Chapter 10: Social and Personality Development in Preschool years

Psychosocial development

The approach to the study of development that encompasses changes in the understanding individuals have of their interactions with others, of others’ behavior, and of themselves as members of society.

Autonomy-versus-shame-and-doubt stage

Lasts from 18 months - 3 years

Children either become more independent or autonomous if their parents encourage exploration and freedom or they experience shame and self-doubt if they are restricted and overprotected

Initiative-versus-guilt stage

Lasts from around 3-6 years old

They are eager to do things on their own, but feel guilt if their efforts fail

Parents can encourage initiative by providing opportunities for self-reliance mixed with direction and guidance

Self-concept

A person’s identity or set of beliefs about what one likes as an individual

They are not inherently accurate

• Ex: preschoolers overestimate their skills and knowledge across all domains of expertise

Collectivistic orientation

A philosophy that promotes the notion of interdependence

People in such cultures tend to regard themselves as parts of a larger social network in which they are interconnected with and responsible to others

“The nail that stand out gets pounded down”

Individualistic orientation

A philosophy that emphasizes personal identity and the uniqueness of the individual

People tend to see themselves as self-contained and autonomous, in competition with others for scarce resources and are likely to focus on what makes them special

“The squeaky wheel gets the grease”

Race dissonance

The phenomenon in which minority children indicate preferences for majority values or people

Ways gender manifests in play

Boys engage in more rough-and-tumble play

Girls engage in more organized games and role-playing

Preferences for same-sex playmates begins during preschool years

Belief in gender stereotypes becomes increasingly pronounced up to age ___ and becomes somewhat less rigid by age ___

5, 7

Biological approach to gender development

Our ancestors who behaved in ways now considered stereotypically feminine or masculine may have been more successful in reproducing

Hormonal differences can affect gender-based behavior (androgens, etc.)

Identification

The process in which children attempt to be similar to their same-sex parent, incorporating the parent’s attitudes and values

Associated with Freud’s psychoanalytic explanation of gender acquisition

Social learning approach to gender differnences

Children observe others like themselves and attempt to mimic them, especially when the observee is rewarded for behaving in a gneder-appropriate manner

Television and media also plays a large role because of its depictions of men and women

Direct training sends a clear message on expected behavior

• ex: phrases like “little lady” or being “a man'“

Gender identity

A perception of oneself as male or female

Gender schema

A cognitive framework that organizes information relevant to gender

ex: some girls decide that wearing pants is inappropriate for a female

and apply the rule so rigidly that they refuse to wear anything but dresses

Associated with the cognitive approach to gender development

Cognitive developmental theory by Lawrence Kohlberg

Gender rigidity is in part a reflection of preschoolers’ understanding of gender

Gender constancy

The fact that people are permanently males or females, depending on fixed, unchangeable biological factors

Occurs around age 4 or 5

Doesn’t affect gender-related behavior

Functional play

Play that involves simple, repetitive activities typical of 3-year-olds for the sake of being active opposed to creating an end product

Ex: playing dolls or cars, skipping, jumping

Constructive play

Play in which children manipulate objects to produce or build something that is typical of children age 4

Ex: playing legos or making a puzzle

Parallel play

Play in which children play with similar toys in a similar manner, but do not interact with each other

Onlooker play

Play in which children simply watch others at play but do not actually participate themselves

Associative play

Play in which 2+ children interact by borrowing toys or materials, although they do not do the same thing

More common towards the end of the preschool years

Cooperative play

Play in which children genuinely interact with one another, taking turns, playing games, or devising contests

More common toward the end of the preschool years

Preschoolers understand the concept of _____ but not _____

Pretend, belief

Beliefs are manifested in a false belief test, in which they are tested on their understanding of someone else having a belief different from theirs

A child’s developing theory of mind promotes more engaged ____ and ____ and vice versa

Social interactions, make-believe play

Authoritarian parents

Parents who are controlling, punitive, rigid, and cold and whose word is law

They value strict, unquestioning obedience from their children and do not tolerate expressions of disagreement

Demanding and low responsiveness

Their children are not social and are uneasy around their peers

Permissive parents

Parents who provide lax and inconsistent feedback and require little of their children

Undemanding and highly responsive

Their children are dependent and moody with low social skills are self-control

Authoritative parents

Parents who are firm, setting clear boundaries and consistent limits, but try to reason with their children, explaining why they should behave in a certain way

High in responsiveness and high in demand

Their children are generally the best off

Uninvolved parents

Parents who show virtually no interest in their children, displaying indifferent, rejecting behavior

Low in responsiveness and undemanding

Their children feel unloved and emotionally detached

Moral development

The maturation of people’s sense of justice, of what is right and wrong, and their behavior in connection with such issues

Heteronomous morality

The earliest stage of morality in which rules are seen as invariant and unchangeable

Belief in imminent justice

Ages 4-7

Incipient cooperation morality

The 2nd stage of morality in which games become more social and everyone plays to the same set of unchangeable rules

Ages 7-10

Autonomous cooperation stage

The 3rd stage of morality in which children recognize that formal games rules can be modified if the people who play them agree

Age 10 and onward

Imminent justice

The notion that broken rules earn immediate punishment, even if no one sees the rule break

Children have been proven to understand intentionality by about age ___

3

Prosocial behavior

Helping behavior that benefits others

Piaget emphasizes how _____ lead to _____, social learning approaches focus more on how ______ produces _______

Limitations in preschoolers’ cognitive development, particular forms of moral reasoning

The environment in which preschoolers operate, prosocial behavior

Children learn moral behavior directly through _____ and indirectly through ____

Reinforcement, observing models who receive reinforcement

Abstract modeling

The process in which modeling paves the way for the development of more general rules and principles

Empathy

An emotional response that corresponds to the feelings of another person

An increase in empathy, as well as negative emotions like shame or righteous anger, leads to an increase in moral behavior

Aggression

Intentional injury or harm to another person