Social Development: Early Childhood

Question 1

What domains of development are rapid and clearly observable in early childhood?

Answer 1

Physical development: fine motor skills

Cognitive development: Acquisition of language

Psychosocial development: Increasing social interactions, the importance of play

Question 2

What is psychosocial development?

Answer 2

The development of the personality, and the acquisition of social attitudes skills, from infancy through maturity.

Question 3

In parenting styles, what are the two dimensions?

Answer 3

Acceptance-responsiveness
The extent to which parents are supportive, sensitive to their children’s needs, and willing to provide affection and praise when their children meet expectations.

Demandingness-Control
How much control over decisions lies with the parent rather than the child

Question 4

What is an authoritarian parent, the dimensional axis and what qualities?

Answer 4

They are high in demandingness-control and low in acceptance-responsiveness.

No praise, quick to correct behaviour rather than praise-loss of warmth and reception. Very strict and rely on power-tactics.

Question 5

What is an authoritative parent, the dimensional axis and qualities?

Answer 5

High in demandingness-control and high in acceptance-responsiveness.

Limits, boundaries, and expectations are clear to the child but are aware of their child’s needs, warmth, praise and affection. They set clear goals and provide a rationale for them.

Question 6

What is an uninvolved parent, what dimensional axis and what qualities?

Answer 6

Low in acceptance-responsiveness, low in demandingness-control.

More interested in other things and not with the child. May be overwhelmed by their own problems that they cannot devote sufficient energy to express love and setting, and enforcing, rules. May reject children.

Question 7

What is a permissive parent, what dimensional axis and what qualities?

Answer 7

Low in demandingness-control and high in acceptance-responsiveness.

They have a hard time following through and setting limits to the child’s behaviour. The child is in control rather than the parent. They give a lot of warmth, and affection, and consider the child’s needs, they are not completely detached.

Question 8

What are the outcomes of children with authoritative parents?

Answer 8

Cheerful, socially responsible, self-reliant, achievement orientated, and cooperative with adults and peers. Do better academically and have better psychosocial development.

Question 9

What are the outcomes of children with authoritarian parents?

Answer 9

Tend to be moody and seemingly unhappy, easily annoyed, relatively aimless, and unpleasant to be around. they are more anxious, withdraw and have lower self-esteem.

Question 10

What are the outcomes of children with permissive parents?

Answer 10

They are often impulsive, aggressive, self-centred, rebellious, aimless, and low in independence and achievement.

Question 11

What are the outcomes of children with uninvolved parents?

Answer 11

They display behavioural problems such as aggression and frequent temper tantrums as early as 3. They become hostile and antisocial adolescents who abuse substances and engage in rule-breaking behaviour.

Question 12

What are some factors that might influence parenting styles?

Answer 12

Intergenerational patterns.
Culture
Specific circumstances
Birth order
No. of Children
Changes and stresses in families
Temperament of child

Parenting styles are a spectrum rather than categories
Inconsistencies between parents can lead to confusion

Question 13

What are the two dimensions that are involved with sibling relationships?

Answer 13

Conflict and closeness manifested as:

Sibling rivalry - the spirit of competition, jealousy, and resentment between brothers and sisters

Siblings may be motivated to compete with each other for their parent’s time and resources

Sibling conflict is most often about possessions (e.g. toys, clothes, shared electronics)

Question 14

What are the important functions of sibling relationships?

Answer 14

They provide emotional support

Older siblings often provide caregiving services for younger siblings

Older siblings serve as teachers

Siblings provide a social experience

Question 15

What are the outcomes of children with no siblings? what does the research say?

Answer 15

They are usually stereotyped as self-centred and spoilt. Research suggests that they are higher in:
Self-esteem
Positive personality
Achievement motivation
Academic success

Question 16

A peer is a social equal, someone who functions at a similar level of behavioural complexity, often someone of similar levels. In early childhood, what developmental value do children learn from peer relationships?

Answer 16

They learn that relationships are reciprocal

They force children to hone their social perspective-taking skills

Peers contribute to social-cognitive and moral development in ways that parents cannot.

Question 17

How do relationships with peers change from toddlerhood to middle childhood?

Answer 17

In toddlerhood 10% of interaction is with peers, this grows to 30% in middle childhood.

Peers groups typically contain children of different levels of competence.

Gender segregation becomes increasingly stronger with age.

Question 18

Early childhood is a critical period of social development as it is the first time children come in contact with peers outside of family on a regular basis, what cognitive implications does this have?

Answer 18

A major advancement in language development

Major advances in perspective-taking abilities, and hence the capacity for cooperative play, prosocial behaviour (and antisocial behaviour) increases

Advances in problem-solving ability means improved capacity to tackle conflict

Question 19

Social skills and peer relationships facilitate the regulation of internal systems, what are the two systems that increase from these interactions?

Answer 19

Emotional regulation (linked to attachment and parent-child relationships)

Behaviour regulation (inhibitory control, control of aggressive impulses)

Question 20

Using sociometric techniques, what are the categories of social status that children are classified into?

Answer 20

Popular - well-liked by most are rarely disliked

Rejected - rarely liked and often disliked

Neglected - neither liked nor disliked (isolated children who seem to be invisible to their classmates)

Controversial - liked by many but also disliked by many (the fun-loving child with leadership skills who also bullies peers and starts fights)

Average - in the middle on both the liked and disliked scales.

Question 21

What personal characteristics of a child influence their level of popularity?

Answer 21

Physical attractiveness

Intelligence (emotional, social)

Social competence (successful use of social-cognitive skills in initiating social interactions, responding positively to peers, and resolving interpersonal conflicts smoothly)

Well-regulated emotions

Question 22

What characteristics do rejected children show?

Answer 22

High levels of aggression

Tendency to socially isolate, submissiveness, over-sensitivity to teasing, seen as “easy to push around”

Question 23

What characteristics do neglected children show?

Answer 23

They have reasonably good social skills

Nonaggressive

Tendency to be shy, withdrawn, and unassertive

Question 24

What characteristics do controversial children show?

Answer 24

Good social skills and leadership qualities, like popular children, but they are also viewed as aggressive bullies, like many rejected children.

Question 25

What characteristics does the average child exhibit?

Answer 25

They seem to show a bit of all characteristic’s of the other types of children.

Question 26

Good peer relational patterns can have long-term effects on social and psychological functioning, what are the trajectories of popular, rejected and controversial children?

Answer 26

Popular
More prosocial, higher quality friendships and better academic outcomes in school years.

Rejected
Exhibit more behavioural and self-regulation difficulties, poorer quality and less positive peer relationships, and poorer academic outcomes.

Controversial
Mixed trajectories- often admired and followed by peers, can cause social harm and elicit a mix of positive and negative reactions from teachers.