2015 fr final

function of emotions

• help people adapt to their environments

• fear leads to avoiding anger

• happiness strengthens relationships

• disgust keeps people away from things that make them ill

basic emotions

Consists of universal subjective feeling (E.g: sadness disgust)

• from birth to 9 months

self concious/Complex emotions

• emotions such as pride, guilt, embarrassment

• appear later 18-24 months

social smiles

appears in infants at 2-3 months
Seems to express an infants happiness at interacting

stranger wariness

appears around 6 months

healthy sign of attachement

Experiencing and expressing emotions

By age 9 children experience relief and regret appropriately

• cultures differ in:

  • events that trigger emotions

  • extent in which emotional expression is encouraged (e. Emotional restraint valued in Asian societies)

Recognizing and utilizing emotions

• by 4-6 months, infants can identity facial expressions

• During elementary school children understand people have mixed feelings and learn display rules /social norms

Social referencing

In unfamiliar or ambiguous environments infants rely on caregivers for cues for interpretation

Regulating emotions

• begins in infancy, improves with age using mental strategies and being less reliant on others

• Children who don’t do as well tend to have problems interacting with peers and have adjustment problems

Temperament

behavioural styles that are fairly stable across situations and biologically based

• Thomas and chess 3 patterns:

1. Easy 2. Difficult 3.Slow to warm up

9 dimensions (all rituals allow any inhumane methods. die professor, slowly.)

1. activity level

• childs general movement

2. regularity/rythmicity

• predictability of biological functions

3. approach/withdraw

• lnitial reaction to new people or situations

4. adaptability

• ease or difficulty in adjusting to changes in routine/enviornment

5. intensity

• energy level of emotional response

6. mood

• general disposition (positive or negative)

7. distractability

• how easily a childs attention is diverted by external stimuli

8. persistence

• the ability to stay on task despite difficulty or interruption

9. sensory threshold

• the level of sensory stimulation needed to provoke response

Temperament: environmental contributions

• heredity influence: identical twins are more alike in aspects of temperament than fraternal twins

• Impact of heredity depends on temperamental dimensions

Temperament in development

• aspects of temperament are related to school success, peer interactions, compliance

• children who resist control are less likely to have behavior problems

• Children with positive temperaments are less affected by stressors

Attachement

• Relies upon infants growing perceptual and cognitive skills

• By 7 months infants in western societies have identified a single attachment figure

  • children usually attach to mothers first then fathers (Prefers to play with fathers but prefer mother for comfort however these differences have come smaller)

Attachment: indigenous societies

• traditionally, fathers were considered pregnant alongside the mother

• Father involvement challenges due to colonialism

Quality of Attachment - SST

ainsworth strange situation task - Baby is put through a series of situations :
parent present/absent
Stranger present/absent
In each situation baby's reactions are measured to test the quality of attachment

Quality of Attachment Structure

• secure:

  • may be upset when parent leaves but stops crying upon return

    • most common form and to positive social relationships due to trust establishment

• Insecure/avoidant:

  • not upset when parent leaves

  • ignores parent on return

• Insecure/resistant:

  • upset when parent leaves

  • angry and inconsolable on return

• Insecure/disorganised:

  • confused when parent leaves

Consistent Internal Working Model

• predictable, responsive parenting is necessary for secure attachement

• Secure adults are more likely to provide better caregiving and have securely attached infants

Quality of Attachment cont

• self awareness is an important factor in intergenerational attachment
• Training can help mothers respond more effectively
• Childcare does not necessarily affect the quality of attachment

Origins of self recognition

• by 15 months infants show self recognition through mirror tasks (touching own nose)

• At 18-24 months children look at photos of self more than others and refer to themselves

• Self concept comes from self awareness

evolving self concept

• preschoolers: concrete characteristics

• schoolage: social groups, comparison to others

• adolescents: attitudes, personality, personal beliefs

Search for identity

• adolescents use hypothetical reasoning to experiment with selves

• adolescent is characterized by:
  self absorption, imaginary audience, personality fable, ego centrism

stages of identity (DFMA):

• diffusion: state of aimelessness

• foreclosure: commitment to an idenity

• moratorium: active exploration

• achievement: making choice and commitment to identity

Search for identity: ethnic groups

• achieving an identity may be challenging for adolescents belonging to an ethnic minority group
• many maintain strong ties to both ethnic and mainstream culture others find identifying with mainstream weakens ethnic ties and creates conflict with parents
• Strong ethnic identity benefits self esteem and relationships
• Nature of ethnic identity changes of generations of assimilations

Developmental change in self esteem

• differentiated view of themselves by elementary school

• Four areas of self esteem emerge in elementary school years while others are added in adolescence:

1. Scholastic competence

2. Athletic competence

3. Social

4. Physical appearance

• Self esteem in some domains contributes more than others to overall sense of worth

self esteem changes throughout development

• self esteem is highest in preschoolers

• Social comparisons lead to drop in self esteem in the beginning of elementary school

  • Self esteem usually stabilizes by the end of elementary school but sometimes drops during the move to high school

Self esteem cultural variations

Self worth varies with diff ethnic background Individuals e.g Asian cultures are more likely to emphasize modesty, admit weakness, and avoid social comparisons

Sources of self esteem

• praise should focus on effort rather than ability

  • When faced with setback:

    • Children praised for effort will work harder

    • Children praised for their ability will not try as hard

low self esteem: consequences

• children with low self esteem are more likely to:

  • Have problems with peers

  • Have psychological disorders

  • Be bullies

  • Do poorly in school

low self esteem causes

• combo fo future harmul outcomes and consequence of past difficulties
• inflated self worth can lead to aggression/bullying

Describing others

• children begin with a focus on concrete characteristics

• adolescentes are more abstract and emphasize psychological traits

  • until age 10 children demonstrate bias for seeing positive traits

Understanding what others think

• perspective taking increases with age and depend on cognitive development

  • also linked to theory of mind

• children with good perspective taking skills get along better with peers

Selmans Stages Of Perspective Taking (USSTS)

• undifferentiated (3-6)

  • aware that self and others can have different thoughts but can confuse the 2

• social informational (4-9)

  • aware that perspectives differ b/c of peoples different access to info

• self reflective (7-12)

  • children can display empathy and know others can too

• third person (10-15)

  • can understand a third perspective view of themselves and others

• societal (14 to adult)

  • understand that a third persons perspective is influenced by many contexts

prejudice

negative view of others based on group membership

• increases in adolescents due to internalization of society and increased preference of own group

• making children work together toward a common goal reduces it

reducing prejudice

• ensuring equality for all
• encouraging friendly contact
• engaging children in role playing activities
• ensuring adults support the goal of reduction

Beginnings of self control

• 1 year: aware that others impose demands

• 2 year: have internalized some control

  • By this point, many children
    have enough self-control that
    they are able to resist stealing from other children

• 3 years: is capable of self regulation

  • Preschoolers self control is a predicts outcomes

Improving self control

• remind children long term goals > short term goals

• Make tempting events less appealing

  • Children who handle temptation are better at resisting

Piagets stages: moral development (PMM)

• Premoral (0 to 4)

  • No concept of morals

• Moral realism (5 to 7)

  • Rules must be followed

  • Heteronormous morality

    • Absolute rules handed down

  • Immanent justice

    • Belief that breaking rules leads to punishment

• Moral relativism (8 years+)

  • Understanding that rules are made for peace

    • Autonomous morality

      • Many people work together to create rules

      • Based on free will

Piagets contribution

• Moral reasoning progresses through stages that are driven by cognitive development + social interaction

kohlbergers stages of moral development

• preconventional / punishment and reward

  • Obey authority

  • Behave nicely for future favors

• Contentional / social norms

  • Live up to others expectations

  • Maintain social order

• Postconventional / moral codes

  • Abstract principles

Gilligian: ethic of care

• the most advanced level of moral reasoning is understanding that caring is the cornerstone of all relationships

• Both justice and care serve as a basis for moral reasoning in men and women

Social judgements and morality

• social conventions: standards of
  behaviour agreed to within a group

• personal domains: choices about one’s own body, friends, and activities

  • These domains vary across cultures

Role of emotion in morals

• emotions and cognition interact in the development of morals

• Repeated exposure to event leads to forming scripts about emotional consequences of said event

Pro social behavior

• actions that benefit others

  • Altruism: helps others with no direct benefit of the individual

• pro social intentions and strategies increase with age

Pro social behavior: underlying skills

• perspective taking

• Empathy

• Moral reasoning

Altruism: situational influence

• children help when:

  • They feel competent

  • Good mood

  • Not much cost to helping

  • They feel responsible for person in need

• children with with less emotional regulation skills are less likely to help

Pro social behavior environmental factors

• identical twins are more alike in prosocial behavior than fraternal

• Oxytocin hormonal influence has been linked to specific genes

Socializing pro social behavior

• model prosocial behavior:

  • Be warm

  • Set guidelines

  • Give children feedback to understand impact of actions

• Children and adolescents
  need to routinely be given the
  opportunity to help and
  cooperate with others

Types of agression (IHRR)

• instrumental aggression

  • to achieve a goal

• Hostile aggression

  • unprovoked with intention to harass or intimidate

• Reactive aggression

  • one child’s behavior leads to another one’s

• Relational agression

  • trying to hurt others by undermining social relationships

Aggression: roots

• biological risk factors

• Parenting risk factors

Agression: socioeconomic factors

• media (characters)

• Agressive peers

• School failures

• More common in areas of Poverty

• Exposure to violent cultures

Theories of aggression

• social info processing theory: aggressive children mispercieve interactions

• cascading risks

• socialized aggression: when expected within a situation

social role

cultural guidelines about how one should behave with other people

gender role

culturally prescribed behaviors considered appropriate for males and females

gender identity

refers to whether people identity with their biological sex, the other, or with neither

gender stereotypes

beliefs about how males and females differ in personality traits, interests, and behaviors

• in north america, men are seen as instrumental (goal-oriented, independent) and women as expressive (emphasize emotion and nurture)

learning gender stereotypes 

• by age 4, children have knowledge of gender-stereotyped activities 

  • during elementary school years, children learn traits and occupations associated with males have higher status 

• older children see stereotypes as general non-binding guidellines

  • girls tend to be more flexible about stereotypes. 

  • adolescents from the middle class have more flexible ideas about gender than lower class 

differences in physical development and behavior 

• boys tend to be bigger, stronger, faster, more active 

• girls tend to be healthier and better on tasks requiring fine motor coordination 

differences in intellectual abilities

• spatial ability: boys tend to surpass girls at mental rotation and determining relations between objects 

  • may be due to playing video games at a higher rate

• spatial memory: girls tend to have better memory for locations of objects 

• These differences emerge in infancy, but it is not clear whether male and female brains are different in wiring/specialization or due to differences in experiences 

differences in intellectual achievements

• mathematics 

  • girls tend to preform better in elementary school

  • Historically, boys have preformed better in high school 

• memory 

  • girls remember identity, location of objects, faces more accurately, and provide more detail when describing past events

  • may be tied to better language and emotion recognition; it may also be linked to a larger hippocampus

differences in personality and social behavior

• boys 

  • more likely to be physically aggressive 

  • aggressive male models in media 

  • parents more tolerant of aggression in boys 

• girls 

  • tend to use relational aggression

  • better at expressing and interpreting emotions

  • skilled at effortful control

  • more likely to engage in rumination and ultimately be depressed

gender differences conclusions

• gender differences represent differences in average scores, which are often small and overlapped

• many abilities and behaviors don’t show gender differences

socializing influences of gender

• parents treat sons and daughters alike, except for behavior related to gender roles 

  • parents are more positive when children play with toys typical for their sex 

  • fathers are more likely to encourage behavior associated with gender stereotypes 

• many teachers interact more with the boys than the girls

• Early segregation of playmates means that boys learn primarily from boys and girls from girls 

  • male peers tend to be critical of cross-gender play 

• female interactions tend to be enabling and boys tend to be constricting 

• TV often depicts stereotypes 

cognitive theories of gender identity

• gender identity develops gradually

• gender schema theory: once children learn their gender, they pay more attention to objects and activities that are considered gender appropriate 

biological influences on gender

• evolutionary adaptation may influence gender differences

• amount of testosterone in amniotic fluid predicts a child's preference for masculine typed activities 

• dynamic systems theory 

  • biology, socializing influence, and childs own effort all interact

emerging gender roles: androgynous  

• high in both expressive and instrumental traits 

  • A balance of both of these may be adaptive

• often better adjusted than when gender roles are enforced 

• benefits girls self self-esteem more than boys

combating gender roles

• Children can be taught to have fewer stereotypes of occupations and household activities 

  • Accomplishing change over the long term is more challenging due to evolutionary imperatives 

• Parents should base decisions about toys, activities, and chores based on the individual, not sex 

  • can also encourage critical thinking about gender

the family as a system

• influential to both children and parents

• family system is influenced by other individuals (extended family) and institutions. 

• Indigenous families 

  • collectivist communities where they play a role in raising children

styles of parenting

• 2 primary dimensions 

  • warmth/responsiveness 

  • control

    • involves setting age-appropriate standards, consistent enforcement of rules, and good communication 

• high levels of warmth + moderate control are ideal 

dimensions of styles of parenting (control/involvement)

• uninvolved parenting often leads to the most damage in children

• authoritative parenting is ideal

  • higher self-esteem in children and preform well academically 

variations in parental style

• views about ‘proper’ amount of warmth and control vary by culture 

• varied by parents’ socioeconomic status and stress level 

3 parenting styles (DOF)

• direct instruction

  • telling a child what to do, when and why

• observing

  • learning what should not be done

• feedback

  • indicate when a behavior is appropriate and should continue or stop 

Influence of Marital System

• chronic parental conflict is harmul for children

• parents should work together in a coordinated manner toward shared goals for the child's development 

  • lack od teamwork, competition for childs attention, and gatekeeping often causes problems 

Children’s Contributions

• influence between parents and children is reciprocal 

• Parents behave differently depending on childs specific behavior (may become more controlling with ‘difficult’ child)

Impact of divorce on children

• boys are more effected 

  • losing touch with fathers, keeping emotion in

• affects childrens school achievement, adjustment, self concept, and relationship with parents 

• risk of emotional/behavioral problems is higher for children of divorce but the majority will not experience long-term effects 

  • negative effects of divorce are related to parental absence, economic hardship, and conflict between parents 

blended families

• as divorce became more common in the 20th century so did blended families 

• Preferential treatement for bio over stepchildren will almost always lead to conflict 

• with effort, blended families can be beneficial

the role of grandparents (ISAPD)

• grandparenting styles:

  • influential

    • supportive

    • authority-oriented

    • passive

    • detached

• children benefit from their active involvement

• often take on the parental role in immigrant and minority children

children of LGBT parents

• no indication that they are less effective as parents 

• develop much like children raised by hetero parents 

firstborn, laterborn, and only children 

• first born 

  • deal with the stricter parents 

  • generally have higher intelligence scores and more likely to attend uni 

  • more willing to conform to adult request

• later born 

  • parents have more realistic expectations 

  • tend to be funnier, more popular, and innovative 

• only children 

  • more likely to succeed in school, have higher levels of intelligence and self esteem 

  • dont differ in popularity, adjustment, or personality 

adopted children

• develop within typical range 

• problems are more likely to occur when children are adopted after infancy and when their care pre-adoption was poor 

• today, open adoption is common

  • have contact with birth families 

  • these individuals are well adjusted as they tend to have a deeper identity than as an adoptee

qualities of siblings relationship

• avoid distress with birth of new sibling by being responsive to older sibling 

• sibling relations tend to be established early and remain consistent 

development of peer interactions

• parallel play, associative play, cooperative play

  • solitary play can be important for childrens cognitive development 

• secure maternal attachment relationship contributes to positive peer relationships 

• at elementary school age children become more skilled at maintaining peer relationships

friendships

• become more complex with age

• having good friends affects children positively (for self esteem)

  • friendships can be negative (co-rumination) 

romantic relationships

• sexual exploration is an important part of romantic relationships in early adolescence 

• comprehensive sex education programs are important or reducing risky sexual behavior 

• the roots of attraction to members of the same sex are not yet well understood 

  • some evidence suggests that heredity and hormones influence sexual orientation

groups/peer influence

• cliques and crowds are common during adolescence

• most groups have a dominance hierarchy 

  • negative examples: gangs 

• peer influence is strongest when:

  • youth are younger and more socially anxious 

  • peer have higher status 

  • peer are friends 

  • standards for appropriate behavior are unclear 

popularity and rejection (PRCAN)

most children fall into one of 5 categories: 

• popular - many students will say they like this child

• rejected - many students do not like this child

  • can be taught social skills

  • repeated rejection in childhood can have long term consequences 

• controversial - alot say they like and alot do not

• average 

• neglected - no votes and left out

childcare and afterschool activities

• high quality childcare has positive effects on cognitive and social-emotional development

  • can improve school readiness for low income families

• children and adolescents who participate in structured after-school activities are often better adjusted, have higher self-esteem, and are more likely to participate in further education

neighborhoods

• children who live in economically advantaged and stable neighborhoods tend to preform better academically and are less prone to behavioral and emotional problems.

  • local healthcare, recreational opprotunities, and high quality childcare contribute to positive development

school

successful schools:

• orientation to academic excellenc

• safe and nurturing climate 

• parenting involvement

  • encourage parents to tutor students 

• progress is monitored  

  • several factors of teachers are also critical 

maltreatment and its consequences 

• abused children face alot of developmental issues

• adults who were abused are more prone to suicide and to abuse their own spouses and children

• children who are ego-resilient exhibit fewer negative consequences

causes of maltreatment

• cultural and social factors

  • cultural attitudes, poverty, stress from absent parent(s)

• parental factors

  • abusive parents often faced abuse themselves, inadequate parenting skills, dysfunctional marriages

• child factors

  • “challenging”, ill, stepchildren, and young children are often abuse victims

preventing maltreatment

• change societal attitudes toward acceptable punishment

• eliminating poverty and other stressors

• providing parents with better education child development, parenting, coping skills, and social support