Emotional and Social Development in Early Childhood

What is self-concept in preschoolers?

Their understanding of their attributes, abilities, and values.

What promotes positive, coherent self-concepts in preschoolers?

Warm, sensitive parent-child relationships and elaborative reminiscing.

What is self-esteem?

Judgments about one’s own worth and feelings about those judgments.

Examples of self-judgments preschoolers make?

Learning things in school, making friends, getting along with parents, treating others kindly.

How does high self-esteem affect preschoolers?

Supports initiative.

Emotional competence includes what 3 abilities?

Emotional understanding, emotional self-regulation, self-conscious emotions & empathy

What strongly influences emotional competence?

Parenting.

What do 3–5-year-olds understand about emotions?

Feelings are caused by desires and beliefs; they can infer others’ feelings and try to help.

When do children struggle with emotion understanding?

Situations with conflicting cues.

What parent behaviours enhance emotional understanding?

Labeling emotions, discussing disagreements, expressing warmth, and secure attachment.

Strategies for emotional regulation by age 3–4?

Restrict sensory input, self-talk, change goals, repair relationships.

Common preschool fears?

Monsters, ghosts, darkness, preschool/child care, animals.

What do phobias (intense fears) sometimes require?

Counseling.

When are self-conscious emotions linked to self-evaluation?

Around age 3.

How can parents promote healthy pride/shame?

Focus on improving performance, not judging the child.

Define empathy.

Feeling with another person.

Define sympathy.

Feeling concern or sorrow for another.

What promotes empathy development?

Sociable temperament & secure attachment.

What happens when children with poor regulation empathize?

They feel distress, not sympathy.

List the types of play from least to most interactive.

Nonsocial → Parallel → Associative → Cooperative.

Functional play is most common when?

First 2 years (simple, repetitive movements).

Constructive play age range?

3–6 years.

Make-believe play age range?

2–6 years.

When is nonsocial activity a concern?

Aimless wandering, hovering, repetitive immature play.

Boys engage more in what kind of play?

Rough-and-tumble play.

Village/tribal cultures show what kind of play?

Interpretive play (real-life roles).

Industrial/urban cultures show what kind of play?

Inventive play (unconstrained by reality).

Preschoolers define a friend as…

Someone who likes you and plays with you.

Do preschool friendships involve mutual trust?

Not yet.

What predicts better kindergarten adjustment?

Ease of making friends.

Features of quality kindergarten programs?

Well-trained teachers, small groups, high ratios, developmentally appropriate activities.

Define social problem solving.

Generating and applying strategies to resolve disagreements.

Program that teaches social problem-solving?

PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies).

Direct parental influences?

Arranging playdates, coaching social skills.

Indirect parental influences?

Secure attachment, warm communication.

What is induction?

Explaining how a child’s misbehavior affects others’ feelings.

What does induction promote?

Empathy, internalized standards, scripts for future behaviour.

What children respond best to induction?

Highly empathic children.

How do children learn moral behaviour?

Through modeling.

Features of effective moral models?

Warm, competent, consistent in behaviour and words.

Effects of harsh punishment?

Aggression, fear, anger, defiance, worse parent-child relationship.

What increases punishment effectiveness?

Consistency, warmth, explanations.

Examples of positive parenting strategies?

Teaching after transgressions, reducing misbehavior opportunities, giving reasons for rules.

Moral imperatives vs social conventions?

Protect welfare vs. culturally agreed customs.

Matters of personal choice?

Up to the individual; do not violate rights.

Proactive vs reactive aggression?

Proactive: goal-oriented; Reactive: hostile, defensive.

Three types of aggression?

Physical, verbal, relational.

Which aggression type emerges first?

Physical (end of first year).

What increases aggression risk?

Harsh discipline, love withdrawal, inconsistency.

Effects of violent media?

Increased aggression and hostile thoughts; desensitization.

Authoritative style?

High acceptance, high involvement, adaptive control, appropriate autonomy.

Authoritarian style?

Low acceptance/involvement, high control, low autonomy.

Permissive style?

High acceptance, low control, high autonomy, low involvement.

Uninvolved style?

Low everything.

Why is authoritative parenting effective?

Warmth, fairness, competence, promotes internalization.

4 types of maltreatment?

Physical, sexual, emotional abuse, neglect.

Consequences of maltreatment?

Impaired attachment, poor regulation, guilt, aggression, academic issues, CNS damage.

Most important factor preventing intergenerational violence?

A trusting relationship with another person.

Organizations preventing maltreatment?

Parents Anonymous, Nurse-Family Partnership.

Self-Concept

Preschoolers’ understanding of their attributes, abilities, and values.

What supports positive self-concept?

Warm, sensitive parent-child relationships.

Elaborative reminiscing

Parent discussion focusing on children’s internal states; strengthens self-concept.

Self-concept and initiative

Positive self-concept increases sense of initiative.

Self-Esteem

Judgments about one’s worth and feelings associated with those judgments.

Preschool self-judgments (4 areas)

Learning at school, making friends, getting along with parents, treating others kindly.

High self-esteem leads to…

Increased initiative in preschoolers.

Emotional development supported by…

Representation, language, and self-concept improvements.

Emotional competence includes…

Emotional understanding, regulation, self-conscious emotions, empathy.

Parenting influence on emotional competence

Strong influence; vital for social and mental health.

Preschool emotional understanding

Explain emotions, linking desires/beliefs to behavior; interpret/predict feelings.

Limit of emotional understanding

Difficulty interpreting conflicting emotional cues.

Parenting that improves emotional understanding 

Labeling emotions, explaining emotions, warm discussions, discussing negative experiences.

Attachment security effect

Enables open communication about feelings.

Benefits of emotional understanding

Helps with peer relationships.

Role of language in emotional regulation

Helps manage experience and expression of emotions.

Strategies (age 3–4)

Restrict sensory input, self-talk, change goals, repair relationships.

Influence on emotion regulation

Temperament + parent-child interactions.

Common early childhood fears

Monsters, ghosts, darkness, preschool/child care, animals.

Phobias in early childhood

May need counseling; many fears decrease with regulation.

Self-conscious emotions at age 3

Linked to self-evaluation.

Promoting adaptive pride/shame

Focus on improving performance, not child’s worth.

Cultural differences in shame

Consequences vary across cultures.

Empathy definition

Feeling with another person.

Sympathy definition

Feeling concern or sorrow for another.

Empathy → prosocial behavior

Motivator of helping behaviors.

Poor emotion regulation effect

Empathy leads to distress instead of sympathy.

Promotes empathy development

Sociable temperament + secure attachment.

Nonsocial activity

Unoccupied, onlooker behavior, solitary play.

Parallel play

Play beside peers without influencing them.

Associative play

Separate activities but exchange toys/comments.

Cooperative play

Play with common goals (e.g., make-believe).

Play types are not…

A developmental sequence (children switch between types).

Functional play

Simple, repetitive movements (first 2 years).

Constructive play

Creating or building (ages 3–6).

Make-believe play

Acting out roles (ages 2–6).

Nonsocial activities that may be concerning

Aimless wandering, hovering, immature repetitive motor action.

Sociodramatic play

Advanced make-believe; common in preschool years.

Rough-and-tumble play

More common in boys.

Village/tribal play style

Interpretive play based on real experiences.

Industrial/urban play style

Inventive play with imaginative scenarios.