Social Development

Question 1

Summarise the differentiation of self in child development

Answer 1

• by 2-4 months, infants display self awareness and sensitivity to the presence of others.
• a true sense of self awareness develops between 18-24 months.
• in primary school they develop increasingly complex schemas that include psychological attributes such as temperament and values
• adolescents; abstract, complex and integrated descriptions.

Question 2

What is theory of mind?

Answer 2

The attribution of mental states to others, explaining behaviour in ourselves and others. It’s used when empathising and deceiving.

Question 3

Explain how desires and beliefs develop

Answer 3

• by age 2, children talk about mental states.
• by age 3, behaviour equals desires and beliefs and understand that two people can have the same desire but might act in different ways.
• by age 4, they recognise that beliefs can be false.

Question 4

Explain group socialisation theory

Answer 4

Proposes that children learn from groups of peers rather than parents, critics suggest that a parents role is important in socialisation though.

Question 5

Define play and list the different types.

Answer 5

Play refers to activities of a non-serious nature, highly individual, pleasurable and may not be associated with reality. Benefits include exercising skills, driving cognitive development, important for problem solving, empathy, emotion regulation, creativity, theory of mind, self control and releasing energy. Types include physical, rough and tumble, play with objects, pretend and sociodramatic.

Question 6

Explain sociodramatic play

Answer 6

Occurs around 12 months and includes fine motor skills, cognition, theory of mind and emotion.

Question 7

List and explain Parten’s levels of play

Answer 7

• cooperative play: children share activity and goals and assume roles and responsibilities.
• associative play: children engage in common shared activity but do not assign tasks or roles, and have no clear common goals.
• parallel play: two or more children in close proximity engage with similar toys but without interaction or cooperation.
• onlooker play: watching but not playing
• unoccupied play: wandering, momentarily watching, not engaged
• solitary: plays alone with toys/objects with no apparent awareness of involvement with other children

Question 8

What are the peer status categories?

Answer 8

• popular
• controversial
• neglected
• average
• rejected

Question 9

List and explain Baumrind’s parenting styles.

Answer 9

• authoritative: firm but respectful. Children respond lively and happy, self confident, well developed emotional regulation, developed social skills. This works because there’s more cooperation, less limit testing, resolve problems on their own.
• authoritarian: firm but not respectful. Anxious, withdrawn and unhappy. Poor frustration tolerance, girls give up and boys become hostile. Do well in school and not likely to be part of gangs, drug abuse or vandalism.
• permissive: respectful but not firm. Poor emotion regulation, rebellious and defiant when desires are challenged. Low persistence to challenging tasks and antisocial behaviour.
• uninvolved: not firm and not respectful. Social and emotional maladjustment, poor self control, social alienation, immaturity and low self esteem, immaturity and low self esteem.

Question 10

List some cultural variations in parenting styles

Answer 10

• authoritarian is preferred in some cultures
• Confucian principles; can be associated with positive child outcomes.
• also high warmth = balance of authoritarian and authoritative