Chapter 10 Flashcards
1
Q
Dimensions of Child Rearing
A
- 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
2
Q
Restrictiveness-Permissiveness
A
- 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
3
Q
Enforcing Restrictions
A
- 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
4
Q
Parenting Styles (Authoritative and Authoritarian)
A
- 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
5
Q
Parenting Styles (Permissive-Indulgent and Rejecting-Neglecting)
A
- 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
6
Q
Situation and Parenting Skills
A
- 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
7
Q
Social Behaviors
A
- during early childhood, children make tremendous advances in social skills and behavior
- play increasingly involves other children
- learn how to share, cooperate, comfort
others
8
Q
Sibling Influence
A
- 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
- negative aspects
- older siblings are more caring but also more dominating
- younger siblings are likely to imitate older siblings and accept their directions
9
Q
Adjusting to the Birth of a Sibling
A
- 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
10
Q
Birth Order
A
- 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
11
Q
Peer Relationships
A
- 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
12
Q
Child’s Play
A
- 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
13
Q
Play and Cognitive Development
A
- 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
14
Q
Mildred Parten – Types of Play
A
- 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
15
Q
Lisa Serbin
A
- 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
16
Q
Sex Differences in Play
A
- 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
17
Q
What Causes Sex Differences in Play?
A
- 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
18
Q
Eleanor Maccoby and the Preference for Same-Sex Playmates
A
- 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
19
Q
Prosocial Behavior
A
- 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
20
Q
Empathy
A
- 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
21
Q
Perspective Taking
A
- 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
22
Q
Influences on Prosocial Behavior
A
- 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
23
Q
Development of Aggression
A
- 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
24
Q
Theories of Aggression
A
- 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
25
Albert Bandura - Aggression
- a classic study done by Albert Bandura and his colleagues suggested that televised models have a powerful influence on children's aggressive behavior
26
Ways Media Influences - Aggression
- 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
27
Personality and Emotional Development - The Self
- 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
28
Personality and Emotional Development - Self-Esteem
- 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.
29
Personality and Emotional Development - Initiative vs. Guilt
- 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
30
Fears: The Horrors of Early Childhood
- 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
31
Development of Gender Roles and Sex Differences
- 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
32
Gender-Role Stereotypes in Stages
- 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
33
Sex Differences
- 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
34
Theories of the Development of Sex Differences
- 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)
35
Sex Differences - Organization of the Brain
- 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
36
Sex Differences - Sex Hormones
- 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
37
Sex Differences - Social Cognitive Theory
- 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
38
Sex Differences - Cognitive Development Theory
- 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
39
Gender-Schema Theory
- 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
40
Psychological Androgyny
- 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
