Lifespan Development: Ch. 12 Social Cognition and Moral Development

Social cognition

Thinking about the thoughts, feelings, motives, and behavior of the self and other people.

false-belief task

A research paradigm used to assess an important aspect of a theory of mind, mainly the understanding that people can hold incorrect beliefs and be influenced by them.

theory of mind

The understanding that people have mental states (feelings, desires, beliefs, intentions) and that these states underlie and help explain their behavior.

desire psychology

The earliest theory of mind; an understanding that desires guide behavior (e.g., that people seek things they like and avoid things they hate). Contrast with belief–desire psychology.

belief-desire psychology

The theory of mind reflecting an understanding that people’s desires and beliefs guide their behavior and that their beliefs are not always an accurate reflection of reality; evident by age 4. Contrast with desire psychology.

mirror neurons

Neural cells in several brain areas that are activated not only when we perform an action but also when we observe someone else performing it. Implicated in imitation, theory-of-mind skills, empathy, and language.

perspective-taking skills

The ability to assume other people's perspectives and understand their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors; role taking skills.

Morality

The ability to distinguish right from wrong, to act on this distinction, and to experience pride when doing something right and to experience guilt or shame when doing something wrong. Morality has emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components.

moral reasoning

The cognitive component of morality; the thinking that occurs when people decide whether acts are right or wrong.

preconventional morality

Kohlberg's term for the first two stages of moral reasoning, in which society's rules are not yet internalized and judgments are based on the punishing or rewarding consequences of an act.

conventional morality

Kohlberg's term for the third and fourth stages of moral reasoning in which societal values are internalized and judgments are based on a desire to gain approval or uphold law and social order.

postconventional morality

Kohlberg's term for the fifth and sixth stages of moral reasoning, in which moral judgments are based on a more abstract understanding of democratic social contracts or on universal principles of justice that have validity apart from the views of particular authority figures.

empathy

The vicarious experiencing of another person's feelings.

prosocial behavior

Positive actions toward other people such as helping and cooperating.

antisocial behavior

Behavior that violates social norms, rules, or laws and harms others or society (e.g., lying, stealing, behaving aggressively).

moral disengagement

According to Bandura, the ability to avoid self-condemnation when engaged in immoral behavior by justifying, minimizing, or blaming others for one's actions.

amoral

Lacking any sense of morality; without standards of right and wrong.

mutually responsive orientation

A close, affectively positive, and cooperative relationship in which child and parent are attached to each other and are sensitive to each other's needs; a contributor to moral development.

moral rules

Standards of conduct that focus on the basic rights and privileges of individuals. Contrast with social-conventional rules.

social-conventional rules

Standards of conduct determined by social consensus that indicate what is appropriate within a particular social setting. Contrast with moral rules.

delay of gratification

The willingness to give up a reward now for a more desirable reward later; related to self-control.

proactive parenting strategies

Parenting tactics that prevent misbehavior and therefore reduce the need for discipline (e.g., teaching values, removing temptations).

Love withdrawal

A form of discipline that involves withholding attention, affection, or approval after a child misbehaves.

Power assertion

A form of discipline that involves the use of superior power to administer spankings, withhold privileges, and so on.

Induction

A form of discipline that involves explaining why a child's behavior is wrong and should be changed by emphasizing its effects on other people.

moral identity

Viewing being caring, fair, honest, and otherwise moral as a central aspect of who you are.

juvenile delinquency

Law breaking by a minor.

callous-unemotional traits

In children, a lack of empathy for others, absence of remorse or guilt, and shallow or blunted emotions that are sometimes a forerunner of conduct disorder and antisocial personality disorder.

conduct disorder

A persistent pattern of behavior in which a child or adolescent violates the rights of others or age-appropriate societal norms, as through fighting, bullying, and cruelty.

antisocial personality disorder

A psychological disorder with origins in childhood in which the individual disregards and violates the rights of others with no remorse.

social information-processing model of aggression

Dodge's model of the steps in information processing involved when an individual is provoked and decides whether or not to react aggressively.

hostile attribution bias

The tendency of aggressive individuals to attribute hostile intentions to others, assuming that any harm to them was deliberate rather than accidental.

coercive cycle

When parents increasingly lose control over their children's behavior as both parent and child rely more and more on coercive tactics to avoid or escape unpleasant encounters.

bullying

Repeatedly inflicting harm through words or actions on weaker peers who cannot or do not defend themselves.

social and emotional learning (SEL)

Programs that aim to strengthen in students at all levels qualities such as understanding and managing emotions, setting and achieving goals, showing empathy, maintaining positive social relationships, and making responsible decisions.

dual-process model of morality

The view that both deliberate thought and more automatic emotion-based intuitions can inform decisions about moral issues and motivate behavior.

Religiosity

Sharing the beliefs and participating in the practices of an organized religion. Contrast with spirituality.

Spirituality

A search for ultimate meaning in life that may or may not be carried out in the context of religion. Contrast with religiosity.

Why do children with an autistic disorder have difficulty passing the false belief task?

They lack a theory of mind.

Evolutionary theorists have argued that it is in our genetic self-interest to be altruistic because

???

Which situation best reflects a theory of mind?

Jorge sees his brother go to a kitchen cabinet and thinks, "He must want a cookie."

Why is pretend play important for the development of social cognition?

It involves distinguishing pretense from reality.

Juanita has put childproof locks on all the drawers to reduce temptation for her active toddler, and she also keeps a squeaky toy in her pocket to use to distract her young child away from other temptations. Juanita is using:

proactive parenting strategies

Mike is considered to be a late-onset antisocial youth, which means that he

will outgrow this behavior in early adulthood.

In coercive family environments, parents learn to temporarily stop their children's misbehavior by yelling and hitting. The children learn that they can get their parents to lay off them by ignoring requests and throwing full-blown temper tantrums. Both parent and child are using these tactics to escape unpleasant encounters, which illustrates that learning is taking place through

negative reinforcement.

The famous marshmallow study conducted by Walter Mischel in the 1960s was used to assess 4- and 5-year-old children's

ability to delay gratification

Which child is most likely to exhibit frequent acts of aggressive behavior?

Hank, who is 3 years old

After sitting on the bench for 15 minutes with the wallet she found, Bonnie decided that a person walking around with $1,500 in their pocket clearly didn't have money problems, so she decided to keep the cash and pay off her bills. Which component of morality is Bonnie demonstrating as she sits on the bench?

cognitive

The main developmental trend in moral reasoning during adolescence is a shift from

preconventional to conventional reasoning

Ben is walking down the school hall when a fellow classmate bumps into him. Ben immediately believes that the classmate deliberately bumped into his shoulder rather than it being an accident. Ben is exhibiting

a hostile attribution bias

The MAO-A gene located on the X chromosome has been linked to aggression because it affects our ability to

control our temper

A 5-year-old child insists on giving every student in the class four cookies, even the ones who misbehaved for the substitute kindergarten teacher. This child is using the

equality rule

According to Piaget, around age 10 or 11, children begin to view rules as

agreements among individuals

Researchers found that more than half the judgments offered by 16- to 18-year-olds embody Kohlberg's

???

Which action demonstrates that infants have a sense of fairness?

expressing surprise when one child is given two cookies and another is given three

Which neurological component appears to be involved in imitation, theory-of-mind understandings, language, and empathy?

mirror neurons

Someone with a belief-desire psychology understands that

people do not always hold accurate beliefs, but these beliefs still influence behavior.

Effective programs to prevent bullying in schools involves

having regular class discussions about bullying

Gabi is 6 months old and is watching a puppet show. One of the puppets helps another puppet to get an object on a tall shelf by providing a stool, while another puppet comes in and takes the stool. Being typical of most 6-month-old infants, Gabi prefers the puppet who "helped" rather than "hindered" the other puppet. Gabi's preference shows

an understanding of intentions

Jaycee, who is 2 years old, loves cupcakes and hates fruit pies. She has observed that her mother hates cupcakes and loves fruit pies. If Jaycee were handed a plate with a piece of pie and a different plate with a cupcake, and was asked to give one to her mother, she would most likely

hand mom the pie

A child is more likely to develop a theory of mind earlier if the

???

What is the underlying concept of the false belief task?

understanding what others think

Infants are less likely than older children to use physical aggression

???

The decline of antisocial behavior after adolescence in the late-onset group may be due to the maturation of the

prefrontal cortex

Dawn wanted a doll but didn't have money to buy one. At the mall, when she thought no one was looking, Dawn slipped one into her bag and left without paying for it. Later, when she was playing with it, Dawn found she wasn't enjoying herself and felt guilty that she had stolen the toy. The guilt that Dawn experienced represents which component of morality?

emotional

Infants are not held responsible for wrongs they commit because they are deemed to be

amoral

An individual who is at Kohlberg's conventional level of moral development is most likely to

behave in ways to do one's duty or to earn approval or avoid the disapproval of others

Regarding Mischel's marshmallow study, researchers found that the children

from collectivist societies were able to delay gratification longer than children from individualistic societies.

Research on the development of perspective-taking skills has shown that

???

Fourteen-month-old Terrel sees his mother drop a towel while carrying the laundry to the bedroom to fold. Terrel walks over and picks up the towel and follows his mother to the bedroom. Terrel's action would best be described as

prosocial behavior

Winston sees his brother steal a pack of gum from the drug store and get away with it. The next time Winston goes to the drug store, he steals a pack of gum. Which perspective would explain that Winston observed and copied his brother's bad behavior?

social learning theory

Which piece of advice would be LEAST effective for a parent trying to foster moral development in a toddler?

Minimize the consequences of a child's actions in order to not cause undue guilt

What are some methods we can use to encourage theory of mind formation (7)?

1) attentive parents

2) joint attention

3) pretend play

4) imitation

5) social experiences

6) talking about mental states

7) sensitivity to feelings of others

What does nature say about social cognition/theory of mind?

Proved adaptive, helps you gain functioning in a social group: assists in bargaining, conflict resolution, and cooperation. Helps gain resources and survive

What does nurture say about social cognition/theory of mind?

Happens via acquiring language and interaction. Helps to have siblings/sensitive parents. Use mental states to explain behavior

What are the birth --> age 2 milestones for theory of mind development (5)?

1) joint attention

2) understanding intentions

3) pretend play

4) imitation

5) emotional understanding

What is the age 2 milestone for theory of mind development (1)?

Desire psychology

What is the age 4 milestone for theory of mind development (1)?

Belief-desire psychology

What are the age 5 and beyond milestones for theory of mind development (3)?

1) Understanding of second order beliefs

2) Sarcasm

3) Different views of reality

What is person perception?

The mental processes we use to form impressions and draw conclusions about the personal characteristics of other people

How do different age groups progress in perspective-taking skills?

1) About age 2: beginning of empathy

2) 3-6 year olds: egocentric

3) 8-10 year olds: people can have different perspectives

4) 12+: multiple perspectives

What are the 3 components of morality?

1) Cognitive: distinguish right from wrong

2) Behavioral: act accordingly (prosocial)

3) Affective: feel pride or guilt/shame