Week 7 - Psychosocial development (2-5yrs) early childhood

Question 1

How does cognitive, physical and psychosocial development influence each other?

Answer 1

cognitive: acquisition of language

psychosocial: increasing social interaction (importance of connecting through play. Children have conversations through play, what they experience and what they see, to cognitively process and experiment with other kids the same age.

Physical development: ability to join in with others and socialise. Learning how to talk

Question 2

Describe parenting styles, in relation to Baumrind, and Maccoby & Martin.

Answer 2

Baumrind: (2) dimensions:
A ~ Acceptance-responsiveness = extent to which parents are supportive, sensitive to child’s needs, provides warmth, affection & praise when child meets expectation. Physical/ verbal affection

B ~ Demandingness-control = how much control over decisions lies with the parents rather than with the child. Expectations on child, boundaries and limits set. How much power does the child have vs the parent?

(4) Patterns of parenting:
A) Authoritarian = high in demandingness-control, low in responsiveness
B) Authoritative = good balance of both dimensions
C) Uninvolved = detached an disinterested.
D) Permissive = low demandingness-control, high in acceptance-responsiveness

Question 3

What are the outcomes of each parenting style?

Answer 3

Authoritarian = attachment issues, particularly with care-seeking. Struggles with vulnerability. Perfectionism, achievement pressure. Low self-worth/ sense of self.

Authoritative = accountability, resilience, better problem solvers, better social, independent, positive sense of self. Children better socially.

Permissive = not as mature. Might push against authority at school. Attachment issues

Uninvolved = no quality attachment. Poor social-emotional development and self-control.

Question 4

What might influence parenting style?

Answer 4

~ intergenerational patterns
~ culture
~ education of parent
~ stressors
~ temperament of child - parent-child match.

Question 5

What important role do siblings play in child’s development?

Answer 5

~ siblings provide emotional support (peer and family)
~ caregiving services
~ older siblings are teachers
~ siblings provide social experience

Question 6

What important role does relationships with peers have in childhood development?

Answer 6

~ socially equal
~ close in developmental age
~ helps children learn that relationships are reciprocal - i have an impact on others
~ peers force children to hone their social perspective-taking skills
~ contribute to social-cognitive & moral development in ways that parents cannot.
~ platform for playing out different social experiences on a social equal way - similar developmental level, better platform for experimenting with social/ moral dilemmas

Question 7

Do peers matter in early childhood?

Answer 7

Early childhood now recognised as critical period of social development.

~ The first time children come in contact with peers outside of the family on a regular basis.

~ Contact with peers comes simultaneously with cognitive development including:
- major advances in language development
- advances in perspective-taking abilities (capacity for cooperative play), prosocial behaviour (and antisocial) increases
~ advances in problem-solving ability - improved capacity to tackle conflict.

Children also develop skills in:
~ emotion regulation (linked to attachment, & parent-child relationship)
~ behaviour regulation - inhibitory control, control of aggressive impulses, to stay socially accepted.
~ emotion regulation impacts peer relations. Might not want to play with a kid who gets angry or throws tantrum