide 2
Eriksons Theory: Industry versus Inferiority Psychological
conflict of middle childhood: industry versus inferiority Resolved
positively when children develop a sense of competence at useful
skills and tasks Shift from make-believe play to realistic
accomplishment in industrialized nations, the beginning of formal
schooling marks the transition to middle childhood School entrance
brings the beginning of literacy training, which prepares children
for a vast array of specialized careers In school, children
discover their own and others unique capacities, learn the value of
division of labor, and develop a sense of moral commitment and
responsibility The negative outcome of this stage is inferiority,
lack of confidence in the ability to do things well This sense of
inadequacy can develop when family life has not prepared children
for school life or when teachers and peers destroy childrens
feelings of competence and mastery with negative responses Eriksons
sense of industry combines several developments of middle childhood
A positive but realistic self-concept, pride in accomplishment,
moral responsibility, and cooperative participation with
agemates
Slide 3
Self-Understanding In middle childhood, children become able to
describe themselves in terms of psychological traits, to compare
their own characteristics with those of their peers, and to
speculate about the causes of their strengths and weaknesses These
transformations in self-understanding have a major impact on
childrens self-esteem
Slide 4
Self-Concept During the school years, children refine their
self-concept, organizing their observations of behaviors and
internal states into general dispositions (major change occurs
between ages 8-11) Ex. 11 year old: My name is A. Im a human being.
Im a girl. Im a truthful person. Im not pretty. I do so-so at
school. Im a very good cellist. Im a very good pianist. Im a little
bit tall for my age. I like several boys. I like several girls. Im
old-fashioned. I play tennis. I am a very good swimmer. I try to be
helpful. Im always ready to be friends with anybody. Mostly Im
good, but I lose my temper. Im not well-liked by some girls and
boys. I dont know if any boys like me or not. In middle childhood,
children tend to emphasize competencies rather than specific
behaviors Ex. Im a very good pianist. They can clearly describe
their personality, including both positive and negative traits,
rather than describing themselves in all-or-none ways Ex. truthful
but I lose my temper
Slide 5
Self-Concept School-age children often make social comparisons
judgments of their appearance, abilities, and behavior in relation
to those of others Where 4-6 year olds can compare their own
performance to that of one peer, older children can compare
multiple individuals, including themselves What accounts for these
revisions in self-concept? Cognitive development affects the
changing structure of self Children are now able to coordinate
several aspects of a situation when reasoning about the physical
world (ex. Conservation of liquid) In the social realm, they
combine typical experiences and behaviors into psychological
dispositions, blend positive and negative characteristics, and
compare their own characteristics with those of many other
peers
Slide 6
Self-Concept Another influence on the content of self-concept
is feedback from others Sociologist George Mead proposed that a
well-organized psychological self emerges when the child adopts a
view of the self that resembles others attitudes toward the child
Perspective-taking skills, especially an improved ability to infer
what others are thinking, are crucial for the development of a
self-concept based on personality traits As the internalize others
expectations, children form an ideal self, which they use to
evaluate their real self Children increasingly look to more people
beyond the family for information about themselves as they enter a
wider range of settings in school and community As children move
into adolescence self-concept is increasingly vested in feedback
from close friends The content of self-concept also varies between
cultures and subcultures Recent research shows that in their
self-descriptions, U.S. children list more personal attributes,
whereas Chinese children list more attributes involving group
membership and relationships
Slide 7
Development of Self-Esteem Recall that most preschoolers have
extremely high self- esteem But at children enter school and
receive must more feedback about how well they perform compared
with their peers, self- esteem differentiates and also adjusts to a
more realistic level
Slide 8
Hierarchically Structured Self-Esteem By age 6-7, children have
formed at least 4 broad self-esteems academic, social, and
physical/athletic competence, and physical appearance Within each
broad category, are more refined categories that become
increasingly distinct with age Viewing the self in terms of stable
dispositions permits school-age children to combine these
self-evaluations into a general psychological image of themselves
an overall sense of self-esteem Self-esteem takes on a hierarchical
structure Perceived physical appearance correlates more strongly
with overall self-esteem than any other factor Emphasis on
appearance, in the media and in society, has major implications for
young peoples overall satisfaction with themselves
Slide 9
Hierarchy of Self-Esteem (example) General Self- Esteem
Academic Competence Language ArtsMathOther Subjects Social
Competence Relationship with Peers Relationship with Parents
Physical/Athletic Competence Outdoor GamesSports Physical
Appearance
Slide 10
Changes in Level of Self-Esteem Self-Esteem declines during the
1 st few years of elementary school as children evaluate themselves
in various areas Typically, the drop is not great enough to be
harmful Most (but not all) children appraise their characteristics
and competencies realistically while maintaining an attitude of
self- respect Then, from 4 th grade on, self-esteem rises for the
majority of young people, who feel especially good about their peer
relationships and athletic capabilities
Slide 11
Influences on Self-Esteem From middle childhood on, individual
differences in self-esteem become more stable Positive
relationships emerge between self-esteem and success at valued
activities Ex. Academic self-esteem predicts how important, useful,
and enjoyable children judge school subjects to be, their
willingness to try hard, and their achievement Ex. Children with
high social self-esteem are consistently better-liked by their
classmates Ex. Sense of athletic competence is positively
associated with investment and performance in sports However, a
profile of low self-esteem in all areas is linked to anxiety,
depression, and increasing antisocial behavior
Slide 12
Influences on Self-Esteem: Culture Cultural forces profoundly
affect self-esteem A strong emphasis on social comparison in school
may explain why Chinese and Japanese children, despite higher
academic achievement, score lower in self-esteem than North
American children In Asian classrooms, competition is tough and
achievement pressure is high At the same time, because their
culture values social harmony, Asian children tend to be reserved
about judging themselves positively but generous in their praise of
others Gender-stereotyped expectations also affect self-esteem In
one study, the more 5-8 year old girls talked with friends about
the way people look, watched TV shows focusing on physical
appearance, and perceived their friends as valuing thinness, the
lower their physical self-esteem and overall self-worth were a year
later In academic self-judgments Girls score higher in language
arts self-esteem Boys score higher in math, science, and
physical/athletic self-esteem, even when children of equal skill
levels are compared African American children tend to have slightly
higher self-esteem than their Caucasian agemates Possible because
of warm, extended families and stronger sense of ethnic pride,
which most Caucasians lack
Slide 13
Influences on Self-Esteem: Child- Rearing Practices Children
whose parents use an authoritative child-rearing style feel
especially good about themselves Warm, positive parenting lets
children know that they are accepted as competent and worthwhile
Firm but appropriate expectations, backed up with explanations,
help children evaluate their own behavior against reasonable
standards Controlling parents (those who too often help or make
decisions for their child) communicate a sense of inadequacy to
their children Having parents who are repeatedly disapproving and
insulting is linked to low self-esteem Children subjected to
controlling parenting need constant reassurance, and many rely
heavily on peers to affirm their self-worth (which is a risk factor
for adjustment difficulties, including aggression and antisocial
behavior)
Slide 14
Influences on Self-Esteem: Child- Rearing Practices
Overindulgent parenting is correlated with unrealistically high
self-esteem, which also undermines development These children tend
to lash out at challenges to their overblown self-images and, thus,
are also likely to be hostile and aggressive American cultural
values have increasingly emphasized a focus on the self that may
lead parents to indulge children and boost their self-esteem too
much The self-esteem of U.S. youths rose sharply from the
1970s-1990s, a period in which most popular parenting literature
advised promoting childrens self- esteem Yet, compared with
previous generations, American youths are achieving less well and
displaying more antisocial behavior and other adjustment problems
Research has show that children DO NOT benefit from complements
(Youre terrific!) that have no basis in real attainment When
children strive for worthwhile goals, achievement fosters
self-esteem, which, in turn, promotes good performance
Slide 15
Influences on Self-Esteem: Making Achievement-Related
Attributions Attributions are our common, everyday explanations for
the causes of behavior (our answers to the question Why did I or
another person do that?) School-age children who are high in
academic self-esteem and motivation make mastery-oriented
attributions They credit their success to ability (which they can
improve through trying hard) and their failures to factors that can
be changed, such as insufficient effort Children who develop
learned helplessness attribute their failures to ability, but when
they succeed, conclude that external factors, such as luck, are
responsible They believe that ability is fixed and cannot be
changed by trying hard When a task is difficult, these children
experience an anxious loss of control, the give up with out really
trying
Slide 16
Influences on Self-Esteem: Making Achievement-Related
Attributions Childrens attributions affect their goals Mastery
oriented children Seek information on how best to increase their
ability through effort Hence, their performance improves over time
Learned helplessness children Focus on obtaining positive and
avoiding negative evaluations of their fragile sense of ability
Over time, their ability not longer predicts how well they do
Because they fail to connect effort with success they do not
develop the metacognitive and self-regulatory skills necessary for
high achievement Lack of effective learning strategies, reduced
persistence, low performance, and a sense of loss of control
sustain one another in a vicious cycle
Slide 17
Influences on Achievement-Related Attributions Parental
communication plays a key role in childrens attributions
Learned-helplessness children tend to have parents who believe
their child is not very capable and has to work harder to succeed
Ex. When the child fails, the parent might say You cant do that,
can you? Its OK if you quit. Ex. After the child succeeds, the
parent might give feedback that evaluates the childs traits, Youre
so smart! Parents of learned-helplessness children tend to give
them feedback in the form of trait statements (Youre so smart!)
Trait statements promote a fixed view of ability, leading children
to question their competence in the face of setbacks and to retreat
from challenge Teachers messages also affect childrens attributions
Teachers who emphasize learning over getting good grades tend to
have mastery- oriented students Students with unsupportive teachers
tend to regard their performance as externally controlled (ex. by
luck or teachers) They withdraw from learning activities and their
achievement declines (which lead children to doubt their ability
further)
Slide 18
Influences on Achievement-Related Attributions For some
children performance is especially likely to be undermined by
negative adult feedback Despite their higher achievement, girls
more often than boys blame their poor performance on ability Girls
tend to receive messages from teachers and parents that their
ability is at fault with they do not do well, and negative
stereotypes (ex. Girls are weak in math) reduce their interest and
effort Low-SES ethnic minority students often receive les favorable
feedback from teachers Especially when assigned to homogeneous
groups of poorly achieving students (which typically results in a
drop in academic self-esteem and performance) Cultural values
affect the likelihood that children will develop learned
helplessness Because of the high value their culture places on
effort and self-improvement, Asians pay more attention to failure
than to success, because failure indicates were corrective action
is needed Americans, in contrast, focus more on success because it
enhances self-esteem
Slide 19
Fostering a Mastery-Oriented Approach An intervention called
attribution retaining encourages learned-helplessness children to
believe that they can overcome failure by exerting more effort
Children are given tasks difficult enough that they will experience
some failure, followed by repeated feedback that helps them revise
their attributions You can do it if you try harder. After they
succeed, children receive additional feedback Youre really good at
this. or You really tried hard on that one. so that they attribute
their success to both ability and effort, not chance Another
approach is to encourage low-effort children to focus less on
grades and more on mastering a task for its own sake Instruction in
effective strategies and self-regulation is also vital, to
compensate for development lost in this area and to ensure that
renewed effort pays off Attribution retaining is best begun early,
before childrens views of themselves become hard to change
Slide 20
Emotional Development Greater self-awareness and social
sensitivity support gains in emotional competence in middle
childhood Changes take place in experience of self-conscious
emotions, emotional understanding, and emotional
self-regulation
Slide 21
Self-Conscious Emotions In middle childhood, the self-conscious
emotions of pride and guilt become clearly governed by personal
responsibility and no longer depend on adult monitoring Children
experience pride in new accomplishments and guilt over a
transgression, even when no adult is present Also, children no
longer report guilt for any mishap, as they did earlier in the
preschool years, now they only report guild for intentional
wrongdoing, such as lying, ignoring responsibilities, or cheating
Pride motivates children to take on challenges Guilt prompts
children to make amends and strive for self-improvement Harsh
reprimands from adults can lead to intense shame (ex. Everyone else
can do it! Why cant you?), which is particularly destructive A
shame-induced, sharp drop in self-esteem can trigger withdrawal,
depression, and intense anger at those who participated in the
shame-evoking situation
Slide 22
Emotional Understanding School-age children, unlike
preschoolers, are likely to explain emotion by referring to
internal states (like happy or sad thoughts) rather than to
external events Around age 8, children become aware that they can
experience more than one emotion at a time, each of which can be
positive or negative and differ in intensity Ex. A child can be
happy they got a present from their grandmother, but also sad that
it was a sweater and socks rather than the action figure they
really wanted Appreciating mixed emotions helps children realize
that peoples expressions may not reflect their true feelings, and
also fosters awareness of self-conscious emotions Between ages 8-9,
they improve sharply in ability to distinguish pride from happiness
and surprise They also understand that pride combines 2 sources of
happiness (joy in accomplishment and joy that a significant person
recognized that accomplishment) They can reconcile contradictory
facial and situational cues in figuring out another's feelings and
can use information about what might have happened to predict how
people will feel in a new situation
Slide 23
Emotional Understanding As with self-understanding, gains in
emotional understanding are supported by cognitive development and
social experiences Especially adults sensitivity to childrens
feelings and willingness to discuss emotions Together, cognitive
development and social experience lead to a rise in empathy As
children move closer to adolescence, advances in perspective taking
permit an empathetic response not just to peoples immediate
distress but also to their general life condition
Slide 24
Emotional Self-Regulation Rapid gains in emotional
self-regulation occur in middle childhood As children engage in
social comparison and care more about peer approval, they must
learn to manage negative emotion that threatens their self-esteem
By age 10, most children are able to shift adaptively between 2
general strategies for managing emotion Problem-centered coping
children appraise the situation as changeable, identify the
difficulty, and decide what to so about it If problem solving
doesnt work, they engage in emotion-centered coping internal,
private, and aimed at controlling distress when little can be done
about an outcome Ex. When faced with an anxiety-provoking test or
an angry friend, older school- age children view problem solving
and seeking social support as the best strategies But when outcomes
are beyond their control, like after getting a bad grade on a test,
they opt for distraction or try to redefine the situation, Things
could be worse. Therell be another test.
Slide 25
Emotional Self-Regulation Through interacting with parents,
teachers, and peers, school-age children become more knowledgeable
about socially approved ways to display negative emotion They
increasingly prefer verbal strategies (ex. Please stop pushing and
wait your turn.) to crying, sulking, or aggression When emotional
self-regulation has developed well, children acquire a sense of
emotional self-efficacy a feeling of being in control of their
emotional experience This fosters favorable self-image and an
optimistic outlook The parents of children who are emotionally
well-regulated respond sensitively and helpfully when the child is
distressed In contrast, poorly regulated children often experience
hostile, dismissive parental reactions to distress and are
overwhelmed by negative emotion
Slide 26
Understanding Others: Perspective Taking Middle childhood
brings major advances in perspective taking the capacity to imagine
what other people may be thinking and feeling These changes support
self-concept and self-esteem, understanding of others, and a wide
variety of social skills Robert Selmans 5-stage sequence describes
changes in perspective-taking skill Asked children from preschool
age through adolescence to respond to social dilemmas in which
characters have differing information and opinions about an event
At first, children have only a limited idea of what other people
might be thinking and feeling, but later become more aware that
people can interpret the same event differently Soon, they can
reflect on how another person might regard their own thoughts,
feelings, and behavior Finally, older children and adolescents can
evaluate two peoples perspective simultaneously Children gain in
perspective taking as a result of experiences in which adults and
peers explain their viewpoints Good perspective takers are more
likely to display empathy and sympathy and to handle difficult
social situations effectively Children with poor social skills have
great difficulty imagining others thoughts and feelings and often
mistreat others without feeling guilt or remorse
Slide 27
StageAge Range Description Level 0: Undifferentiated
perspective taking 3-6Children recognize that self and others can
have different thoughts and feelings, but they frequently confuse
the two Level 1: Social-informational perspective taking
4-9Children understand that different perspectives may result
because people have access to different information Level 2:
Self-reflective perspective taking 7-12Children can step into
another persons shoes and view their own thoughts, feelings, and
behavior from the other persons perspective and know that others
can do the same Level 3: Third-party perspective taking
10-15Children can step outside a 2-person situation and imagine how
the self and other are viewed from the point of view of a 3rd,
impartial party Level 4: Societal perspective taking
14-adultIndividual understand that 3 rd -party perspective taking
can be influenced by one or more systems of larger societal
values
Slide 28
Moral Development Recall that preschoolers pick up many morally
relevant behavior through modeling and reinforcement By middle
childhood, they have had time to internalize rules for good conduct
Ex. Its good to help others in trouble. or Its wrong to take
something that doesnt belong to you. This change leads children to
become considerably more independent and trustworthy We have also
seen that children do not just copy their morality from others As
the cognitive-developmental approach emphasizes, they actively
think about right and wrong An expanding social world, the capacity
to consider more information when reasoning, and perspective taking
lead moral understanding to advance greatly in middle
childhood
Slide 29
Moral and Social-Conventional Understanding During the school
years, children construct a flexible appreciation of moral rules By
age 7-8, children no longer believe that all truth-telling is good
and ally lying is bad, they also consider prosocial and antisocial
intentions The evaluate certain types of truthfulness very
negatively (ex. Bluntly telling a classmate that you dont like her
drawing) Comparisons of Chinese and North American children provide
evidence that cultural values affect childrens moral judgments
about truthfulness and lying Both Chinese and North American
children consider lying about antisocial acts very naughty Chinese
children (influenced by collectivist values) more often rate lying
favorably when the intention is modesty Ex. When a student who has
thoughtfully picked up litter from the playground says I didnt do
it. Similarly, Chinese children are more likely to favor lying to
support the group at the expense of the individual Ex. Saying youre
sick if you are a poor singer so you wont harm your classs chances
of winning a singing competition In contrast, North American
children more often favor lying to support the individual at the
expense of the group Ex. Claiming that a friend who is a poor
speller is actually a good speller because he wants to participate
in a spelling competition
Slide 30
Moral and Social-Conventional Understanding As their ideas
about justice take into account more variables, children begin to
clarify and link moral imperatives and social conventions Ex.
School-age children distinguish social conventions with a clear
purpose (like not running in school hallways to prevent injuries)
from ones with no obvious justification (like crossing a forbidden
line on the playground) With age, they also realize that peoples
intentions and contexts of their actions affect the moral
implications of violating a social convention In one study, 8-10
year olds stated that because of a flags symbolic value, burning it
to express disapproval of a country or to start a cooking fire is
worse than burning it accidentally But they recognize that flag
burning is a form of freedom of expression, and most agreed that it
would be acceptable in a country that treated its citizens unfairly
Children in Western and non-Western cultures reason similarly about
moral and social- conventional concerns When a directive is fair
and caring, such as telling children to stop fighting or to share
candy, school-age children view it as right, regardless of who
states it (a principal, a teacher, or a child with no authority)
Even in Korean culture (which places high value on obeying
authority) 7-11 year olds negatively evaluate a teachers or
principals order to engage in immoral acts, such as stealing or
refusing to share
Slide 31
Understanding Individual Rights When children challenge adult
authority, they typically do so within the personal domain (choices
such as hairstyle, friends, and leisure activities) As their grasp
of moral imperatives and social conventions strengthens, so does
their conviction that certain choices are up to the individual Ex.
A Colombian child demonstrated this defense of personal control
when he was asked if a teacher had the right to tell a student
where to sit during circle time and, in the absence of a moral
reason from the teacher, the child declared She should be able to
sit wherever she wants! As early as age 6, children view freedom of
speech and religion as individuals rights even if laws exist that
deny those rights They also regard laws that discriminate against
individuals (such as denying certain people access to healthcare or
education) as wrong and worthy of violating Older school-age
children place limits on individual choice, and prejudice usually
declines in middle childhood Ex. 4 th graders faced with
conflicting moral and personal concerns such as whether or not to
befriend a new classmate of a different race, gender, or other
difference typically decide in favor of kindness and fairness
Slide 32
Understanding Diversity and Inequality By the early school
years, children associate power and privilege with white people and
poverty and inferior status with other ethnicities They do not
necessarily acquire these views directly from parents or friends
Rather, they seem to pick up prevailing societal attitudes from
implicit messages in the media and elsewhere in their
environments
Slide 33
In-Group and Out-Group Biases: Development of Prejudice By age
5-7, white children generally evaluate their own racial group more
favorably than other peer groups While many minority children of
this age evaluate their own group more negatively than the white
majority With age, children pay more attention to inner traits and
begin to understand that people who look different do not think,
feel, or act differently After age 7-8, both majority and minority
children express in- group favoritism, and white childrens
prejudice against out- group members declines
Slide 34
In-Group and Out-Group Biases: Development of Prejudice The
extent to which children hold racial and ethnic biases depends on
several factors A fixed view of personality traits: Children who
believe that personality traits are fixed rather than changeable
often judge others as either good or bad They ignore circumstances
and readily form prejudices based on limited information Ex. They
might infer that a new child at school who tells a lie to get other
kids to like her is just a bad person Overly high self-esteem:
Children (and adults) with overly high self-esteem are more likely
to hold racial and ethnic prejudices These individuals seem to
belittle individuals or groups to justify their own extremely
favorable self-evaluation A social world in which people are sorted
into groups: the more adults highlight group distinctions for
children and the less interracial contact children experience, the
more likely children are to display prejudice
Slide 35
Reducing Prejudice Providing opportunities for intergroup
contact, especially long-term contact in neighborhoods, schools,
and communities, is effective This provides racially and ethnically
different children the opportunity to work toward common goals and
become personally acquainted Classrooms that expose children to
ethnic diversity, teach them to value those differences, directly
address the damage caused by prejudice, and encourage perspective
taking and empathy both prevent children from forming negative
biases and reduce already acquired biases Another approach is to
teach children to view others traits as changeable Discussing the
many possible influences on traits with children The more children
believe that people can change their personalities, the more they
report liking and perceiving themselves as similar to members of
other groups
Slide 36
Peer Relations In middle childhood, the society of peers
becomes an increasingly important context for development Peer
contact contributes to perspective taking and understanding of self
and others These developments, in turn, enhance peer interaction
Compared with preschoolers, school-age children resolve conflicts
more effectively, using persuasion and compromise Sharing, helping,
and other prosocial acts increase Aggression declines, especially
physical attacks But, verbal and relational aggression continue as
children form peer groups
Slide 37
Peer Groups By the end of middle childhood, children form peer
groups collectives that generate unique values and standards for
behavior and social structure of leaders and followers Peer groups
organize on the basis of proximity (being in the same classroom)
and similarity in sex, ethnicity, popularity, and aggression The
peer culture of a peer group typically consists of a specialized
vocabulary, dress code, and place to hang out Children who violate
the codes of dress and behavior that grow out of peer groups are
often rebuffed becoming targets of critical glances and comments
Within the peer group, children acquire many social skills,
including cooperation and leadership When children who are no
longer respected are excluded from groups, they may turn to other
low-status peers for group belonging Thereby reducing their
opportunities to learn social competent behavior Desire for group
membership can also be satisfied through formal groups, such as
scouts and religious youth groups Of course, adult involvement can
hold negative behaviors in check in childrens formal and informal
peer groups
Slide 38
Friendships Whereas peer groups provide children with insight
into larger social structures, friendships contribute to the
development of trust and sensitivity During the school years,
friendships becomes more complex and psychologically based Ex. A
quote from an 8 year old: Why is Shelly your best friend? Because
she helps me when Im sad, and she sharesWhat makes Shelly so
special? Ive known her longer, I sit next to her and got to know
her better How come you like Shelly better than anyone else? Shes
done the most for me. She never disagrees, she never eats in front
of me, she never walks away when Im crying, and she helps me with
my homework... How do you get someone to like you? If youre nice to
[your friends], theyll be nice to you.
Slide 39
Friendships As these responses show, friendship has become a
mutually agreed-on relationship in which children like each others
personal qualities and respond to one anothers needs and desires
Once a friendship forms, trust becomes its defining feature School
age children state that a good friendship is based on acts of
kindness that signify that each person can be counted on to support
the other Consequently, older children regard violations of trust,
such as not helping when others need help, breaking promises, and
gossiping behind the others back, as serious breaches of friendship
Because of these feathers, school-age childrens friendships are
more selective Whereas preschoolers say they have lots of friends,
by age 8-9, children name only a few good friends Girls, who demand
greater closeness than boys, are more exclusive in their
friendships
Slide 40
Friendships Children tend to choose friends who are similar to
themselves in age, sex, race, ethnicity, and SES, as well as in
personality, popularity, academic achievement, and prosocial
behavior Yet, friendship opportunities offered by childrens
environments also affect their choices In integrated classrooms
with mixed-race collaborative learning groups, students form more
cross-race friendships Over middle childhood, friendships remain
fairly stable (about 50- 70% enduring over a school year, and some
for several years) Through friendships, children come to realize
that close friendships can survive disagreements if friends are
secure in their liking for one another Which helps them learn to
tolerate criticism and resolve disputes
Slide 41
Friendships The impact of friendships on childrens development
depends on the nature of their friends Children who bring kindness
and compassion to their friendships strengthen each others
prosocial tendencies and form more lasting ties When aggressive
children make friends, the relationship is often riddled with
hostile interaction and is at risk for breakup, especially if only
one member of the pair is aggressive Aggressive girls friendships
are high in exchange of private feelings but full of jealousy,
conflict, and betrayal Aggressive boys friendships involve frequent
expressions of anger, coercive statements, physical attacks, and
enticements to rule- breaking behavior
Slide 42
Peer Acceptance Peer acceptance refers to likability the extent
to which a child is viewed by a group of agemates as a worthy
social partner Unlike friendship, likability is not a mutual
relationship but is a one-sided perspective, involving the groups
view of an individual Certain social skills that contribute to
friendship enhance peer acceptance Better accepted children tend to
have more friends and more positive relationships with them To
measure peer acceptance, researchers usually use self-reports that
measure social preferences or social prominence Ex. Social
preferences: asking children to identify classmates whom the like
very much or like very little Ex. Social prominence: childrens
judgments of whom most of their classmates admire
Slide 43
Peer Acceptance Childrens self-reports reveal 4 broad
categories of social acceptance Popular children: receive many
positive votes (are well-liked) Rejected children: get many
negative votes (are disliked) Controversial children: receive many
votes, both positive and negative Neglected children: are seldom
chosen, either positively or negatively About 2/3 of pupils in
typical elementary school classrooms fit one of these categories
The remaining1/3 are average in peer acceptance and do not receive
extreme scores
Slide 44
Peer Acceptance Peer acceptance is a powerful predictor of
psychological adjustment Rejected children are anxious, unhappy,
disruptive, and low in self-esteem Both teachers and parents rate
them as having a wide range of emotional and social problems Peer
rejection in middle childhood is strongly associated with poor
school performance, absenteeism, dropping out, substance use,
depression, antisocial behavior, and delinquency in adolescence and
with criminality in early adulthood Earlier influences, such as
parenting practices and family stress, may largely explain the link
between per acceptance and adjustment School-age children with
peer-relationship problems are more likely to have experienced
family stress due to low income, insensitive child rearing, and
coercive discipline Also, rejected children evoke reactions from
peers that contribute to their unfavorable development
Slide 45
Determinants of Peer Acceptance Why is one child liked while
another is rejected? A wealth of research shows that social
behavior plays a powerful role
Slide 46
Determinants of Peer Acceptance: Popular Children
Popular-prosocial children usually combine academic and social
competence They perform well in school and communicating with peers
in sensitive, friendly, and cooperative ways Popular-antisocial
children may be tough boys who are athletically skilled but are
poor students who cause trouble and defy adult authority, or
relationally aggressive boys and girls who ignore, exclude, and
spread rumors about other children as a way of enhancing their own
status Despite their aggressiveness, peers view these youths as
cool, perhaps because of their athletic ability and sophisticated
but devious social skills Although peer admiration gives these
children some protection against lasting adjustment difficulties,
their antisocial acts require intervention With age, peers like
these high-status, aggressive peers less and less This trend is
stronger for relationally aggressive girls The more socially
prominent and controlling these girls become, the more they engage
in relational aggression Eventually peers condemn their nasty
tactics and reject them
Slide 47
Determinants of Peer Acceptance: Rejected Children
Rejected-aggressive children the largest subtype of rejected
children, show high rates of conflict, physical and relational
aggression, and hyperactive and impulsive behavior Are also
deficient in perspective taking and emotion regulation Ex. They
tend to misinterpret the innocent behaviors of peers as hostile and
to blame others for their social difficulties Compared with
popular-aggressive children, they are more extremely antagonistic
Rejected-withdrawn children are passive, socially awkward, and
overwhelmed by social anxiety They hold negative expectations for
treatment by peers, and worry about being scorned and attacked
Rejected children are excluded as early as kindergarten Soon their
classroom participation declines, their feelings of loneliness
rise, and their academic achievement falters, and they want to
avoid school Rejected children generally have few or not friends,
which results in severe adjustment difficulties Both types of
rejected children are at risk for peer harassment Rejected
aggressive children also act as bullies Rejected-withdrawn children
are especially likely to be victimized
Slide 48
Determinants of Peer Acceptance: Controversial & Neglected
Children Controversial children display both positive and negative
social behaviors, engendering mixed peer opinion They are hostile
and disruptive, but they also engage in positive, prosocial acts
Though they have friends, they often bully others and engage in
calculated relational aggression to maintain their dominance
Neglected children, once thought to be in need of treatment, are
usually just as socially skilled as average children They do not
report feeling lonely or unhappy, and when they want to, they can
break away from their usual pattern of playing by themselves These
children remind us that an outgoing, gregarious personality style
is not the only path to emotional wellbeing
Slide 49
Helping Rejected Children Most interventions to help rejected
children involve coaching, modeling, and reinforcing positive
social skills Such as how to initiate interaction with a peer,
cooperate in play, and respond to another child with friendly
emotion and approval The most effective programs combine
social-skills training with other treatments Rejected children are
often poor students, whose low academic self-esteem magnifies
negative reactions to teachers and classmates Intensive academic
tutoring improves both school achievement and social acceptance
Rejected children need help attributing their peer difficulties to
internal, changeable causes If socially incompetent behaviors
originate in harsh, intrusive, authoritarian parenting,
interventions that focus on the child-parent interaction may be
needed If parent-child interaction does not change, children may
soon return to their old behavior patterns
Slide 50
Gender Typing Childrens understanding of gender roles broadens
in middle childhood And, their gender identities (views of
themselves as relatively masculine or feminine) change as well
Development differs for girls and boys, and it can vary
considerably across cultures
Slide 51
Gender-Stereotyped Beliefs Gender stereotyping of personality
traits increases steadily in middle childhood, and is adultlike by
age 11 Ex. Children regard tough, aggressive, rational, and
dominant as masculine and gentle, sympathetic, and dependent as
feminine Children make these distinctions on the basis f observed
sex differences in behavior and of differential adult treatment of
boys and girls When helping a child with a task, parents
(especially fathers) behave in a more mastery-oriented fashion with
sons, setting higher standards, explaining concepts, and pointing
out important features of tasks (particularly during gender-typed
tasks such as science activities) Parents less often encourage
girls to make their own decisions Parents and teachers more often
praise boys for knowledge and accomplishment and girls for
obedience
Slide 52
Gender-Stereotyped Beliefs School-age children consider certain
academic subjects as feminine and others as masculine They often
regard reading, spelling, art, and music as more for girls and
mathematics, athletics, and mechanical skills are more for boys
These attitudes influence childrens preferences for and sense of
competence at certain subjects Ex. Boys tend to feel more competent
than girls at math and science, whereas girls feel more competent
than boys as language arts (even when children of equal skill level
are compared) Although school-age children are aware of many
stereotypes, they also develop a more open- minded view of what
males and females can do The ability to classify flexibly underlies
this change They realize that a person can belong to more than one
social category (ex. One can be a boy yet like to play house) By
the end of middle childhood, children regard gender typing as
socially rather than biologically influenced But, acknowledging
that people can cross gender lines does not mean they always
approve of doing so They take a harsh view of certain violations
(ex. Boys playing with dolls and wearing girls clothing, girls
acting noisily and roughly) They are especially intolerant when
boys engage in cross-gender acts, which children regard as nearly
as bad as moral transgressions
Slide 53
Gender Identity and Behavior From 3 rd -6 th grade, boys
strengthen their identification with masculine personality traits
While girls identification with feminine traits declines Compared
with boys, who usually stick to masculine pursuits, girls begin to
experiment with a wider range of options and more often consider
traditionally male future work roles These changes reflect a
mixture of cognitive and social forces School-age children are
aware that society attaches greater prestige to masculine
characteristics Parents, especially fathers, are more tolerant of
girls than boys crossing gender lines A tomboyish girl can make her
way into boys activities without losing the approval of her female
peers, but a boy who hangs out with girls is likely to be ridiculed
and rejected
Slide 54
Gender Identity and Behavior As children make social
comparisons and characterize themselves in terms of stable
dispositions, gender identity expands to include self- evaluations,
which greatly affect adjustment Gender typicality the degree to
which the child feels similar to others of the same gender Although
children dont need to by highly gender-typed to view themselves as
gender-typical, their psychological well-being depends, to some
degree, on feeling that they fit in with their same-sex peers
Gender contentedness the degree to which the child feels satisfied
with his or her gender assignment, which also promotes happiness
Felt pressure to conform to gender roles the degree to which the
child feels parents and peers disapprove of his or her
gender-related traits Because such pressure reduces the likelihood
that children will explore options related to their interests and
talents, children who feel strong gender-typed pressure are often
distressed
Slide 55
Gender Identity and Behavior How children feel about themselves
in relations to their gender group becomes vitally important in
middle childhood Those who experience rejection because of their
gender-atypical traits suffer profoundly Currently, researchers and
therapists are debating how best to help children who feel
gender-atypical Some experts advocate using therapy to make
gender-atypical children more gender-typical Through therapy and
reinforces children for engaging in traditional gender-role
activities so they will feel more compatible with same-sex peers
Others oppose this approach on grounds that it is likely to
heighten felt pressure to conform (which predicts maladjustment)
And for children who fail to change this may result in parental
rejection These experts advocate intervening with parents and peers
to help them become more accepting of childrens gender-atypical
interests and behaviors
Slide 56
Family Influences As children move into school, peer, and
community contexts, the parent-child relationships change At the
same time, childrens well-being continues to depend on the quality
of family interaction Contemporary changes in families (high rates
of divorce, remarriage, and maternal employment) can have positive
and negative effects on children
Slide 57
Parent-Child Relationships In middle childhood, the amount of
time children spend with parents declines dramatically, and the
childs growing independence means that parents must deal with new
issues Ex. How many chores to assign, how much allowance to give,
whether their friends are good influences, what to do about
problems in school, keeping track of children when theyre out, or
even when theyre home and the parent isnt there to see whats going
on Child rearing becomes easier for parents who established an
authoritative style in the early years Reasoning is more effective
with school-age children because of their greater capacity for
logical thinking and their increased respect for parents greater
knowledge Effective parents engage in Coregulation a form of
supervision in which parents exercise general oversight while
permitting children to be in charge of moment-to-moment decision
making Grows out of cooperative relationship between parent and
child and prepares the child for the greater freedom of adolescence
Parents must guide and monitor from a distance and effectively
communicated expectations when they are with their children
Children must inform parents of their whereabouts, activities, and
problems so parents can intervene when necessary
Slide 58
Parent-Child Relationships Parents tend to devote more time to
children of their own sex In parents separate activities with
children, mothers are more concerned with caregiving and ensuring
that children meet responsibilities in homework, after-school
activities, and chores Fathers, especially those with sons, focus
on achievement-related and recreational pursuits But, when both
parents are present, fathers engage in as much caregiving as
mothers Although school-age children often press for greater
independence, they know how much they need their parents continuing
support In one study, 5 th and 6 th graders described parents as
the most influential people in their lives The often turned to
mothers and fathers for affection, advice, enhancement of
self-worth, and assistance with everyday problems
Slide 59
Siblings Siblings are important sources of support for
school-age children However, sibling rivalry increases in middle
childhood As children participate in a wider range of activities,
parents often compare siblings traits and accomplishments The child
who gets less parental affection, more disapproval, or fewer
maternal resources is likely to be resentful For same-sex siblings
who are close in age, parental comparisons are more frequent,
resulting in more quarreling and antagonism and poorer adjustment
This effect is particularly strong when parents are under stress;
parents whose energies are drained are less careful about being
fair To reduce rivalry, siblings often strive to be different from
one another, thereby shaping important aspects of each others
development Ex. 2 brothers may deliberately choose different
athletic pursuits and musical instruments, and if the older one
does especially well at an activity, the younger one may not want
to try it Parents can limit these effects by making an effort not
to compare children, but some feedback about their competencies is
inevitable Although conflict rises, school-age siblings continue to
rely on each other for companionship and assistance But for
siblings to reap these benefits, parental encouragement of warm,
considerate sibling ties is vital
Slide 60
Only Children Sibling relationships are not essential for
healthy development Contrary to popular belief, only children are
not spoiled, and in some respects, they are advantaged U.S.
children growing up in one-child and multichild families do not
differ in self-rated personality traits And, compared to children
with siblings, only children are higher in self- esteem and
achievement motivation, do better in school, and attain higher
levels of educations One reason for this may be that only children
have somewhat closer relationships with parents Parents may exert
more pressure for mastery and accomplishment However, only children
tend to be less well-accepted in peer groups Perhaps because they
have not had opportunities to practice conflict resolution skills
with siblings
Slide 61
Only Children Favorable development also characterizes only
children in China, where a one-child-only policy has been strictly
enforced in urban areas for more than 20 years, to control
population growth Compared with agemates who have siblings, Chinese
only children are advanced in cognitive development and academic
achievement They also feel more emotionally secure, maybe because
government disapproval promotes tension in families with more than
one child Chinese mothers usually ensure that their children have
regular contact with 1 st cousins (who are considered siblings)
Perhaps as a result, Chinese only children do not differ from
agemates with siblings in social skills and peer acceptance
However, the next generation of Chinese only children will have no
1 st cousins
Slide 62
Divorce Currently, the divorce rate in the U.S. is the highest
in the world, and of 45% of American marriages that end in divorce,
half involve children of American children live in single-parent
households, most with their mothers But, single father households
have increased steadily to about 12% Children of divorce spend an
average of 5 years in a single-parent home (almost 1/3 of their
childhood) About 2/3 of divorced parents marry again, and of their
children eventually experience the end of their parents 2 nd
marriage Divorce is not a single event in the lives of parents and
children It is a transition that leads to a variety of new living
arrangements, accompanied by changes in housing, income, and family
roles and responsibilities Although many studies have reported that
marital breakup is stressful for children, great individual
differences exist in how well children fare Impact on children
involves many factors including: the custodial parents
psychological health, the childs characteristics, and social
supports within the family and surrounding community
Slide 63
Divorce: Immediate Consequences In newly divorced households,
family conflict often rises Mother-headed households typically
experience a sharp drop in income The majority of single mothers
with young children live in poverty, getting less than the full
amount of child support from the absent father or none at all They
often move to lower-cost housing, reducing supportive ties to
neighbors and friends The transition from marriage to divorce
typically leads to high maternal stress, depression, and anxiety
and to a disorganized family situation Ex. Meals and bedtimes may
occur at all hours, the house may not get cleaned, and children may
no longer go on weekend outings As children react with distress and
anger to their less secure home lives, discipline may become harsh
and inconsistent Contact with noncustodial fathers often decreases
over time Fathers who see their children only occasionally may be
permissive, making the mothers task even harder The more parents
argue and fail to provide children with warmth, involvement, and
consistent guidance, the poorer childrens adjustment About 20-25%
of children in divorced families display severe problems, compared
with about 10% in nondivorced families At the same time, reactions
vary with childrens age, temperament, and sex
Slide 64
Divorce: Childrens Age Younger children often blame themselves
for a marital breakup and fear abandonment by both parents Older
children can understand that they are not responsible for their
parents divorce But they may still react strongly, declining in
school performance, becoming unruly, and escaping into undesirable
peer activities, especially when family conflict is high and
supervision is low The oldest children in a family may display more
mature behavior, such as willingly taking on extra family and
household tasks as well as emotional support of a depressed,
anxious mother But, they may become resentful when the demands are
too great
Slide 65
Divorce: Childrens Temperament and Sex When temperamentally
difficult children are exposed to stressful life events and
inadequate parenting, their problems are magnified Easy children
are less often then targets of parental anger and also cope more
effectively with adversity Girls sometimes respond to divorce with
internalizing reactions such as crying and withdrawal More often,
children of both sexes show demanding and attention-getting
behavior In mother-custody families, boys experience more serious
adjustment problems Boys are more active and noncompliant in
general, and these behaviors increase with exposure to parental
conflict and inconsistent discipline Coercive maternal behavior and
defiance on the part of sons are common in divorcing households
Maybe because of their unruly behavior, boys receive less emotional
support from mothers, teachers, and peers Their coercive
interactions with their mothers soon spread to their siblings
relationships In general, children who are challenging to rear get
worse after divorce
Slide 66
Divorce: Long-Term Consequences Most children show improved
adjustment by 2 years after divorce But, overall, continue to show
slightly lower academic achievement, self-esteem, and social
competence and emotional adjustment Children with difficult
temperaments are especially likely to drop out of school, be
depressed, and display antisocial behavior Divorce is linked to
problems with adolescent sexuality and development of intimate ties
Young people who experienced divorce (especially more than once)
display higher rates of early sexuality and adolescent parenthood
Some experience other lasting difficulties, such as reduced
educational attainment, troubled romantic relationships and
marriages, divorce in adulthood, and unsatisfying parent-child
relationships The overriding factor in positive adjustment
following divorce is effective parenting Shielding the child from
family conflict and using authoritative child rearing
Slide 67
Divorce: Long-Term Consequences Contact with fathers is
important in mother-custody situations The more paternal contact
and the warmer the father-child relationship, the less children
react with defiance and aggression For girls, a good father-child
relationships protects against early sexual activity and unhappy
romantic involvements For boys, it seems to affect overall
psychological well-being In fact, several studies indicate that
outcomes for sons are better when the father is the custodial
parent Fathers greater economic security and image of authority
seem to help them engage in effective parenting with sons And boys
in father-custody families may benefit from greater involvement of
both parents because noncustodial mothers participate more than
noncustodial fathers Although, divorce is painful for children,
remaining in an intact but high-conflict family is worse for
children than making the transition to a low-conflict, single-
parent household Divorcing parents who set aside their
disagreements and support each other in their child-rearing roles
greatly improve their childrens chances of growing up competent,
stable, and happy Caring extended-family members, teachers,
siblings, and friends also reduce the likelihood that divorce will
result in long-term difficulties
Slide 68
Divorce Mediation, Joint Custody, and Child Support Awareness
that divorce is highly stressful for children and families has led
to community-based services aimed at helping them through this
difficult time Divorce mediation a series of meetings between
divorcing adults and a trained professional aimed at reducing
family conflict, including battles over property division and child
custody An increasingly common custody option is joint custody
which grants both parents equal say in important decisions about
the childs upbringing In most cases, children reside with one
parent and see the other on a fixed schedule In other cases,
parents share physical custody, and children move between homes and
sometimes schools and peer groups Regardless of living
arrangements, children in joint custody situations tend to be
better adjusted than children in sole-maternal-custody homes Many
single-parent families depend on child support from the
noncustodial parent to relieve financial strain All states have
procedures for withholding wages from parents who fail to make
child-support payments Although child support is usually not enough
to life a single-parent family out of poverty, it can ease its
burdens substantially Noncustodial fathers who have generous
visitation schedules and who often see their children are more
likely to pay child support regularly
Slide 69
Blended Families A blended, or reconstituted family, is a
family structure resulting from remarriage of a divorced parent
that includes parent, child, and new steprelatives For some
children, this expanded family network is positive, bringing more
adult attention But most children have more problems than children
in stable, first-marriage families Switching to stepparents new
rules and expectations can be stressful, and children often view
steprelatives as intruders How well children adapts is, again,
related to the quality of family functioning Depends on which
parent forms a new relationship, the childs age and sex, and the
complexity of blended-family relationships Older children and girls
seem to have the hardest time
Slide 70
Mother-Stepfather Families This arrangement is the most common
because mothers generally retain custody of children Boys usually
adjust quickly if the stepfather is warm, refrains from exerting
his authority too quickly, and offers relief from coercive cycles
of mother-son interaction Stepfathers who marry, rather than just
cohabitating, are more involved in parenting Maybe because men who
choose to marry a mother with children are more interested and
skilled at child rearing Girls often react with sulky, resistant
behavior Stepfathers may disrupt the close ties many girls have
established with their mothers Older school-age children and
adolescents of both sexes find it harder to adjust to blended
families They often display more irresponsible, acting-out behavior
than their peers not in blended families Some stepparents are more
involved with their biological children than their stepchildren and
older school-age children and adolescents are more likely to notice
and challenge unfair treatment Adolescents often view the new
stepparent as a threat to their freedom, especially if they
experienced little parental monitoring in the single-parent
family
Slide 71
Father-Stepmother Families When fathers have custody, children
typically react negatively to remarriage One reason is that
children living with fathers often start out with more problems
Perhaps the biological mother could no longer handle the difficult
child (usually a boy) so the father and his new partner are faced
with a youngster who has behavior problems In other instances, the
father has custody because of a very close relationship with the
child, and his remarriage disrupts this bond Girls especially have
a hard time getting along with their stepmothers Either because the
remarriage threatens the girls bond with her father or because she
becomes entangled in loyalty conflicts between her two mother
figures But, the longer girls live in father-stepmother households,
the more positive their interaction with stepmothers becomes With
time and patience most girls benefit from the support of a second
mother figure
Slide 72
Support for Blended Families Family life education and therapy
can help parents and children adapt to the complexities of living
in a blended family Effective approaches encourage stepparents to
move into their new roles gradually by first building a warm
relationship with the child Counselors can help couples form a
cooperative parenting coalition to limit loyalty conflicts and
provide consistency in child rearing This allows children to
benefit from the increased diversity that stepparent relationships
bring to their lives The divorce rate for second marriages is even
higher than for first marriages Parents with antisocial tendencies
and poor child-rearing skills are particularly likely to have
several divorces and remarriages The more marital transitions
children experience, the greater their difficulties These families
usually require prolonged, intensive therapy
Slide 73
Maternal Employment and Child Development Children of mothers
who enjoy their work and remain committed to parenting show
favorable adjustment including higher self-esteem, more positive
family and peer relations, less gender-stereotyped beliefs, and
better grades in school Girls, especially, profit from the image of
female competence Regardless of SES, daughters of employed mothers
perceive womens roles as involving more freedom of choice and
satisfaction and are more achievement and career-oriented Employed
mothers who value their parenting role are more likely to use
authoritative child rearing and coregulation Fathers in dual-earner
households often take on greater child-rearing responsibilities
Paternal involvement is associated with higher achievement and more
mature social behavior When the mothers employment is overly
stressful, children are at risk for ineffective parenting: reduced
parental sensitivity, fewer joint parent-child activities, and
poorer cognitive development in children throughout childhood and
adolescence Especially when low-SES mothers spend long hours at
low-paying, physically exhausting jobs Part-time employment and
flexible work schedules are associated with good child
adjustment
Slide 74
Support for Employed Parents and Their Families In dual-earner
families, the husbands willingness to share household
responsibilities is crucial If he helps little or not at all, the
mother carries a double load, at home and at work, leading to
fatigue, distress, and little time and energy for children
Assistance from work settings and communities is needed in dual-
earner families Such as part-time employment, flexible schedules,
and job sharing, and paid leave when children are sick helps
parents juggle the demands of work and child rearing Equal pay and
employment opportunities for women are also important Because these
policies enhance financial status and morale, they improve the way
mothers feel and behave when they arrive home at the end of the
working day
Slide 75
Child Care for School-Age Children High-quality child care is
vital for parents peace of mind and childrens well-being, even in
middle childhood Self-care children are the estimated 7 million
5-13 year olds in the U.S. who are without adult supervision for
some period of time after school Some studies report that self-care
children suffer from adjustment problems, whereas others show no
such effects Childrens maturity and the way they spend their time
seem to explain these contradictions Among younger school-age
children, those who spend more hours alone have more emotional and
social difficulties Older self-care children who have a history of
authoritative child rearing, are monitored by telephone calls, and
have regular after-school chores appear responsible and well
adjusted In contrast, children left to their own devices are more
likely to bend to peer pressures Before age 8-9, most children need
supervision because they are not yet competent to handle
emergencies Attending after-school programs with well-trained
staffs, generous adult-child ratios, and skill-building activities
is linked to better adjustment Low-SES children who participate in
after-care enrichment activities show special benefits Ex.
Scouting, music and art lessons, clubs, sports, etc.