Dev. Psych. - Chp. 12

Gender Differences in Aggression

boys - physical & verbal
girls - relational

Child Sexual Abuse

typical abuser = known males
outcomes = anxiety/depression, social withdrawal, aggression, poor academic achievement, engaging in risky behavior, PTSD, altered emotional regulation

Competence

feeling that they can successfully master valuable skills
*supported via scaffolding

Coping Strategies

• problem-centered

  • situation is changeable

  • identify difficulty → decide what to do abt it

• emotion-centered

  • if problem-centered does not work

  • situation is unchangeable

  • internal & private control of distress

Erickson’s Stage

industry vs. inferiority

• industry

  • dev. sense of competence at useful skills & tasks

  • rooted in…

    • positive BUT realistic self-concept

    • pride in accomplishment

    • moral responsibility

    • cooperative participation w/ age mates

  • influences…

    • self-concept

    • self-esteem

    • readiness to face challenges

    • builds perseverance

• inferiority

  • rooted in…

    • pessimism

    • lack of confidence in own ability to do things well

Friendships

= reciprocal relationships characterized by trust, responsiveness to needs, & loyalty

Gender Typing

• achieve gender constancy (understanding of biological sex as a constant)

• expand stereotypes to include personality traits & academic/athletic abilities

• flexibility is growing

Gender Differences (Stereotypes vs. Reality)

1. stereotypes = continue to expand

2. reality = differences are much smaller

Identity

kid’s move away from simple self-descriptions to more complex, psychological, & social terms
*social comparison plays a big part

Learned Helplessness

= attributes failure to lack of ability, leading to loss of motivation & avoidance

• happens when success is contributed to “luck” & failure is contributed “internal inability”

• outcomes: decreased motivation, avoidance, neg. self-perceptions, reduced academic achievement

• teachers improve by attributing kid’s performance to their effort; learning goals > performance goals

Monitoring Styles

• reduced direct management (kids handle moment-to-moment decision-making)

• distance monitoring (communicate expectations while giving space)

• inductive discipline (explain consequences)

• support for autonomy

Parenting Styles

*vary in responsiveness & control

1. authoritarian = control, obedience, & forceful punishment > warmth

2. permissive = warm & indulgent (few expectations)

3. uninvolved = no support/warmth & direction

4. authoritative = inductive discipline (expectations & support)

Peers as Learning Tool

1. reciprocity is critical in friendships, moves away from one sidedness

2. fairness in cooperation → insist on rules & equality

Perspective Taking

peer interactions challenges egocentric tendencies & pushes kids to navigate diff. viewpoints

Sibling Roles

1. training ground for relationships

2. social support

3. conflict & rivalry

*age deepens these ideas

Self-Concept

= “who am I?”; shifts to trait-like psychological constructs

*differentiated & complex

Achievement motivation – internal and external attributions, growth vs fixed mindset,
learned-helplessness orientation

= willingness to persist at challenging tasks & meet high standards of accomplishment
*involves growth vs. fixed (learned helplessness) mindset

Influences on Achievement

• socioeconomic status plays a role

  • high SES can foster better than low SES

• supportive teachers who attribute failure to lack of effort foster better

Self-Esteem

• becomes more realistic & hierarchically structured

• influenced by self evaluations, comparisons, & personal importance of task

• child-rearing effects…

  • authoritative - build self-esteem

  • controlling - harms self-esteem

  • permissive - unrealistically high self-esteem

  • overpraise - related to narcissism

Bullying

= attempt to finalist physical, verbal, or social harm (peer victimization)

• rises in childhood & adolescence

Kids who Bully

• hostile & rejecting parents

• physical bullying → coercive physical discipline & permissive attitudes to aggression

• relationally aggressive → used to maintain prestige & have good social skills/status

• response to acculturative stress & perceived discrimination

• main characteristics: impulsivity, domineering beh., little anxiety/insecurity

Bully Victims

• inhibited, frail in appearance, & younger

• have difficulties managing emotions

• neg. effects explained by the dynamic interactions b/t risk factor, ind. factors, & severity

  • impedes dev. w/ education & emotions

Bullying Interventions

• w/ victimized kids…

  • dev. better social skills & peer relations

  • improve self-esteem

  • teach response that won’t reinforce bully

• w/ bullies…

  • teach how to manage emotions

• youth environments…

  • promote prosocial attitudes & behaviors **start here

Parent-Child Relationships

• build social skills

• securely attached kids correlate w/ parental support of autonomy

  • BEST: provide parental oversight w/ kid making decisions, give simple reminders

Siblings

• provide social support & safe space to practice social skills

  • older kids = mentor

• rivalry is an issue

Only Kids

well adjusted, high self-esteem, & high achievers

Same-Sex Parents

• typical emotional dev. & patterns of gender identity/role dev.

*poor adjustment comes from other factors than parent’s sexuality

Single-Parents

effect depends on context

Divorced Parents

• small & transient child adjustment effects

• reduce stress by low levels of parental conflict & positive interactions

• consequences affected by age, temperament, & sex of kid

  • older are more affected; boys & girls affect looks different

• parenting strategies

Cohabiting Parents

• kids dev. well w/ close relationships & stable unions

• socioeconomic status effect the dev.

• contextual factors influence

Social Hierarchy

1. popular - many pos. votes

2. rejected - many neg. votes (worst outcomes)

3. controversial - many pos. & neg.

4. neglected - seldom mentioned

5. average - avg. pos. & neg.