Chapter 10

Question 1

Dimensions of Child Rearing

Answer 1

• two broad dimensions
  - warm parents
  - affectionate towards
  their children
  - hug and kiss them
  - smile at them frequently
  - caring and supporting
  - communicate their
  enjoyment in being with
  their children
  - less likely to use physical
  discipline
  - cold parents
  - may not enjoy their
  children
  - may have few feelings of
  affection for them
  - likely to complain about
  the children’s behavior
  - children of parents who are
  warm and excepting or more
  likely to develop internal
  standards of conduct any
  moral sense of conscience
  - parental warmth is also
  related to a child’s social and
  emotional well-being

Question 2

Restrictiveness-Permissiveness

Answer 2

• restrictive parents tend to impose rules and watch their children closely
  - positive consequences when
  combined with strong support and
  affection
  - authoritative style
  - if combined with physical
  punishment, interference, or
  intrusiveness… the child may rebel
  - can cause disobedience,
  rebelliousness, and lower levels
  of cognitive development
• permissive parents allow their child to do what is “natural” – make noise, treat toys carelessly, and experiment with their bodies
  - may allow kids to show
  aggression

Question 3

Enforcing Restrictions

Answer 3

• induction, power assertion, and withdrawal of love
• inductive: characteristic of disciplinary methods, such as reasoning, that attempt to foster understanding of the principles behind parental demands
  - helps the child understand
  moral behavior and foster
  prosocial behavior such as
  helping and sharing
• power-assertive methods include physical punishment and denial of privileges
  - associated with lower
  acceptance amongst peers,
  poorer grades, and more
  antisocial behavior
  - less likely to develop internal
  standards of conduct
  - linked with aggression and
  delinquency
• withdrawal of love – isolating/ignoring the child who is misbehaving
  - loss of love is more threatening
  than physical punishment
  - children need parental approval
  and contact
  - can instill guilt and anxiety

Question 4

Parenting Styles (Authoritative and Authoritarian)

Answer 4

• authoritative: parents are restrictive and demanding but communicative and warm
  - children with authoritative
  parents show
  - self-reliance
  - independence
  - high self-esteem
  - high levels of anxiety and
  exploratory behavior
  - social competence
  - highly motivated to achieve
  and do well in school
• authoritarian: a child-rearing style in which parents demand submission and obedience
  - sons – relatively hostile and
  defiant
  - daughters – lack
  independence and dominance
  -in general – less competent
  socially and academically,
  anxious and irritable and
  restrained in their social
  interactions
  - as adolescents – may be
  conforming and obedient but
  have low self-esteem and self-
  reliance

Question 5

Parenting Styles (Permissive-Indulgent and Rejecting-Neglecting)

Answer 5

• permissive-indulgent: parents are warm and not restrictive
  - easy going and
  unconventional
  - children are fairly high in social
  competence and self-confidence
• rejecting-neglecting: parents are neither restrictive and controlling nor supportive and responsive
  - children are
  - less competent in school
  - misconduct in school
  - substance abuse

Question 6

Situation and Parenting Skills

Answer 6

• more likely to use power assertive methods when dealing with aggressive behavior
• when parents believe the child understands the rules and still breaks them, power-assertive techniques are usually used rather than induction
• stress can also contribute

Question 7

Social Behaviors

Answer 7

• during early childhood, children make tremendous advances in social skills and behavior
  - play increasingly involves other children
  - learn how to share, cooperate, comfort
  others

Question 8

Sibling Influence

Answer 8

• siblings can give physical care, emotional support, offer advice, and can be a role model
  - positive aspects
  - cooperation
  - teaching
  - nurturance
  
  • negative aspects
    - conflict
    - control
    - competition
• older siblings are more caring but also more dominating
• younger siblings are likely to imitate older siblings and accept their directions

Question 9

Adjusting to the Birth of a Sibling

Answer 9

• can be a source of stress for preschoolers
• children can show positive or negative reactions
  - may feel displaced and resentful
  - regression: a return to behavior
  characteristic of earlier stages of
  development
  - baby like behavior
  - increased clinging, crying, and toilet
  accidents
  - anger and naughtiness may increase
  - some children may show an increase in
  independence and maturity
  - feed/dress themselves
  - help with the new baby

Question 10

Birth Order

Answer 10

• firstborn children
  - more highly motivated to
  achieve
  - perform better academically
  - more cooperative
  - more adult-oriented
  - less aggressive
  - high standardized test scores
  - including IQ and SAT scores
  - some negatives
  - greater anxiety
  - less self-reliant
• later-born children
  - act aggressively (get attention of parents
  and older siblings
  - lower self-concepts
  - more popular with peers
  - rebellious
  - more liberal

Question 11

Peer Relationships

Answer 11

• peer interactions foster social skills
  - sharing
  - helping
  - taking turns
  - dealing with conflict
• groups teach children how to lead and how to follow
• physical and cognitive skills develop through peer interactions
  - provide emotional support
• by age 2, children begin to imitate one another’s play and engage in social games
  - show preferences for particular
  playmates
  - early sign of friendship

Question 12

Child’s Play

Answer 12

• play is more than just fun, it is also meaningful voluntary and internally motivated
  - helps children develop motor skills and
  coordination
  - contributes to social development
• dramatic play: play in which children enact social roles
  - supports the development of cognitive
  qualities
  - curiosity
  - exploration
  - symbolic thinking
  - problem-solving

Question 13

Play and Cognitive Development

Answer 13

• John Piaget identified several kinds of play
  - functional play: beginning in
  the sensory motor stage
  - the first kind of play involves
  repetitive motor activities
  - rolling a ball running or laughing
  - symbolic play: also called pretend play,
  imaginative play, or dramatic play
  - emerges towards the end of the
  sensorimotor stage
  - increases during early childhood
  - children create settings, characters,
  and scripts
  - constructive play: children use objects or
  materials to draw something or make
  something
  - tower of blocks
  - formal games: games with rules
  - board games
  - sometimes enhance or invented
  by children
  - games involving motor skills
  - hopscotch, ball games, marbles
  - games may involve social interaction
  as well as physical activity and rules

Question 14

Mildred Parten – Types of Play

Answer 14

• Parten observed the development of six types of play among 2- to 5-year-old nursery school children
  - unoccupied play
  - solitary play
  - onlooker play
  - parallel play
  - associative play
  - cooperative play
• nonsocial play: solitary forms of play; solitary play and onlooker play
  - occurs more often in 2- and 3-year-olds
  than in older preschoolers
• social play: play in which children interact with and are influenced by others; parallel play, associative play, and cooperative play
  - common by age 5
  - girls are more likely to engage in social
  play than boys
• exceptions
  - nonsocial play can involve educational
  activities that foster cognitive
  development
  - many four and five-year-olds spend a
  good amount of time in parallel
  constructive play
  - work on puzzles and build with blocks
  near other children
  - seen as socially skillful and are popular
  with their peers
  - 2-year-olds with older siblings or with
  group experience may engage in
  advanced social play

Question 15

Lisa Serbin

Answer 15

• her and her colleagues explored infants visual preferences for gender stereotype to toys
• they found that both girls and boys show significant preference for gender specific toys by 18 months of age
• girls are more likely to stray from stereotypes and play with “boys toys” like cars and trucks

Question 16

Sex Differences in Play

Answer 16

• girls and boys differ not only in toy preferences but also in their choice of play environments and activities
• boys during the preschool and early elementary school years prefer vigorous physical outdoor activities
• girls during those years are more likely than boys to engage in arts and crafts and domestic play

Question 17

What Causes Sex Differences in Play?

Answer 17

• biological factors can play a role
  - boys – slightly greater
  strength and activity levels
  - girls – slightly greater physical maturity
  and coordination
• adults treat boys and girls differently
  - provide gender-stereotyped toys and
  room furnishings
  - encourage gender typing in play and
  household chores
• children who show interest in toys or activities considered “appropriate” for the opposite sex are often teased and ridiculed by their peers, teachers, parents, and other adults
  - boys more likely than girls to be
  criticized

Question 18

Eleanor Maccoby and the Preference for Same-Sex Playmates

Answer 18

• believes that two factors are involved in the choice of the sex of playmates in early childhood -
  - boys play is more oriented towards
  dominance, aggression, and rough play
  - boys are not very responsive to girls
  polite suggestions
  - may see girls as inferior

Question 19

Prosocial Behavior

Answer 19

• prosocial behavior, also known as altruism, is intended to benefit another without expectation of reward
  - includes sharing, cooperating, and
  helping/comforting others in distress
  - linked to empathy and perspective taking

Question 20

Empathy

Answer 20

• empathy is sensitivity to the feelings of others and connected with sharing and cooperation
  - promotes prosocial behavior and
  decreases aggressive behavior
  - evident by year 2
• during year 2, many children will approach other children and adults who are in distress and try to help them
  - crying – try to hug them
  - toddlers who are emotionally
  unresponsive are more likely to behave
  aggressively throughout the school year
• girls show more empathy than boys

Question 21

Perspective Taking

Answer 21

• preoperational children are egocentric
  - do not see things from
  different vantage points
• various cognitive abilities, such as being able to take another person’s perspective, are related to knowing when someone is in distress or in need
  - perspective taking skills improve with age
  - those with better perspective taking
  ability also show more prosocial
  behavior and less aggressive behavior

Question 22

Influences on Prosocial Behavior

Answer 22

• rewards and punishments help
  - the peers of children who
  are cooperative, friendly, and
  generous respond more positively to them
  than the children who misbehave and are
  self-centered
• using inductive techniques can foster prosocial behavior
  - more likely to expect mature behavior
  - less likely to use power-assertive
  techniques

Question 23

Development of Aggression

Answer 23

• aggression refers to behavior intended to hurt or injured another person
  - seems to follow developmental patterns
  - aggression of preschoolers is frequently
  instrumental or possession oriented
  - young preschoolers may use
  aggression to get the toy they want
  - older preschoolers are more likely to
  resolve conflicts by sharing not fighting
• by age 6 or seven, aggression becomes hostile in person oriented children
  - taunt and criticize others
  - call each other names
  - physically attack one another
  - this kind of behavior is predictive of
  social and emotional problems later on,
  especially among boys

Question 24

Theories of Aggression

Answer 24

• appears to result from a complex interplay of biological factors and environmental factors
  - genetic factors may also be involved
  - greater concordance rate for criminal
  behavior between monozygotic twins
  than between dizygotic twins
• cognitive research finds that children who believe in the legitimacy of aggression are more likely to behave aggressively
  - lack empathy and the ability to see things
  from the perspective of other people
• environmental factors such as reinforcement and observational learning
  - when children repeatedly push, shove,
  and hit to grab toys, other children usually
  let them have their way
  - awarded for acting aggressively -
  likely to continue
  - aggressive children are also more likely to
  associate with peers who encourage
  aggressive behavior

Question 25

Albert Bandura - Aggression

Answer 25

• a classic study done by Albert Bandura and his colleagues suggested that televised models have a powerful influence on children’s aggressive behavior

Question 26

Ways Media Influences - Aggression

Answer 26

• children are routinely exposed to violence on tv
• a number of ways in which depictions of violence contribute to violence
  - observational learning - children learn
  from observation
  - tv violence supplies models of
  aggressive “skills” which children may
  acquire
  - disinhibition - punishment inhibits
  behavior
  - media violence may disinhibit, to
  stimulate a response that has been
  suppressed by showing a model
  engaging in that response, aggressive
  behavior
  - especially when characters “get
  away” with it
  - increased arousal - media violence and
  aggressive video games increase viewers
  level of arousal
  - more likely to be aggressive under high
  levels of arousal
  - priming of aggressive thoughts and
  memories - media violence primes
  aggressive ideas and memories
  - habituation - we become used to
  repeated stimuli
  - children exposed to violence are more
  likely to assume that violence is
  acceptable or normal
  - become desensitized
• social cognitive theory also shows that children choose whether to participate and imitate the behavior they observe

Question 27

Personality and Emotional Development - The Self

Answer 27

• the self
  - the sense of self emerges
  gradually during infancy
  - during the preschool years, children
  continue to develop a sense of self
  - as soon as they begin to speak, they
  begin to categorize themselves
  - age groupings and sex
  - categorical self: definitions of the self
  that referred to external traits
  - children as young as three can begin to
  describe themselves in terms of behaviors
  and internal states

Question 28

Personality and Emotional Development - Self-Esteem

Answer 28

• one aspect of the self-concept is self-esteem
  - children with high self-
  esteem are more likely to be securely
  attached and have parents who are
  attentive to their needs
  - more likely to show prosocial behavior
  - preschool children begin to make
  judgments about themselves by age 4
  - first is their cognitive and physical
  competence
  - being good with puzzles,
  counting, swinging, tying shoes, etc.
  - second is their social acceptance by
  peers and parents
  - having lots of friends, being read to
  by mom, etc.

Question 29

Personality and Emotional Development - Initiative vs. Guilt

Answer 29

• preschoolers increasingly take the initiative in learning new skills
• Erik Erikson referred to this as the stage of initiative versus guilt
  - children strive to achieve independence
  and to master adult behaviors
  - they are curious and try new things and
  test themselves
  - they learn that not all of their dreams can
  come true
  - begin to internalize adult roles
  - fear of violating the rules may cause
  the child to feel guilty and make curtail
  efforts to master new skills
  - parents can help by encouraging
  curiosity

Question 30

Fears: The Horrors of Early Childhood

Answer 30

• fears change as children move from infancy into the preschool years
  - number of fears peak between 2 1/2 and
  4 years of age and then taper off
• the preschool period is marked by a decline in fears of loud noises, falling, sudden movement, and strangers
  - more likely to be afraid of animals,
  imaginary creatures, the dark, and personal
  danger
• during middle childhood, children become less fearful of imaginary creatures, but fears of bodily harm and injury remain common
• children grow more fearful of failure and criticism in school and in social relationships
  - girls report more fears and higher levels
  of anxiety than boys

Question 31

Development of Gender Roles and Sex Differences

Answer 31

• stereotype: a fixed, oversimplified, conventional idea about a group
  - women - the vulnerable woman who
  needs a man to protect her
  - men - chivalrous, protective man
  - these stereotypes create demands
  on and limit opportunities for both sexes
• gender roles: a cluster of traits and behaviors that a culture expects females or males to exhibit
  - women - dependence, gentleness,
  helpfulness, warmth, emotionality,
  submissiveness, and a home orientation
  - men - aggressiveness, self-confidence,
  independence, competitiveness, and
  competent in business, math, and science

Question 32

Gender-Role Stereotypes in Stages

Answer 32

• at about 2 to 2 1/2 children can identify pictures of girls and boys
• at age 3, they display knowledge of gender stereotypes for toys, clothing, work, and activities
  - boys play with cars and trucks, help
  their fathers, and tend to be aggressive
  - girls play with dolls, help their mothers,
  and are not aggressive
  - one study found that preschool boys
  (not girls) who showed distress were
  rejected by their peers
• between the ages of 3 and 9 or 10, children become increasingly traditional in there stereotyping of activities, jobs, and personality traits
  - traits such as “cruel” or “repairs broken
  things” are viewed as masculine
  - traits like “often is afraid” and “cooks
  and bakes” are seen as feminine
• children and adolescents often see their own sex in a better light

Question 33

Sex Differences

Answer 33

• people believe that females and males also differ in their behaviors, personality characteristics, and abilities
  - differences in infancy are small and
  rather inconsistent
  - preschoolers start to display some
  differences in their choices of toys and
  play activities
  - boys engage in more rough and
  tumble play and are more aggressive
  - show greater visual-spatial ability
  - girls tend to show more empathy and
  to report more fears
  - show greater verbal ability than
  boys

Question 34

Theories of the Development of Sex Differences

Answer 34

• evolution and heredity
  - evolutionary psychologists
  believe that sex differences
  were fashioned by natural selection
  - we possess genetic codes for traits
  that helped our ancestors survive and
  reproduce
  - these traits include structural sex
  differences (those found in the brain)
  and differences in body chemistry
  (hormones)

Question 35

Sex Differences - Organization of the Brain

Answer 35

• organization of the brain largely determined by genetics
• Matthias Riepe and his colleagues have studied the way in which humans and rats use the hippocampus, a brain structure that is involved in the formation of memories and the relay of incoming sensory information to other parts of the brain, when they are navigating mazes
  - males use the hippocampus in both
  hemispheres
  - females use the hippocampus in the
  right hemisphere along with the right
  prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that
  evaluates information and makes plans

Question 36

Sex Differences - Sex Hormones

Answer 36

• sex hormones and other chemical substances stroke the prenatal differentiation of sex organs
• toward the end of the embryonic stage, androgens – male sex hormones – are sculpting male genital organs
• these chemicals may also “masculinize” or “feminize” the brain

Question 37

Sex Differences - Social Cognitive Theory

Answer 37

• social cognitive theorists consider both the roles of rewards and punishments and gender typing and the way in which children learn from observing others – decide which behavior is appropriate for them
  - children learn about what society deems
  “appropriate” for their sex by observing
  models of the same sex
  - these models may be their parents,
  other adults, other children, and even
  media characters
• socialization can play a role
  - parents, teachers, peers, and other
  adults provide children with information
  about the gender typed behaviors
  expected of them
  - children are rewarded with smiles
  and respect and companionship when
  they display “gender-appropriate”
  behavior
  - boys are encouraged to be independent
  where as girls are more likely to be
  restricted
  - primary schoolchildren show less
  stereotyped behavior if their mothers
  engage in “masculine” activities like
  washing the car, taking the children to ball
  games, and assembling toys
  - maternal employment has also been
  associated with less polarized gender-
  role concepts for girls and boys

Question 38

Sex Differences - Cognitive Development Theory

Answer 38

• Lawrence Kohlberg proposed a cognitive development of view of gender typing
  - children form concepts about gender
  and then fit their behavior to the concepts
  - these developments occur in stages
  and are intertwined with general
  cognitive development
  - gender typing involves the emergence
  of three concepts
  - gender identity: knowledge that one
  is female or male
  - at 2 years, most children can say
  whether they are boys or girls
  - by age 3, many children can
  discriminate anatomic sex
  differences
  - gender stability: the concept that
  one’s sex is unchanging
  - age 4 to 5, children develop this
  concept
  - gender constancy: the concept that
  one’s sex remains the same despite
  changes in appearance or behavior
  - age 5 to 7 develop this more
  sophisticated concept

Question 39

Gender-Schema Theory

Answer 39

• gender-schema theory: the view that one’s knowledge of the gender schema in one society guides one’s assumption of gender stereotype to preferences and behavior patterns
  - a cluster of concepts about male and
  female physical traits, behaviors, and
  personality traits
  - example – dimension of strength-
  weakness
  - strength is linked to the male
  stereotypes
  - weakness to the female stereotypes
• boys and girls self-esteem will depend on how they measure up to the gender schema
  - Studies indicate that children organize
  information according to gender schema
  - boys show better memory for
  “masculine” things whereas girls show
  better memory for “feminine” things

Question 40

Psychological Androgyny

Answer 40

• traits that supposedly characterize masculinity and femininity to be found within the same individual
• psychologically androgynous: having both stereotypical feminine and stereotypical masculine traits
  - some psychologist suggest that it is
  worthwhile to promote psychological
  androgyny in children
  - wider range of traits to meet the
  challenges in their lives
  - androgynous children and
  adolescents have better social
  relations, superior adjustment,
  greater creativity, and more
  willingness to pursue occupations
  stereotyped as “belonging” to the
  other sex