Social Personality in Middle Childhood Flashcards
What is the overarching theme of social and personality development
in middle childhood?
The development of self-perceived competence
What did Freud believe were the main challenge of middle childhood years?
To form emotional bonds with peers and to move beyond those developed with parents
What is the Industry vs Inferiority Stage?
The 4th Erikson psychosocial stage. Children develop a sense of their own competence through mastery of culturally defined tasks (reading/writing)
What are the Big Five?
Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness/intellect
What are the 4 personality types that emerge in Big Five research?
Average, reserved, self-centered, and role-model
What is reciprocal determinism?
Social-cognitive perspective by Bandura; Personal, behavioral and environmental factors interact with each other
What is self-efficacy?
Social-cognitive perspective: The child’s self-perceived competence/capability that sets a foundation for how they will manage functioning in whatever situation
What happens when a child lacks self efficacy?
Lack of motivation and accomplishment, lower self management, and being unable to handle relationships
What new components do children develop in middle childhood?
A Psychological self (an understanding of one’s internal traits and self-judgements of competence) and Valued Self
Children describe their own personalities with _____ _____ __ ________ across the middle childhood years
increasing degrees of precision
How does a child’s Psychological self change in middle childhood?
Becomes more complex, less tied to external features and more centered on feelings and ideas
How does a child in this stage build their self-worth?
Based on abstract/internal values instead of external values (I’m kind vs i can run very fast)
What are important factors in the development of self efficacy?
Peer models (primary), Encouragement from knowledgeable people that children respect, and a individual’s real life experiences
What is the best way to compliment a child in this stage?
Not unrealistic or based of external traits, but based on internal traits (interests, perseverance, etc.)
How does having a learning disability or further negative experience with reading impact children in this stage of development?
Impacts their self-efficacy and sense of competence, which leads to aggression, avoidance, and anxiety
What is Self-Esteem?
The global evaluation of one’s own self worth, more broad than self efficacy
What 2 things are needed to influence self-esteem?
Low perceived discrepancy between ideal and actual self
Social support
How to help grow a child’s self esteem?
Don’t compliment them only when they succeed/when they are the best. Let them know they can make mistakes and grow <3
How does spirituality relate to a child’s self concept?
While understudied, a strong sense of spirituality can shape a child’s preconceptions about the meaning of life, impacting mental health, their intuition and trust, values, and well-being (especially Indigenous children)
They need to be active learners about spirituality, and feel respected and trusted
What are some advances in social cognition that occur at this time?
Developing theory of mind, a broad understanding of others, and developing a sense of morality in their relationships
6-12 year olds’ description of other people become…
Less concrete and more abstract
What is Moral Reasoning?
The process of making judgments about the rightness or wrongness of specific acts
How does a child’s moral reasoning change at this stage?
Move past punishment reasoning/implications (this is wrong if I get caught) and Law and Order reasoning (I shouldn’t do this because it’s the law) to a post convictional sense of morality (Maybe the law isn’t always right, so I can do this?) by considering other factors
What are Piaget’s two stages of moral development?
Moral realism: Children believe rules are inflexible
Moral relativism: Children understand that many rules can be changed through social agreement
How to children’s social relationships change?
Growing ability to understand others and become more independent and their friendships become more stable, long-lasting, and a place of understanding. Now based on similar traits and values instead of proximity
How does a child’s relationship with their parents change at this stage?
Rising independence, but attachments are still important. Parents recognize growing capacity for self-regulation (how to listen, wait their turn, etc.) If not, children struggle with self-regulation which can impact their self-confidence
What parental variables contribute to the development of self-regulation in 6-12 year olds?
-Parents own self regulation
-Degree of self-regulation expected from child
-Authoritative parenting style
How does a lack of self-regulation impact friendships at this stage?
Leads to aggression/meltdowns, which isolate child from creating best friends, which is very important
