Unit 3: Personal and Social Development, Chapter 3: Self, social, and Moral Development

How physcial development affects perosnal and social development, Brofenbrenner's framework on social systems that influence development, Erikson's stages of psychosocial dveelopment, Kohlberg's stages of moral reasoning, and how teachers can deal with aggression and cheating the the classroom. (physical development, personal identity, moral development).

Describe the changes in physical development of children

During the preschool years, there is rapid development of children’s gross and fine motor skills.

• Physical development continues throughout the elementary school years, with girls often ahead of boys in size.

• With adolescence comes puberty and emotional struggles to cope with all the related changes.

How may one’s physical appearance in adolescence affect one’s psychological well-being? 

Physical development is public, as students move into adolescence, they feel as if they are “on stage” (evaluating them); physical development is part of what is being evaluated. There are psychological consequences to physical development  

1. issues with being overweight (obesity) and underweight (Eating disorder)

2. early and late maturation (pubery)

How does early maturation (i.e., puberty) often affect girls and boys socially and with respect to their experiences more generally? What kind of problems or negative experiences are related to this? 

1. Early maturity in males is associated with popularity 

   • Tend to engage in more delinquent behavior, appeear to be at greater risk for depression, victimization by bullies, eating disorders, early sexual activity, and abusing alcohol and cigarettes  

2. maturing way ahead of classmates can be a definite disadvantage for girls, it is not valued characteristic for girls  

   • Associated with emotional difficulties: depression, anxiety, and eating disorders  

   • Timing of maturation is not only factor affecting these outcomes; social influences are powerful too (place girls in friendship and dating contexts are not physically ready for) 

Bulimia

Binge eating followed by purging (usage of laxatives or forced to vomit), fasting, or excessive exercise (to avoid gaining weight).

• They maintain a normal weight, but their digestive systems can be permanently damaged  

Anorexia Nervosa

Self-starvation, while often exercising obsessively (very limited food in take) 

• Often depressed, insecure, moody, and lonely, girls may stop having their menstrual period  

• may appear pale, have brittle fingernails, and have fine dark hairs developing all over their bodies. They are easily chilled because they have so little fat to insulate their bodies.

Bronfenbrenner’s framework in social systems that influence development: Bioecological model

Students learn in collaboration with their teachers, company with their peers, and with encouragement of their families (these people are part of the student's context)

• Describing the nested social and cultural contexts that shape development. Every person develops within a microsystem, inside a mesosystem, embedded in an exosystem, all of which are a part of the macrosystem of the culture. 

• context:  The total setting or situation that surrounds and interacts with a person or event.

Blended family

Parents, children, and stepchildren merged into families through remarriages/new relationships  

Extended family

Parents, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins living in the same household or in close proximity so they can have regular contact with on another 

Why might a teacher choose to speak to children by mentioning their “family” rather than “your parents” given the realities of families today? 

Most appropriate expectation to have about students' families is no expectation at all, may have blended family, extended family, or gay parents, so then speaking with students avoid phrases as “your parents/your mother and father” (does reflect the reality of children's families/experiences) 

four parenting styles

based on parents interactions with children in terms of levels of warmth and control:(1) Authoritative parents, (2) Authoritarian parents, (3) Permissive parents, (4) Rejecting/neglecting parents

Authoritative parents

high in warmth but also exert firm control; set clear limits, enforce rules, and expect mature behavior (control), listen to concerns, give reasons for rules, and allow more democratic decision making (warmth). There is less strict punishment and more guidance. 

• children of authoritative parents are more likely to be happy with themselves and to relate well to others. They do well in school and maintain positive relationships with parents. 

Authoritarian parents

cold and controlling in interactions with children. children are expected to be mature and to do what the parent says (without explaination) not much talk about emotions. Punishments are strict, but not abusive

• children of authoritarian parents perform less well in school, are more hostile and less popular with peers, and have lower levels of self-control than children raised by authoritative parents 

Permissive parents

warm but have little control. They have few rules or consequences for their children and expect little in the way of mature behaviors 

• Children raised by permissive parents tend to be immature and demanding. Also, they tend to be more impulsive, rebellious, and aggressive than children raised by authoritative parents, and less socially competent and confident 

Rejecting/neglecting parents

low in warmth and control. little effort into parenting and, often, are more focused on their own needs than the needs of their children

• Often these parents have significant problems of their own that limit or inhibit their ability to meet the needs of their children 

• children of rejecting/neglecting parents fare worst of all. They tend to be insecure in their relationships, noncompliant, aggressive, and withdrawn 

• children are more likely to engage in risky and delinquent behavior, suffer disruptions in social and cognitive development, and perform poorly in school. 

Discuss how these styles may mainly reflect North American and “Western” values and how they might not map as well to other cultures or be associated with different outcomes in those cultures. 

Research on parenting styles is extensive and appeals to North American and Western European cultures 

• research findings about parenting styles are not universal. Outcomes for children raised by authoritarian parents have been found to differ across cultural and socioeconomic status, and across religious communities. 

attachment/attachment theory

emotional bond that forms between people, first attachment is between child and parents, the quality of this bond has implications for forming relationships throughout life  

• Secure, or insecure or disorganized attachments

Secure attachments

children who forms these with caregivers receive comfort when needed and are more confident to explore their world 

Insecure or disorganized attachments

can be fearful, sad, anxious, clinging, rejecting, or angry in interactions with the caregivers  

Familiarize yourself with some of the concepts about students’ peer relationships. 

1. Cliques: small friendship-based groups, typically include peers of the same sex and age who share common interests and engage in similar activities. 

   • Cliques serve young people’s emotional and security needs by providing a stable social context in which group members know each other well and form close friendships 

2. Crowds: less intimate, more loosely organized groups in which members may or may not interact with one another 

   • Students don’t necessarily join crowds; they are associated with or assigned to crowds by other students based on reputations and stereotypes 

3. Peer culture: Groups of children or adolescents with their own rules and norms, particularly about such things as dress, appearance, music, language, social values, and behavior. 

   • encourage conformity to the group rules.

4. Friendships: peer relationships influence students’ motivation and achievement in school 

   • The characteristics of friends and the quality of the friendships matter too. Having stable, supportive relationships with friends who are socially competent and mature enhances social development 

5. Popularity: popular (highly rated) children may behave in positive or negative ways

situations where the values and interests of parents clash with those of peers

Peers usually win in matters of style and socializing. Parents and teachers still are influential in matters of morality, career choice, and religion 

Relate strategies for maintaining an orderly classroom with parenting styles. 

appears that authoritative teaching strategies, like authoritative approaches to parenting, lead to positive relationships with students and enhance motivation for learning 

Academic caring

setting high but reasonable expectations and helping students to reach those goals 

Personal caring

being patient, respectful, humorous, willing to listen, and interested in students’ issues and personal problems.

How might students differ with respect to the caring they most look for or need from teachers? 

students who are at risk of experiencing academic, social, or behavioral difficulties and who often are alienated from school, personal caring is critical 

• saw teacher caring as a prerequisite for their own caring about school; in other words, they needed to be cared for before they could care about school 

5 kinds of abuse and maltreatment

1. Physical abuse (assault): application of unreasonable force by an adult or youth to any part of a child's body  

2. Sexual abuse: Involvement of child, by adult or youth, act of sexual gratification, or exposure of a child to sexual contact, activity, or behavior 

3. Neglect: Failure to provide the physical or psychological necessities of life to a child  

4. Emotional harm: Adult behavior that harms a child psychologically, emotionally, or spiritually  

5. Exposure to family violence: circumstances that allow a child to be aware of violence occurring between a caregiver and their partner or between other family members  

Erikson’s psychosocial theory

Emphasized the emergence of the self, the search for identity, the individual’s relationships with others, and the role of culture throughout life. 

• Each stage individual faces a developmental crisis- conflict between + alternative and an unhealthy alternative, way person resolves each crisis has lasting effect on persons self-image and view of society  

• (1) trusts versus mistrust, (2) autonomy versus shame and doubt, Preschool years; (3) Initiative versus guilt, (4) Industry versus inferiority, adolescence; (5) identity versus role confusion, (6) Intimacy versus isolation, Generativity versus stagnation, (8) Ego integrity versus despair

Limitations of Erikson’s psychosocial theory

(1) feminists have criticized his notion that identity precedes intimacy, because their research indicates that for women, identity achievement is fused with achieving intimacy, (2) recent research has focused on identity issues Erikson didn’t fully explore—ethnic and racial identity, (3) is based on independence and other western values

(1) Basic trust versus basic mistrust (birth-12/18 months, feeding)

infant must form loving trusting relationship with caregiver (sense of trust if needs are met), or develop sense of mistrust  

(2) Autonomy versus shame and doubt (18 months-3 years, toilet training)

The child’s energies are directed toward the development of physical skills, The child learns control but may develop shame and doubt if not handled well. 

• Children who experience too much doubt at this stage will lack confidence in their own abilities throughout life 

(3) Initiative versus guilt (3-6 years, independence)

child continues to become more assertive and to take more initiative but may be too forceful, which can lead to feelings of guilt. 

• The challenge of this period is to maintain a zest for activity and at the same time understand that not every impulse can be acted on. 

(4) Industry versus inferiority (6-12 years, school)

The child must deal with demands to learn new skills or risk a sense of inferiority, failure, or incompetence. 

• Children must master new skills and work toward new goals while being compared with others and risking failure. 

• schools tend to reflect middle-class values and norms, making the transition to school and meeting the challenge of industry versus inferiority may be especially difficult for children who differ economically or culturally 

(5) Identity versus role confusion (adolescence, peer relationships)

Teenager must achieve identity in occupation, gender roles, politics, and religion. 

• with developing minds and bodies, young adolescents must confront the central issue of constructing an identity that will provide a firm basis for adulthood 

• If adolescents fail to integrate all these aspects and choices, or if they feel unable to choose at all, they may experience role confusion. 

(6) Intimacy versus isolation (Young adulthood, love relationships)

Young adult must develop intimate relationships or suffer feelings of isolation. 

• Someone who has not achieved a sufficiently strong sense of identity tends to fear being overwhelmed or swallowed up by another person and may retreat into isolation 

(7) Generativity versus stagnation (Middle adulthood, parenting/mentoring)

Each adult must find some way to satisfy and support the next generation 

• extends the ability to care for another person and involves concern and guidance for both the next generation and future generations.  

• Productivity and creativity are essential features. 

(8) Ego integrity versus despair (Late adulthood, reflection on and acceptance of ones life)

culmination is a sense of acceptance of oneself as one is and a sense of fulfillment. 

What does Erikson believe about a well-developed identity (i.e., “healthy” self-concept), given his opposing characterizations for each stage? Might this be culturally dependent? 

He believes to grow up and become independent this is very culturally dependent as other culture have a independency ingrained in their culture/norms

Relate the parenting styles from earlier in the chapter to stages 3 and 4 in Erikson’s theory. 

Stage 3 (initiative vs. Guilt): characterized by a child's increasing ability to plan and lead activities  

• Authoritative parenting: authoritative parenting supports a child's developing sense of purpose by encouraging exploration 

• Authoritarian parenting: foster guilt by overly restricting or punishing their attempts at new things. When parents are too restrictive or dismissive of a child's ideas, the child may feel ashamed and become afraid to try new things 

• Permissive parenting: lead to entitlement without guiding the development of self-control.  lack of guidance can prevent the child from developing a strong sense of initiative, as they may lack the self-discipline to follow through on their ideas.   

Stage 4 (Industry vs. Inferiority): Children focus on learning new skills and cooperating with peers  

• Authoritative parenting: guidance fosters competence 

• Authoritarian parenting: A harsh or overly critical environment can lead to feelings of inadequacy and a sense of being unable to meet expectations. Children may doubt their abilities and feel inferior to their peers 

• Permissive parenting: lack of structure and expectations can leave children unprepared for the challenges of learning. They may struggle with self-discipline and a sense of achievement, potentially leading to a lack of persistence when faced with difficult tasks 

How might authoritarian and permissive parents affect a child’s identity development differently? 

Authoritarian parenting can lead to low self-esteem, difficulty expressing emotions, and a tendency to be overly aggressive or shy, while permissive parenting often results in poor emotional control, impulsivity, and selfishness due to a lack of discipline and boundaries. These different approaches to parental demands and responsiveness shape children's developing sense of self, with authoritarian styles stifling independence and permissive styles undermining self-discipline and emotional maturity.   

James Marcia’s theory about identity formation in adolescence

Adolescents try out different alternatives (Exploration) to try out the ones that give the most satisfaction to commit to (Commitment)

1. Identity achievement: Strong sense of commitment to life choices after free con sideration of alternatives  

2. Moratorium: Identity crisis; suspension of choices because of struggle 

3. Foreclosure: Acceptance of parental life choices without consideration of options  

4. Diffusion: Uncentredness; confusion about who one is and what one wants  

What is Sherry Turkle’s concern about “tethered children”? How might this affect identity formation? Consider Erikson’s stages 3 and 4. 

That parents give a cell phone to their children with requirement that kid always answers a call from the parent, this child is now a “tethered child”, able to spend time away from parents like never before, yet never be alone

• Technology, particularly social media, affects adolescent identity stages 3 (identity vs. role confusion) and 4 (identity vs. diffusion) by offering spaces for self-exploration through curated profiles and community building, but also risks fostering performative identity, social comparison, and exposure to harassment and data exploitation, which can hinder authentic self-development and well-being.   

4 outcomes for ethnic minority youth in their search for identity

(1)They can try assimilation, fully adopt the values and behaviors of the majority culture and rejecting their ethnic culture. At the opposite end, they can be (2) separated, associating only with members of their ethnic culture. A third possibility is (3) marginality, living in the majority culture, but feeling alienated and uncomfortable in it and disconnected from the minority culture as well. (4) The final alternative is biculturalism (sometimes called integration), maintaining ties to both cultures. And there are at least three ways to be bicultural. 

Self concept

Refers to individuals’ knowledge and beliefs about themselves—their ideas, feelings, attitudes, and expectations 

• But this model or scheme is not permanent, unified, or unchanging. evolves through constant self-evaluation in different situations 

• Our perceptions of ourselves vary from situation to situation and from one phase of our lives to another. 

Academic self-concept

how quickly they learn or how well they do in school in general,  

• For academic subjects, self-concepts include both perceptions of competence (I am good in science) and affect or attitudes (I like science) 

Self-esteem

The value each of us places on our own characteristics, abilities, and behaviors.

Moral reasoning

The thinking process involved in judgments about questions of right and wrong  

Kohlberg’s moral reasoning

Along with a more advanced theory of mind and an understanding of intention (perspective-taking ability), children also develop a sense of right and wrong (moral reasoning) 

• Kohlberg evaluated moral reasoning by presenting them with moral dilemmas (situations in which people must make difficult decisions and justify them) 

• Based on the perosns reasoning, Kohlberg proposed sequence if stages of moral reasoning, or judgments about right and wrong: (1) Preconventional, (2) conventional, (3) postconventional, each is further divided into two stages  

• Moral reasoning is related to both cognitive and emotional development  

Criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory

(1) Stages are not as separate; people can be influenced/reasonings that reflect more stages, (2) Stages are biased in favor of western male values that emphasize individualism, (3) mix up moral judgments with decisions about social conventions and also overlook personal choice  

Preconventional

Where judgment is based solely on a person's own needs and perceptions  

• Stage 1: Obedience Orientation: Obey rules to avoid punishments and bad consequences  

• Stage 2: Rewards/Exchange Orientation: right and wrong are determined by personal needs and want  

Conventional

Where the expectations of society and law are taken into account 

• Stage 3: Being Nice/Relationships Orientation: Being good means being nice and pleasing others  

• Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation: Laws and authorities must be obeyed; the social system must be maintained  

Post-conventional (principled) level:

Where judgments are based on abstract, more personal principles of justice that are not necessarily defined by society laws  

• Stage 5: Social Contract Orientation: The moral choice is determined by socially agreed upon standards  

• Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles Orientation: Universal principles of human dignity and social justice that individuals should uphold, no matter what the law or other people say  

meta-analysis of moral reasoning (a specialized review of many studies) determine about how men and women¹ use the principles of care and justice when reasoning about morality? When do they tend to use each principle?

Carol Gilligan: found that men and women use care to reason about interpersonal dilemmas and justice to reason about societal dilemmas (moral reasoning is influenced by context and content of dilemma than by gender of the reasoner) 

How are modelling and internalizing important for moral behavior? 

Three imp influences on moral behavior are modelling, internalization, and self-concept 

• Children exposed to caring, generous adult models tend to be concerned for rights and feelings of others  

• In time children internalize moral rules and principles of authority figures who have guided them; children adopt the external standard of their own  

• Finally, integrate moral beliefs and values into our total sense of who we are, our self-concept  

Types of aggression

1. Instrumental aggression: intended to gain an object or privilege, intent to get what you want, not to hurt another child, yet it may happen anyways 

2. Hostile aggression: inflicted intentional harm, can take form in overt aggression (threats or physical attacks), or relational aggression (threatening or damaging social relationships) 

3. Cyber aggression: using social media to terrorize others  

Why should aggressive behavior in childhood be directly addressed? 

Aggressive students tend to believe that violence will be rewarded, and use aggression to get what they want; and seeing violent acts go unpunished affirms and encourages these beliefs (and have not outgrown/learned from early years (home life) and at risk to continue violent/aggression in later life) 

• as well as some children have issues reading the intention of others (thinking all students/others have violent/intentional acts towards them) leading to retaliation (cycle of aggression) 

• Helping children handle aggression can make a lasting difference in their lives  

What relationships exist between physically aggressive behavior in early life and later problems in adolescence and adulthood?

at high risk to continue the cycle of aggression in later life. 

• Modeling plays imp role in expression of aggression, strong associations between family membership and family functioning and aggressive behavior; more likely to use aggression to solve own problems (media entertainment (real/news, and fiction) is source of aggressive models) 

Discuss cheating and the factors that relate to it.

Both individual differences (males, lower-achieving students, focused on performance goals/grades, low sense of academic self-efficacy) and situational factors (course emphases competition, teacher as not seen as credible source of info, cramming info, think teacher doesn't care about them) plays a role

According to Murdock and Anderman (2006), what three factors affect the likelihood of cheating? What are some strategies teachers can use to encourage honest effort instead of cheating? 

1. What is my goal, what can the teacher do: Communicate that the point of the class is to learn—everyone can get better. 

2. Can I do it, what can the teacher do: Build students’ confidence by helping them take small but successful steps. Point out students’ past accomplishments. 

3. What are the costs, what can the teacher do: Make mistakes an opportunity to learn. Take the pressure out of assignments with the chance to revise. Monitor to prevent cheating and follow through with reasonable penalties. 

Discuss how teachers can deal with aggression and cheating in the classroom. 

Help with aggression: Teachers can teach students conflict managements strategies (can divert from life path of aggression and violence), and help aggression students (mostly boys) have issues seeing intentions/social cues; engaging in role-play, participating in group discussions of personal experiences, interpreting social cues from photographs, playing pantomime games, making videos, and writing endings to unfinished stories 

• Relational aggression: early as preschool, children need to learn how to negotiate social relations without resorting to any kind of aggression  

Help with cheating: try not to put students in high-pressure situations, be credible and trustworthy source of info, focus on learning, encourage collaboration, and open book tests/assignments, prepare them for tests, have extra help, be clear about policies  

Discuss Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development and the implications of his theory for teaching. 

In teaching, understanding these stages means recognizing that students' developmental crises influence their social-emotional needs and academic performance.

• Teachers can support students by providing environments that foster a sense of competence and security, allowing them to resolve their stage-specific conflicts and develop the psychological strengths needed to learn and interact with other