Week 10: Self Development and Social Learning

Question 1

When does emergence of self-awareness happen?

Answer 1

1-2 years. At around age 2, self-recognition is well under way that children can identify the self as a physically unique being ie. use of pronouns (eg. “me”, “my”)

Question 2

What are scale errors?

Answer 2

Toddlers still lack an objective understanding of their body dimensions, attempting to do things that their body size makes impossible ie. trying to put on a doll’s clothes

Question 3

When does the emergence of self-concept happen?

Answer 3

3-5 years

Question 4

What are the 3 types of self?

Answer 4

1. Categorical self
2. Remembered self
3. Enduring self

Question 5

What is categorical self?

Answer 5

Children classify themselves and others on the basis of perceptually distinct attributes and behaviours ie. age (“baby”, “boy”, “man”)

Question 6

What is remembered self?

Answer 6

Children’s autobiographical memory enables them to have a remembered self - a more coherent portrait of self narratives than the isolated, episodic memories

Question 7

What is enduring self?

Answer 7

Preschoolers develop an enduring sense of self - a view of themselves persisting over time, across contexts ie. recognising oneself from the videotapes

Question 8

What is self-concept?

Answer 8

The set of attributes, abilities, attitudes and values that an individual believes defines who he or she is

Question 9

What does self-concept consist of in early childhood? (3-5 years old)

Answer 9

Largely consist of observable characteristics, typical emotions, and attitudes ie. name, appearance etc

Question 10

What does self-concept consist of in middle childhood? (6-10 years old)

Answer 10

Organise their typical behaviours and internal states into general dispositions. More emphasis on competency and descriptions of positive and negative personality traits. Frequent social comparisons by judging their attributes in relation to others.

Question 11

What does self-concept consist of in adolescence? (11-17 years old)

Answer 11

Refer to a wide array of traits that vary across social contexts ie. self with parents, with peers. More abstract self-concepts. Heightened sensitivity to social approval and validation

Question 12

What are the 6 measures for children’s self-perception?

Answer 12

1. Global self-esteem
2. Scholastic competence
3. Athletic competence
4. Physical appearance
5. Social acceptance
6. Behavioural conduct

Question 13

What is “The Sally-Anne Task”?

Answer 13

Understanding a False Belief in others
1. Sally places her marble in basket
2. Sally exits
3. Anne transfers Sally’s marble to box
4. Where will Sally look for her marble?

Question 14

What is Theory of Mind? (ToM)

Answer 14

The social cognitive ability to see oneself and others in terms of mental states - the desires, beliefs, emotions and intentions

Question 15

What is the state of ToM at 3-5 years?

Answer 15

1. Able to recognise the inner self of private thoughts and beliefs
2. Able to engage in perspective taking - the capacity to imagine what others may be thinking or feeling
3. Desire ToM expands into a Belief-Desire ToM assessed in a false-belief task

Question 16

What is a desire-based ToM?

Answer 16

Children understand that people act according to their desires or preferences. At this stage, children can recognise that others may have desires that differ from their own, and they can predict behaviours based on these desires.

Question 17

What is belief-desire-based ToM?

Answer 17

At this stage, children understand that people’s actions are not only influenced by their desires but also by their beliefs about the world - even if those beliefs are false or incorrect

Question 18

What is the state of second-order false-belief tasks at 6-7 years old?

Answer 18

By age 6-7, children are aware that 1. people form beliefs about other people’s beliefs and that 2. these second-order beliefs can be wrong.

Question 19

What are the factors facilitating ToM development?

Answer 19

1. Language & Verbal reasoning
2. Executive functioning
3. Social interaction
4. Attachment security & maternal mind-mindedness
5. Make-believe play

Question 20

How does language and verbal reasoning affect ToM development?

Answer 20

When people engage in false-belief tasks, the left-prefrontal brain region becomes active. This part of the brain is involved in language. Also, specific verbs related to mental states (ie. “think”, “believe”) help children understand other people’s thoughts and beliefs.

Question 21

How does executive functioning affect ToM development?

Answer 21

Executive functioning affects the ability to inhibit inappropriate responses, think flexibly and plan. Developmental gains in inhibition predicts false-belief understanding.

Question 22

How does attachment security and maternal mind-mindedness affect ToM development?

Answer 22

Mothers of securely attached babies more frequently comment on babies’ mental states (desires, intentions, thoughts and emotions)

Question 23

How does social interaction affect ToM development?

Answer 23

Having older siblings or multiple siblings facilitate ToM-related training. Well-connected parent-child conversations facilitate ToM development.

Question 24

How does make-believe play affect ToM development?

Answer 24

Sociodramatic, make-believe play offers rich context for thinking about other’s minds. Fantasy role-plays or plays involving imaginary companions.

Question 25

What is self-esteem?

Answer 25

The judgements we make about our own self-worth and the feelings associated with those evaluative judgements. Shaped by feedback and evaluative information available to children and their cognitive abilities to process that information.

Question 26

What are the main factors of children’s self esteem?

Answer 26

1. Academic competence
2. Social competence
3. Athletic competence
4. Physical appearance

Question 27

How does global self esteem change over the first few years of elementary school?

Answer 27

It declines as children evaluate themselves in various domains.

Question 28

How does individual difference in self-esteem change with age?

Answer 28

It stabilises.

Question 29

How does self-esteem level change across lifetime?

Answer 29

Is high during childhood, decreases towards adolescence/early adulthood and steadily increases towards retirement age, before plunging to all time lows.

Question 30

How do Chinese and Japanese children compare to American children in terms of self esteem?

Answer 30

Scored lower, and the differences widened with age. Can be linked to intense competition and high achievement pressures in Asian societies, and cultural emphasis on humility and modesty.

Question 31

What is the Growth vs Fixed mindset of ability?

Answer 31

Beliefs about the fixedness and malleability of people’s intellectual ability -> Incremental theory of ability vs Entity theory of ability