Chapter 5: the age 5-7 shift

define the “age 5-7 shift”

children experience cognitive and social changes that result in a newfound sense of maturity and rationality

true or false: before the age of 8, children have low levels of self-esteem

false: it is uniformly high

when does self-esteem start to go down?

second or third grade

true or false: the age 5-7 shift happens exclusively between 5 and 7

false: it can start earlier and it can continue on

what causes the 5 to 7 shift? (4)

• biological changes

• maturational changes

• social conventions

• schooling

why does the the 5 to 7 shift happens at that age?

because our parents and teachers expect us to develop goals, plans and structures + society expects us to incorporate values

how can you become an agent?

you need to take ownership of your experience and organize your behaviour for your future goals

true or false: actors have secrets that no observer can see

true

what does the actor want to accomplish according to Freud?

to accomplish the role they are trying to play

true or false: we believe that we have no agency

false: we believe we are some degree of agency

when do we feel like our agency is slipping away?

when we feel like our lives are controlled by powerful external sources

define “self-efficacy”

person’s belief that they can execute goal-direct behaviour in a successful manner, especially under challenging or stressful situations

true or false: you need to know someone as a motivated agent to predict what they will do as a social actor

false: if their reputation is to be rainbows, then their will probably act that way

according to Freud, what were the forces that controlled our behaviour? (2)

• external world: societal norms, laws, physical constraints

• unconsciousness: id, superego, ego

true or false: traits have a direct link to human agency

false: if you are an extrovert, you will be no matter what your goals are OR you’re not high in neuroticism because you want to

explain “intentionality”

• at 9 month old, a child can understand your intention

• ex: the child might be more angry if you refuse to give them their toy than if you can’t give it

explain joint attention

• at 9 month old, the child can coordinate their intentions with those of another agent

• ex: following your finger to look at where you’re pointing or pointing themselves at an object

true or false: we become agents the second we are born

false: it’s a processes that is gradual over years

when do kids develop attribution intentionality and what does it mean?

• 2 year old

• they attribute intention according to the behaviour they see

at what age do kids develop theory of mind

3 or 4 year old

define “theory of mind”

assuming to people do things out of

• desire: because they want to

• belief: because it’s what they believe to be true

explain the false-belief task used to test the theory of mind on kids

• story: Sally goes outside, but puts her toy in the cupboard before leaving. when she’s outside, Andrew moves the toy in the drawers. once she’s back inside, she searches for the toy

• where will Sally search first?

• a 3 years old will say in the drawers

• they aren’t taking Sally’s mind in consideration

• they know that Andrew move the toy, but they don’t remember that Sally doesn’t

how could kids develop theory of mind more quick? (4)

• have high effortful control and executive function

• have parents who engage them in conversation with reference to mental and emotional states

• have siblings and having tried to figure out their mind

• read a lot of storybooks and tried to learn about the characters’ minds

at what age do we truly understand that humans are intentional, purposeful and goal-directed agents?

5-6 years old

define “virtuosity”

habit of acting in the right way according to reason, balancing between excess and deficiency

how can you express virtue according to Aristotle?

by contributing to the common good

how can you express a virtuous character?

by engaging in rational and deliberative choice and then act upon that choice

• ex: courageous temperament ≠ courage

  • courageous temperament will make you, the social actor, behave boldly with confidence

  • courage will appear when you, the motivated agent, rationally think about all the actions and then make a choice

at what age does kids know that mindful agents must proceed in a deliberative and rational manner to achieve their goals?

5 years old

at what age do kids develop the superego?

5 years old

according to Piaget, when kids start to use concrete operations in their daily thinking?

at 7 year old

what does Piaget mean when he said that we can think with concrete operations?

that we can understand the deep logic of the material world: nature follows law, things remain the same underneath the surface

what happens once kids understand that there are laws and logic that govern the material world?

they will understand that society works the same way: before, they didn’t understand why we had rules and conventions

according to Kohlberg, what’s are the differences between preconventional and conventional stages of moral reasoning?

preconventional:

• younger kids (sometimes adults)

• determine what’s good or bad based on the consequences of the action on themselves

• (moral reasoning is self-centred)

conventional:

• older kids

• consider standards and conventions to determine what a moral person should do

• understands why there are rules

explain Kohlberg’s preconventional stage of moral reasoning

• younger kids

• determine what’s good or bad based on the consequence of the actions on themselves

• (moral reasoning is self-centered)

explain Kohlberg’s conventional stage of moral reasoning

• older kids

• consider interpersonal and societal standards to determine what a moral person would do

• understands why there are rules (or else it would be chaos)

what causes different perspective according 5 year old kids and 7-8 year old kids?

• 5: because we get different informations

• 7-8: we get the same information, but can still see the world differently

what are some core features of schooling that can be observed around the world? (2)

• leaving home: social world expansion (teachers, friends)

• how to do well academically (learning, solve problems) and how to be good

true or false: once they developed operational skills, kids can start comparing themselves to others on many dimensions and qualities

true

define Erikson’s “industry”

working hard to master academic and interpersonal tasks

define Erikson’s “inferiority”

falling behind, finishing low in the standings

according to Erikson, what does school allow kids to do?

to use tools and assume the roles that society deems as central in order to become a productive member

what happens when kids become more self-conscious and playful?

they become motivated agents (second layer of personality)

true or false: for motivated agent, personality is more about traits than goals and values

false: it’s the opposite

what are the social goals strived by older kids and preadolescents? (2)

• affiliation: being liked and feeling close to other peers

• power: social dominance

→ linked with evolutionary challenge

define “power goals”

social dominance

define “affiliation goals”

being liked and feeling close to other peers

at what age do we distinguish between affiliation and power goals?

8-9

even though both goals still remain important, starting grade school, girls care more about [affiliation/power] goals while boys care about [affiliation/power] goals

• girls = affiliation

• boys = power

what are the goals into which affiliation and power goals break into? (3)

• social development: improving relationships and social skills

• demonstration-approach: attaining status and getting positive feedbacks from others

• demonstration-avoid: avoiding negative judgement from others

define “social development goals”

improving relationships and social skills

define “demonstration-approach goals”

attaining status and getting positive feedback from others

define “demonstration-avoid goals”

avoiding negative judgments from others

popularity was [positively/negatively] correlated with demonstration-approach goals and [positively/negatively] correlated with demonstration-avoid goals

• positive with demonstration-approach

• negative with demonstration-avoid

aggression was positively correlated with demonstration-[approach/avoid]

approach

define “self-esteem”

overall evaluation, from highly positive to highly negative, that you make of yourself

true or false: self-esteem is an overall of you

false: it can be domain-specific (ex: high in sports, low in academics)

how can self-esteem change in third grade? (3)

• some keep high levels

• other drops to low levels

• some keep the same level ish

explain how William James believed that self-esteem was related to human agency

• self-esteem = success ÷ pretensions

• pretensions are goals, values, what we want to achieve

• if you don’t have pretension (no goals), then you don’t have self-esteem (x ÷ 0 = 0)

• agency = having a goal for your future

• no pretension → no agency

associate the developmental emergence to the age

• 0

• 1 (x2)

• 2

• 3-4

• 5-7

• 7-8

• 8-9

• intentionality

• agency projection

• goal directedness

• schooling and socialization

• self-esteem

• concrete operations

• joint attention

• theory of mind

age	developmental emergence	explanation
0	goal directedness	responding to stimuli with a goal in mind (ex: turning your head to reach food)
1	intentionality	understand what people are trying to do, imitate intentional behaviours of others
1	joint attention	look back at caregiver to make sure that they are also giving attention to the same object
2	agency projection	attribute intentionality to other people and object
3-4	theory of mind	understand that people are motivated agents (we all have our own desires and beliefs)
5-7	schooling and socialization	going to school to get training in social and technical practices
7-8	concrete operations	understanding that since the world is rational and logical, then it can also be applied to humans
8-9	self-esteem	kids evalue themselves on how well they are doing according to their goals and acceptance of others

as a motivated agent, how can you know how well you are doing? (2)

• by seeing your progress (how far am i from my goal)

• by comparing yourself to others

[boys/girls] have lower self-esteem

girls

true or false: parenting style seems to predict self-esteem

true

what are high self-esteem and low self-esteem associated with?

• high: initiative, enjoyment of success when goal is attained

• low: fear of failure, internal conflict

true or false: success on challenging tasks boost self-esteem

true

define “narcissism”

excessive self-love + being self-centered, arrogant with a lack of care for other beings

what are the features of narcissism? (2)

• grandiosity: self-importance

• sense of entitlement: belief that others will see the narcissist the same way they see themselves

define “grandiosity”

self-importance: the narcissist believe that they are more important than anybody else

define “sense of entitlement”

the narcissist believes that others will see them the same way they see themselves

why do narcissists have an excessively high self-esteem?

it would be a cover up for underlying unconscious deficit in self-worth

what could be the causes of narcissism? (2)

• parents’ failure to build a secure sense of self

• insatiable need to feel esteemed

→ social problems

true or false: narcissists suffered from a lack of affirmation

false: not always

how can narcissists gather positive attention? (2)

• high levels of extraversion

• being physically attractive

what are the social costs of narcissism?

being rejected by others

what can we learn about narcissism based on Steve Jobs? (3)

• trying to enhance your own self-esteem can turn into narcissism

• narcissism cannot be fully understood with layer 1 (actor), we need layer 2 (agent)

• agency is good, but it needs to be kept in check (control your goals)

explain Keith Campbell’s agency model of narcissism

narcissism results from a motivational emphasis on pursuing goals of power, perfection which can lead to exclusion of communal concerns