! What lesson does it teach?

! Stories provide children with an imaginary

world in which to explore many of the most

fundamental psychological problems that are

part of being human.

What’s your favorite bedtime

story?

! On Sundays Maurice Sendak and his brother and sister

were dressed up and had to sit in the living room with

their adult relatives.

! Looking up, he saw “the

most gruesome things, such

as moles on noses and

extra-long hairs coming out

of noses . . . the bloodshot

eyes, and . . . the very bad

teeth”

Where the Wild Things Are

! Oral language provides a new way of

understanding the world

! analogous to ancient mythology

! in an oral culture, you know only what you

can remember

! with stories, metaphors, rhythm & rhyme

! drama & roleplay

! abstract binary oppositions:

! good/evil, love/hate, rich/poor

! a poetic world

Mythic understanding

! Oral language plays an

important role:

! Thought becomes verbal,

speech becomes

conceptual

! Adults have fantasies too

! The appearance/reality

distinction is defined by

culture

What Piaget ignored:

Self-Control

! Ability to inhibit initial impulses (i.e., stop

and think before acting; balance

personal desires and internalized social

standards)! Inhibition of movement (e.g., “Simon says”)

! Inhibition of emotions (e.g., decide not to

cry when they fall down and a friend is near)

! Inhibition of choice (e.g., delayed

gratification – not until the age of 12 do

children choose to wait for larger candy bar

the next day)

! Inhibition of conclusions…

The Family and the

Preschool Child

Week 7

Overview of Chapter 9! Identity Development

! A New Moral World

! Developing

Self-Regulation

! Understanding

Aggression ! Developing Prosocial

Behaviors! One’s Place in the Social

Group

! An introduction to social development

! Stas Popov: a case study

! Social Development in the family

! (Next week, with peers)

Overview of the Week

Social Development:

a Two-Sided Process

SocializationPersonality

Development

Integration into

the larger social

community

Differentiation

as distinctive

individuals

Acquiring the

standards, values, and

knowledge of society

Developing unique

patterns of feeling,

thinking, and behaving

Acquiring a Social

and Personal Identity

video:

Stas Popov - a case study

! your mission: to study this child

! 1. describe his behavior

! what does he do?

! 2. explain his behavior

! why does he do it?

video: Stas Popov

! threatens the nurse: “I’ll kill you!”

! hits the sound technician and tells him “I hate you”

! wrestles & hits Mickey Mouse

! points a ‘gun’ at his brother

! hits the little girl on the head

! hits his father

! wears a commander’s hat & says “I’ll kill you, I’ll lock

you up”

! ...

What does Stas do?

Explanations for Stas’ Behavior

! the family script

! Stas “the bad, the

wounded”

! family structure

! the new baby

! parenting style

! [see next slide]

Parenting Patterns (North America)

ResponsiveParent is accepting and

child-centered

UnresponsiveParent is rejecting and

parent-centered

DemandingParent expects much of child

Authoritative

ParentingRelationship is reciprocal,

high in bidirectional

communication

Authoritarian

ParentingRelationship is controlling,

power-assertive,

high in unidirectional communication

UndemandingParent expects

little of child

Indulgent

ParentingRelationship is permissive,

low in control attempts

Neglectful

ParentingRelationship is indifferent,

uninvolved

Baumrind’s Parenting Styles

Style DescriptionTypical Child

Characteristics

Authoritative Demanding but

reciprocal

relationship

Favor reasoning

over physical

punishment

Encourage

independence

Self-reliant

Self-controlled

Display curiosity

Content

Baumrind’s Parenting Styles

Style DescriptionTypical Child

Characteristics

Authoritarian Demanding and

controlling

Favor punitive

methods over

reasoning

Stress obedience

over

independence

Other-directed

Lack social

competence

Lack curiosity

Withdrawn

Baumrind’s Parenting Styles

Style DescriptionTypical Child

Characteristics

Permissive Undemanding and little

control exercised

Allow children to learn

through experience

as a result of

indulgence or neglect

Neither independence

nor obedience

stressed

Dependent on

others

Poor impulse

control

Relative

immaturity

Explanations for Stas’ Behavior

! the family script

! Stas “the bad, the

wounded”

! family structure

! the new baby

! parenting style

! harsh discipline,

little warmth

! family circumstances

! new apartment

! state of society

! no time for children

! cultural messages

! “be tough”

! what about Stas’ age??

! Stas is 3 years old

! He is beginning to go through a process that

all little boys go through

! (Perhaps a bit earlier than most)

! His identification is changing

Causes of

Aggression

Aggression is rewarded! Victim gives in or

retreats, resulting in “victory”

! Adults provide positive reinforce-ment by paying more attention, laughing, signaling approval, or simply by stopping coercing the child

Causes of Aggression

Children imitate the

behavior of older

role models

Physical punishments,

particularly with anger,

may inadvertently teach

children to behave aggressively

Causes of Aggression

Research: Aggressive behavior of

children who had observed adult

aggression was substantially higher

than that of children who had watched non-aggressive interactions;

They invented new kinds of

agression

Weapons were more attractive

Whether the models were live, or filmed

Youngsters Imitate Aggressive Behavior

Trends in aggression

! Children at age 3

who behave defiantly and

disobediently with adults, are

aggressive toward their peers, and are impulsive and

hyperactive are likely to still

have these problems during

middle childhood and adolescence

Causes of Aggression

! Environment:

Poverty is associated

with increased

aggression, perhaps because parents are

likely to use harsh and inconsistent

discipline, perhaps due to increased stress

! Cognition: Aggressive children more often misinterpret social interactions in negative ways that foster aggressive responses

Causes of Aggression

Controlling Aggression

1. Development of hierarchical systems of control

! Once children

know their

position in such

a hierarchy, they

challenge only

those whom it is

safe for them to

challenge, leaving

others alone and

thereby reducing

the amount of

aggression within

the group

Controlling Aggression

2. Vent negative feelings

in a “safe way” before

they explode

violently (i.e., catharsis,

“blowing off steam”)?

! However, little evidence to support

this claim

! Frustrated boys who shot at targets

delivered just as many “shocks” as

children who had solved arithmetic

problems

Controlling Aggression

3. Punish aggressive behavior?

! Most likely to suppress aggressive behavior when

the child identifies strongly with the person

administering the punishment and it is applied

consistently

! Used inconsistently, however, punishment is likely

to provoke children to further aggression

! Furthermore, attempts to control children’s behavior

by means of physical punishment, or by threats to

apply raw power, also increase aggressiveness

Controlling Aggression

4. Reward non-aggressive behavior! Since young children sometimes become

aggressive in order to gain attention, one strategy is to ignore it and to pay attention to children only when they are engaged in cooperative behavior

! For example, an adult may step in between the children involved and pay attention only to the victim (i.e., comfort the child, give the child something interesting to do)

! Side benefit: Other children may observe that it is appropriate to be sympathetic to the victim of aggression

Controlling Aggression

5. Cognitive training

! Short, individual discussions

with the aggressor focusing on

! Aggression hurts another person

and makes that person unhappy

! Aggression does not solve problems

and only causes resentment in the other child

! Children can often resolve conflicts by sharing and

taking turns

! In essence, helping children to become aware of

the feelings of others decreases aggression

As children

approach

their second birthdays,

acts of

aggression

decline

significantly among girls

but increase

slightly

among boys.

Gender differences in

aggression

! Stas is 3 years old

! He is beginning to go through a process that

all little boys go through

! (Perhaps a bit earlier than most)

! His identification is changing

! Biology?

! but this isn’t visible

! so at this age kids take their pants down...

! Male/Female

! binary categories

! mutually exclusive

! enduring over time

! Other cultures/times have different categories

How do you know what gender

you & your friends are?

The Berdache

A berdache was one who was

defined by spirituality, androgyny,

women’s work and male/male

homosexual relationships. The

berdache could adopt the clothing

of women, associate and be

involved with women, do the work

normally associated with women,

marry a man and take part in many

spiritual ceremonies of the tribe.

! Understanding of gender categories isn’t

innate

! How do children learn it?

! Through a process of identification

Identification

! Psychological process in which children try to look, act, feel, and be like significant people in their social environment

! Essential to the process of socialization

Identification at different ages:

! 2-year-olds:

Primary identification: ! “Wanting to be

near” the mother

(first love object)

! =attachment

! 3- to 4-year-olds:

Secondary identification: “Wanting to be like”

the same-gender parent

Girl Boy

infancy:attached to

mother

attached to

mother

early

childhood:

seeks to identify

with mother

seeks to identify

with father

no differentiation

required

must

differentiate from

mother

! Girls: Seek to become like the person

with whom they have had the closest

relationship - the mother

! Boys: Required to become different from

the person with whom they have had the

closest relationship - the mother

In early childhood, boys & girls

have the same developmental

task, but with very different

outcomes:

How would this make you feel?

Freud described this:

! Boys: Identification through differentiation from mother and affiliation with father

! Oedipus complex: Desire to take father’s place in mother’s affection (resolution " sexual identity)

! Girls: Identification through affiliation only

! According to Sigmund Freud: ! Boys become more independent, and

consequently more rational, more ethical, less emotional, and better prepared for life’s challenges.

! A woman’s psychological makeup never becomes as independent of its emotional component as does a man’s.

What are the consequences?

! According to Nancy Chodorow:

! Because male identity is based on separation, men are threatened by intimacy.

! Because female identity is based on connection, women are threatened by separation.

What are the consequences?

! He is forced to differentiate from his mother

! by the arrival of the new baby

! His grandmother is no longer available

! His father is not supportive

! His hostility may be a response to this

! At his age, boys are significantly more

aggressive than girls

What does this have to do with

Stas?

! Social development involves both (a)

socialization and (b) personality formation

! ... (a) integration into the community and (b)

becoming a distinct individual

! Identity formation also has these 2 sides: (1)

social categories and (2) unique identity

! Gender identity is based on (1) the cultural

categories of gender and (2) a sense of who

one is uniquely

! Gender identity requires more difficult

changes of boys than of girls

Main Points

! You are a lawyer on a murder case where the

critical witness is 5 years old. What’s your

plan for taking a statement?

! (see box on ‘Young Children as Witnesses’)

One-page paper