development of self and peer relationships

Question 1

what is the implicit self?

Answer 1

• the sense of having a body separate from the world that can experience and interact with the world around us
• present from birth

Question 2

how do we know that the implicit self is present from birth?

Answer 2

• rooting reflex: only occurs if someone else brushes their cheek, not if they accidentally touch it themselves.
• implies an innate knowledge that the one’s body is separate from the world

Question 3

if someone is experiencing hallucinations or delusions, what does this imply in regards to their idea of the self?

Answer 3

• their implicit self is impaired
• they cannot separate which experiences belong to them and which do not

Question 4

generally speaking, what is the self-concept?

Answer 4

• an organized set of beliefs about oneself
• dominant understanding of the self in social psychology
• includes personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities, values, roles, etc. (“who am i?”)

Question 5

at what age does a rudimentary self-concept emerge in children? how do we know this?

Answer 5

• 18 months
• children pass the rouge test
• children start using the “me” pronoun and call themselves by name to others

Question 6

why do we say that the self-concept is a social construct?

Answer 6

• the self concept is developed primarily by children’s internalization of others’ perceptions of them
• cannot exist without social interaction (both direct—i.e., what they’re told they are—and indirect—i.e, how they’re treated)

Question 7

what is the first characteristic of the self-concept to develop in children? when does it first occur?

Answer 7

• gender
• 2.5-3 years
• children form a basic gender identity and start identifying as a boy or girl
• at this age they can also label others as boys or girls

Question 8

what are the Baby X studies? what do they tell us about gender socialization?

Answer 8

• studies in which researchers label the same infant as a boy or a girl, then observe how adults interacted with the infant
• infants labelled as boys were rated as bigger and stronger and more likely to be encouraged to be active, while infants labelled as girls were rated as sweeter and more likely to receive more talk and nurturance
• tells us that gender socialization comes from outside influence, not form infants’ behaviour

Question 9

how does subtle gender socialization occur in regards to motor skills?

Answer 9

parents of girls tend to underestimate their infant’s crawling abilities, while parents of boys tended to estimate it more accurately (when tested, no gender differences appeared in actual crawling ability)

Question 10

how does subtle gender socialization occur in regards to play?

Answer 10

parents present boys with more physical challenges than girls, and are more likely to offer girls more help

Question 11

how does subtle gender socialization occur in regards to language differences?

Answer 11

• parents are more likely to use emotion words with girls than boys in early childhood
• as a result, emotion understanding develops earlier in girls

Question 12

what is the timeline for gender development in kids?

Answer 12

• 2.5-3 years: rudimentary gender development - can label themselves and others as “boy” or “girl”
• 3-5 years: express rigid and gender-stereotyped behaviour, due to lack of gender constancy (“pink frilly dress syndrome”)
• 6 years: gender constancy develops - rigid gendered behaviour relaxes, acceptance of more non-gendered appearance and toy preference in themselves and others
• as they get older, children acquire more complex ideas/expectations about gender (traits, roles, abilities, etc.)

Question 13

what is gender constancy? at what age is it achieved?

Answer 13

• 6 years
• understanding that gender remains the same regardless of superficial changes to appearance or behaviour
• an example of a cognitive limitation

Question 14

how does the gender development of trans vs cis kids compare? what does this tell us about the nature/nurture of gender?

Answer 14

• trans children’s gender development follows similar patterns to cis children’s development
• trans kids demonstrate a strong and clear gender identity, going against the misconception that they are “confused”
• parents are not socializing trans identity, indicating that there is something internal about gender

Question 15

what does the self-concept look like in early childhood?

Answer 15

• 3-4 years old
• gender is central to self-concept
• concerned with concrete, observable characteristics that focus on physical attributes and activities
• unrealistically positive and confident

Question 16

what does the self-concept look like in middle childhood?

Answer 16

• 7-12 years old
• describing the self using personality traits and inner qualities
• self-concept is more balanced and accurate (overall positive, but includes weaknesses)

Question 17

why does the self-concept change from early to middle childhood?

Answer 17

• increased cognitive ability to use higher order concepts and to think about multiple qualities simultaneously (entering concrete operational stage)
• greater engagement in social comparison and more strongly influenced by opinions of others

Question 18

what does the self-concept look like in adolescence?

Answer 18

• 13-18 years old
• think of the self in more abstract ways
• more intense concerns about social acceptance (egocentrism—assuming thoughts and feelings are unique—and imaginary audience tendencies)
• aware of differences in behaviour in different social settings, leading to confusion and many questions about identity (basis for teen angst)

Question 19

according to Marcia’s identity statuses, what are the two processes through which identity is formed?

Answer 19

1. exploration: questioning parental and societal values and experimenting with various facets of identity
2. commitment: consolidation and acceptance of who one is, as indicated by the choices one makes

Question 20

what are the 4 stages in identity formation, according to Marcia’s identity statuses?

Answer 20

1. identity diffusion (no commitment, no exploration)
   2/3. moratorium (no commitment, yes exploration)
   3/2. foreclosure (yes commitment, no foreclosure)
2. identity achievement (yes to both commitment and exploration)

Question 21

what are the main critiques of Marcia’s identity status theory?

Answer 21

• based on WEIRD samples
• identity process is a continuous rather than discrete process, and is not limited to adolescence (life events in adulthood can restart the process)

Question 22

what are the different types of non-social play? when do they usually emerge?

Answer 22

1. unoccupied play: child briefly watches things around them, but nothing holds their attention for long (birth - 3 months)
2. solitary play: child is focused on their own activity and is uninterested in playing with others (3 months - 2 years)
3. onlooker play: child watches other children’s play, may ask questions but won’t join in (begins at 2 years)

Question 23

what are the types of social play? when do they usually emerge?

Answer 23

1. parallel play: children play next to each other, possibly doing the same activity but do not interact much (begins between 2-3 years)
2. associative play: children play together, engaging sometimes, but have different goals (begins between 3-4 years)
3. cooperative play: children play together and are working toward a common goal (begins at 4+ years)

Question 24

how do grown ups interfere with play?

Answer 24

• teaching discourages children from discovery during play, reducing the time spent playing with a toy
• letting children play spontaneously and allowing them to lead the play allows them to learn better

Question 25

what important factors impact children’s choice of friendships the most?

Answer 25

1. similarity (age, acceptance by peers, personality, level of negative emotions, academic motivation)
2. proximity (same school, neighbourhood, extracurricular activies)

Question 26

at what age does gender preference in children’s friendships first emerge? at what age does it decrease?

Answer 26

• emerges at 3 years
• peaks at 13
• at age 13, time with different gender friends increases, especially for girls

Question 27

describe the developmental trajectory of friendships?

Answer 27

• 1-2 years old: show preference for some children over others (touch them more often, smile more at them)
• 2-3 years: develop more complex social behaviours (imitating behaviours, cooperative problem solving, turn taking), emergence of parallel play
• 3-5 years: kids have a concept of friendship, most have at least one friend, friendship is defined as playing together, friends have more conflict than non-friends though they are more likely to cooperate to resolve the conflict, emergence of preference for same-gender peers
• 6-8 years: define friendship on the basis of shared activities
• 9-12 years: definition of friendship expands to include trust, care, and help
• adolescence: friendship primarily defined by self-disclosure and intimacy, takes on central importance, more friends of different genders

Question 28

how do girls’ and boys’ friendships compare?

Answer 28

• girls desire more closeness and dependency in friendships, but this comes with more worrying and stress surrounding friendships
• both girls and boys show similar levels of conflict and stability in friendships

Question 29

what is sociometric status? how is it measured?

Answer 29

• degree to which children are liked vs disliked by peers
• measured by anonymous positive vs negative nominations by classmates
• classifies child into 5 status groups: popular, rejected, average, neglected, controversial

Question 30

according to their sociometric status, what are the traits common in those rated as “popular”? what percentage of children usually fall under this category?

Answer 30

• liked by many, disliked by few
• tend to be socially skilled, good emotion-regulation skills, assertive but not aggressive
• tend to be attractive, athletic, and have other popular friends
• 11% of kids

Question 31

according to their sociometric status, what are the traits common in those rated as “rejected”? what percentage of children usually fall under this category?

Answer 31

• liked by few peers, disliked by many
• tend to have fewer positive social skills
• 13% of kids
  two sub-categories:
  1. rejected-aggressive (40-50%): tend to show high levels of hostility, threatening behaviour, physical aggression, delinquency
  2. rejected-withdrawn (10-25%): tend to be socially withdrawn, timid, and socially anxious, frequently victimized and feel lonely, isolated, depressed

Question 32

according to their sociometric status, what are the traits common in those rated as “controversial”? what percentage of children usually fall under this category?

Answer 32

• liked by many but disliked by many
• characteristics of rejected-aggressive and popular kids
• aggressive, disruptive, prone to anger, compensate with many positive social skills like being sociable and funny
• 7%

Question 33

according to their sociometric status, what are the traits common in those rated as “neglected”? what percentage of children usually fall under this category?

Answer 33

• don’t receive many nominations (neutral/not noticed)
• less social and less disruptive than average children, but not at risk for negative outcomes
• prefer solitary activities, can be socially skilled in more structured activities
• 9%

Question 34

according to their sociometric status, what are the traits common in those rated as “average”? what percentage of children usually fall under this category?

Answer 34

• moderate number of likes and dislikes
• more social than rejected and neglected kids, but not as social as popular and controversial kids
• 60%

Question 35

how stable is sociometric status?

Answer 35

• in the short-term, neglected or controversial children are likely to change status, while popular, rejected, and average children tend to remain so
• in the long-term, sociometric status is more likely to change, although average and rejected statuses remain the most stable

Question 36

at what age do children begin to rely on friends more than parents for validation and support?

Answer 36

starting in adolescence

Question 37

why is gossip important?

Answer 37

allows children to learn about social norms and develop positive social skills

Question 38

what are the broad factors in childhood that predict greater attachment insecurity in adulthood?

Answer 38

• less supporting parenting/maternal sensitivity
• lower social competence and lower quality friendships

Question 39

what is delinquency training? when can it begin?

Answer 39

• negative peer pressure wherein peers model and reinforce aggression and deviance by making these behaviours seem normal and acceptable
• similar effect with alcohol and drug use
• can begin as early as 5 years old

Question 40

how can parents be instrumental in improving peer acceptance of children?

Answer 40

1. monitoring: parents decide whom children can interact with and how much time they spend doing certain activities
2. emotion coaching: parents teach kids how to effectively manage emotions to interact with peers and handle conflict
   - both tactics should remain at age-appropriate levels throughout child’s development

Question 41

what is PATHS?

Answer 41

• school intervention that aims to change how rejected children interact with peers and improve their social acceptance
• for kids age 4-11
• learn to identity emotional expressions, think about the causes and consequences of different ways of expressing emotions, and learning strategies for self-regulation
• shows improved emotion understanding and regulation, increased social problem solving, decreased externalizing behaviour (eg. aggression), and decreased depression