Chapter 14: Social Influences Flashcards
2 primary dimensions of parenting
1) warmth and responsiveness
2) control
warmth and responsiveness parenting
involved, respond with to emotional needs, spend time with them
controlling parents
Dictatorial: try to regulate every aspect child lives
what dimension of parenting is best and why?
- High levels of warmth and responsiveness and moderate levels of control are best
- Control involves setting age-appropriate standards, consistent enforcement of rules, and good communication
4 parenting styles (Baumrind)
1) authoritarian
2) authoritative
3) permissive
4) uninvolved
Authoritarian parenting style
high control, little warmth, not responsive
Children: unhappy, low self-esteem, overly aggressive
- high parental control
- low parental involvement
authoritative parenting style
- fair control with warmth and responsiveness
- Explain rules, encourage discussion
Children: Tend to be responsible, self-reliant, friendly, have higher marks
- high parental control
- high parental involvement
permissive parenting style
- warmth and caring but little control, never say no
- Punish infrequently
Children: impulsive, little self-control
- low parental control
- high parental involvement
uninvolved parenting style
- neglectful
Children: poorly in school, aggressive
- low parental control
- low parental involvement
best parenting style for children
- In general, authoritative parenting is associated with best outcomes for children
- Children thrive on style that combines control, warmth and affection
cultural variations of parenting
Parental styles may not only across cultures, but within cultures, depending on parents’ socioeconomic status and level of stress
lower SES
more controlling and punitive (authoritarian parenting), often stressful lives, likely to live in neighbourhoods where violence, drugs, crime are common, may be too stressed to invest time in authoritative parenting, and the authoritarian approach may protect child growing up in dangerous neighbourhoods
higher SES
Parents higher SES- better educated, often see development as complex process that required child-friendly approach= authoritative parenting
European Canadians parenting
want children to be happy, self-reliant individuals, goals achieved when parents are warm and exert moderate control
Asian/Latin American countries parenting
individualism less important, cooperation and collaboration important
China Parenting
parents are always right, emotional restrain is key to family harmony
what is parental behaviour STYLE?
broad categorization of how parents typically behave
direct instruction parental behaviour
telling children what to do, when and why
- E.g. explain why should share candy with brother, not just yell at them to do it
- Children tend to be more socially skilled, and get along better with peers
observing parental behaviour
children learn from watching others and from counterimitation (learning what should not be done)
- Contributes to intergenerational continuity of parenting behaviour from one generation to next
feedback parental behaviour
- reinforcement is useful but parents often unknowingly reinforce behaviours they want to prevent (negative reinforcement trap)
- Parents often unwittingly reinforce the very behaviours they want to discourage= negative reinforcement trap
reinforcement
increase behaviour by removing negative stimulants
punishment
any action that discourages the reoccurrence of the response/behaviour that it follows
To be effective, research indicates that punishment needs to be: (3)
1) Administered by a person with whom the child has a warm affectionate relationship
2) Accompanied by an explanation and suggestions for future ways of behaving
3) Administered promptly and consistently
partial reinforcement
sometimes get away with it, or sometimes get punished—there is a possibility wont get punished
3 disadvantages of punishment
- Behaviours are only stopped temporarily
- Child may be angry or upset to learn alternative behaviour
- (if the punishment is physical) child may imitate aggressive behaviours of parent with peers and younger siblings, leading to behaviors problems
time out
- child who misbehaves must briefly sit alone in quiet, unstimulating location
- punishing because it interrupts the child’s ongoing activity and isolated children form all forms of rewarding stimulation
time in
- adult talks with the child immediately, to help them understand the situation and their own feelings
- more positive alternative to traditional time out
Influence of marital system
- marital system is part of mesosystem
- Many parents work together in a coordinated and complementary fashion toward shared goals for child’s development
- Lack of teamwork, competition for child’s attention, and gatekeeping often cause problems
impacts of parenting of parents work-related stress
Lose self-esteem and find difficult to concentrate in school when parents become unemployed, or when they worry parents will become unemployed
what happens when parents are constantly in conflict?
children/adolescents often become anxious, withdrawn, aggressive, more prone to chronic diseases
Parental conflict affects child’s development in 3 stages
1) Seeing parents fight jeopardizes child’s feeling that family is stable, and secure, making child feel anxious, frightened, sad
2) Chronic conflict between parents often spills over into parent-child relationship
3) When parents invest time and energy into fighting with each other, often too tired or preoccupied to invest themselves in high-quality parenting
Parental control changes as children ____
DEVELOP
- as they develop cognitively they are better able to make own decisions, parents gradually relinquish control and expect children to assume more responsibility for themselves
Influence between parents and children is ____
reciprocal
impact of divorce
- Distressing for children, it involves conflict between parents and usually separation from one of them
- Divorce effects children’s conduct, school achievement, adjustment, self-concept, and relationships with parents
After divorce, when do children begin to adjust?
- Beginning in 2nd year following divorce
- Adjustment is easier if parents cooperate with each other
- Overall risk of emotional and behavioural problems is higher for children of divorce (majority wont experience long term negative effects)
Negative effects of divorce are related to (3)
- parental absence
- economic hardship
- conflict between parents
What happens later in their life to children who had divorced parents
As adults, children of divorce are more likely to experience conflict in own marriages, have negative attitudes toward marriage, and become divorced themselves, report less satisfaction with life, and more likely to become depressed
which type of children are more likely to be affected by divorce?
children who are temperamentally more emotional
during what age period is divorce more harmful?
in children and adolescents
more than preschool/college
affects of blended families
- Most typical blended family is a mother, children and stepfather
- Children benefit from presence of a warm and supportive stepfather
- Adolescents do not adjust as easily to remarriage as younger children, more likely to challenge the stepfathers authority
5 styles of grandparenting
1) influential: close to grandchildren, involved in lives, frequently perform parental roles, including discipline
2) supportive: close, involved, do not take on parental roles
3) authority-oriented- provide discipline, not that active
4) passive- less intensely, or not physically close enough (live away), no parental roles
5) detached- completely uninvolved with grandchildren
children of gay and lesbian parents
- Children reared by gay/lesbian parents seem to develop much like children raised by heterosexual couples
- Multiple adults involved in child rearing important, but research suggests what who adults are matters less than what they do
laterborn children
- Parents tend to have more realistic expectations and be more relaxed in their discipline with laterborn compared to firstborn children
- Laterborn children tend to be more popular and innovative
first born children
- Firstborn children generally have higher scores on intelligence test, and are more likely to go to university, and more willing to conform to adults’ requests
only children are more likely to…
succeed in school and have higher levels of intelligence, leadership, autonomy, and maturity
adopted children
- adopted children are similar to children with biological parents, in temperament, attachment and cognitive development
- Adopted children tend to have more problems adjusting to school and are more likely to experience conduct disorders (overly aggressive)
problems with children adopted
- Problems more common when children adopted at older age, and when care before adoption was poor
- Quality of life before adoption places some children at risk but most adopted children experience positive outcomes
qualities of sibling relationships
- Distress associated with birth of new sibling can be avoided if parents are responsive to older sibling
- Many older siblings assist in caregiving
- Basic pattern of sibling relations tends to be established early and remain consistent; siblings who fight as preschoolers tend to also experience conflict in adolescence
Siblings get along best when (6)
1) They are same sex
2) Neither is temperamentally emotional
3) The younger sibling enters adolescence
4) Parents don’t show favouritism
5) Each has a unique and well-defined relationship with parents
6) Parents have a warm relationship with each other
Maltreatment includes (4)
physical sexual psychological abuse neglect
what are the consequences when children are abused?
- their social, emotional, and intellectual development is often affected
- Abused children typically get lower marks in school
children who are ego-resilient exhibit:
adaptable in challenging situations
- exhibit fewer negative consequences following abuse, flexible in responding to novel and challenging social situations
cultural and social factors of maltreatment
- cultural attitudes, poverty, social isolation, stress in military families when one parents is absent from home
- Abuse more common in cultures that tolerate physical punishment
- Abuse more common when families live in poverty because of stress associated with inadequate home
- Abuse more common when families are socially isolated because parents lack social supports
parental factors of maltreatment
- often abusive parents experienced abuse themselves, lack adequate parenting skills, and experience dysfunctional marriages
- Parents who abuse children were often maltreated as children, often have poor parenting skills
child factors of maltreatment
- stepchildren as well as children who are very young, “challenging”, or ill are more often targets for abuse
- Young children more likely to be abused if they cannot yet regulate their behaviour
- Ill children more likely to be abused because their behaviour while ill is often perceived as aversive
- Stepchildren more likely to be abused because stepparents are less invested in them
3 ways of preventing maltreatment
- Change societal attitudes toward acceptable punishment
- Eliminating poverty and other stressors
- Providing parents with better education about child development, parenting, coping skills as well as social support
peer interactions at 2-6 months
look, smile, and point at one another and over the next few months they will laugh and babble with other infants
developmental sequence of play
nonsocial play
parallel play
associative play
cooperative play
what is parallel play?
near 1st birthday, play alone but maintain interest in what other children are doing
what is associative play?
15-18mo, children engage in similar activities, talk or smile at one another, offer each other toys, interactive play
what is cooperative play?
- becomes the norm by approx. 3.5 years
- Organize play around distinct theme, take on special roles based on theme
- preschool years, cooperative play often includes make believe
Children who engage in make-believe play tend to be
more advanced in language, memory, reasoning, and more sophisticated in understanding others thoughts, beliefs, and feelings
when do toddlers know difference between pretend and reality
16-18 months
- it promotes cognitive development
solitary play
- Solitary play can be important for children’s cognitive development (e.g. divergent thinking)
- Some forms of solitary play may indicate problems with social interaction (e.g. wandering aimlessly)
unhealthy solitary play
wandering aimlessly, never settling into play. Also hovering, when child stands near peers who are playing, watching and not participating
Parent involvement in preschool children’s play includes different roles (4)
playmate
social director
coach
mediator
parents involvement as playmate
when parents demonstrate more advanced forms of play, their children often play at more advanced levels later
parents involvement as social director
young children rely on parents to create opportunities for social interactions, when parents provide frequent opportunities for peer interaction they tend to get along better with peers
parents involvement as coach
when parents help acquire skills of initiating interaction, make joint decisions, resolve conflicts, children tend to be more competent socially and more accepted by peers
parents involvement as mediator
children play more cooperatively and longer when parents help figure out conflict
secure maternal attachment relationship contributes to
positive peer relationships
rough and tumble play
becomes a common in elementary school years, especially with boys, children playfully chase, punch, kick, shove, fight and wrestle peers
- Intention is to not harm, it is for fun
when do friendships become more complex?
age 4-5
claim to have “best friend”
Psychological features such as trust and assistance become important by what age?
8-11 years
friendships among children of different ethnic groups are more common where?
where classes are smaller and in ethnically diverse schools and neighbourhoods
Children and adolescents tend to befriend others who
are similar to themselves similarity in friends’ values and attitudes increases over time
Children with good friends have:
have higher self-esteem, are less likely to be lonely and depresses, better able to cope with life stresses, less likely to be victimized by peers, have greater self-worth as young adults and tend to be more prosocial
how can friendships be negative?
co-rumination can be a problem (especially for girls) and friends sometimes encourage aggressive or risky behaviour
what is co-rumination?
continues, becomes focus of attention for both of them, always talking about it to each other
what is a clique?
four to six good friends who tend to be similar in age, sex, race, and interests
what is a crowd?
a larger mixed-sex group of older children or adolescents who have similar values and attitudes and are known by a common label (e.g. jocks, nerds, preps)
most groups have a ___?
dominance hierarchy
dominance hierarchy
- leader to whom all other members of the group defer
- Leader usually most physically intimidating child, high self-esteem, good relationship with peers, skills useful to group
Peer influence is strongest when (4)
- Youth are younger and more socially anxious
- Peers have higher status
- Peers are friends
- `Standards for appropriate behaviour are unclear
Pupil evaluation inventory measures?
peer relations sociometry
- Nominate up to 4 classmates who best fit the description
35 items:
- aggression
- immaturity
- nonaggressive disruptiveness
- social isolation
- oversensitivity
- unhappiness
- popularity
- likeability
most children fall into one of 5 categories (popularity)
popular rejected controversial average neglected
what are popular children?
skilled academically, and socially, good students who are usually friendly, cooperative, helpful, more skilful at communicating and better at integrating themselves into ongoing conversation, “fit in”
what are rejected children?
many are overly aggressive, hyperactive, socially unskilled, unable to regulate emotions, more hostile, shy, withdrawn, timid, lonely
impact of repeated rejection in childhood
long-term consequences such as dropping out of school, engagement in criminal behaviour, and experiencing psychopathology
parents influence children’s rejection by
modelling negative social skills and by providing inconsistent discipline that contributes to an aggressive interpersonal style
- rejected children can be taught social skills that contribute to peer acceptance
influences of childcare and after school activities
- high-quality childcare environments have relatively few children per caregiver, and caregivers provide warm, responsive, and age-appropriate care
- high-quality childcare has positive effects o cognitive and social-emotional development, and can improve school-readiness for children from low-income families
- children and adolescents who participate in structures after-school activities are often better adjusted, have higher self-esteem, and are more likely to participate in post-secondary education
latchkey children
school-age children/adolescents care for themselves afterschool
influence of part-time employment
- extensive engagement in part-time employment can lead to problems (20+ hours a week), including poor school performance, mental health and behavioural problems (anxiety/depression), and unrealistic expectations about finances
- part-time employment can be positive if hours are limited, job provides opportunity to gain skills and mentoring, and earning are used appropriately (e.g. for clothes and school expenses)
influence of neighborhoods
- children who live in economically advantaged neighborhoods tend to perform better academically and are less likely to have behavioural or emotional problems
- the impact of neighborhoods is transmitted indirectly through resources su-ch as parents, peers, and social institutions
- high-quality childcare, recreational opportunities, and effective local healthcare contribute to positive child development
characteristics of successful schools
orientation to academic excellence, a safe and nurturing climate, parent involvement, progress is monitored
academic achievement is determined by
by environmental forces (e.g. parents and teachers) as well as children themselves
students tend to learn most when teachers: (7)
1) manage the classroom effectively so they can devote most of their time to instruction
2) believe they are responsible for their students’ learning and their students will learn when taught well
3) pay careful attention to pacing
4) emphasize mastery of topics
5) teach actively
6) value tutoring
7) teach children techniques for monitoring and managing their own learning
