Social emotional development

Developmental age ranges and difficult stuff to remember:)

Self concept in infancy:

• egocentric: don’t recognise that others are different to themselves. Sensations and perceptions limited to own experiences.

• Show preferences through eye gaze.

Self concept in toddlerhood

• awareness that they are different to other people

• Make use of pronouns to separate people

• Learn to manipulate their bodies to express themselves

• rub makeup off nose in mirror.

Early childhood (3-5)

• describe characteristics, preferences, posessions

• demonstrate their attributes to others, often optimistic about abilities.

Middle childhood (6-9)

• Start comparing their physical characteristics with others

• make their own judgements separate from other peoples’ evaluations

• more realistic about abilites.

Late childhood (9-11)

Awareness of other people’s perceptions of them.

• develop social selves indicated by other people’s expectations.

• grouping of descriptors - combine “i can run” and “i can catch” into “i’m athletic”

• start to define self concepts based on personal values.

Early adolescence (12-14)

• hold complex abstract descriptors of themselves in mind and recognise that many of them contradict.

• different social networks and improved ability to hold ideas in mind.

• new form of egocentrism - no one understands!

Late adolescence (14-18)

• start to develop identity

• higher order, integrated abstract descriptors

Experiment on aggression unlearning in toddlers

• at age 2, children start testing boundaries.

• By 36 months, some of the aggression was replaced by more productive behaviours.

Stage 0 in Selman’s stages in complexity of role taking:

• Age 3-6

• egocentric, difficulty recognising other people’s perspectives

Stage 1 in Selman’s role taking theory

• age 6-8

• Subjective

• people only have different perspectives if they have different information.

Stage 2 in Selman’s role taking theory

Age 8-10

• self reflective

• people have different perspectives if they have different motivations. Recognise that different worldviews exist.

Stage 3 in Selman’s role taking theory

Age 10-12

• Mutual

• People have different perspectives and motivations not only from oneself, but from each other.

Stage 4 in Selman’s role taking theory

Societal

• age 12+

• can compare self and other to a generalised other

• Might think about what Holly’s dad might think about Holly’s perspective.

What does attachment theory propose?

A child’s first relationship with their caregiver informs all future relationships.

Ethological approaches

How attachment behaviours are in order to promote biological survival

Psychodynamic approaches

Focus on the dynamic relationship between all aspects of a person’s psyche.

John Bowlby’s four phases of attachment development

• an ethological approach

• Indiscriminate sociability (0-2 months)

• Attachment in the making (2-7 months)

• Clear cut attachment (7-24 months)

• Reciprocal relationships (24 months and over)

What are the characteristics of indiscriminate sociability stage?

• baby communicates needs through crying and babbling

• Does this to anyone, not a specific person

• Caregiver regulates all child’s emotions and needs

Characteristsics of attachment in the making

• infant starts to prefer familiar people

• both are starting to contribute to the relationship

Clear cut attachment characteristics

• child actively seeks out caregiver contact

• caregiver provides secure base and facilitates exploration of surroundings.

Reciprocal relationships

• fully formed attachment

• child starts to recognise that caregiver has their own needs, purpose, limitations

• child trys to support them as well

• May become more autonomous in behaviour and needs

• mutual co-regulation of child’s emotions and needs.

According to a study by the National institute of child health and development, what percent of infants were securely attached by age 3?

62%

Discrete model of emotion

There are distinct profiles for each emotion and everyone’s experience of each emotion is the same.

Functionalist model of emotion

Emotions drive how we interact with our environment (how we function)

Cognitive model of emotion

The cognitive experience of appraising what is happening and the person’s role in the situation is the most important

• structured process with antecedent, primary appraisal, secondary appraisal, action in response to secondary appraisal. This could either lead to target consequence or trigger a new antecedent.

Antecedent

The environmental trigger that results in the emotional event

Primary appraisal

What is happening?

Secondary appraisal

Cognitions about what you can do about the thing that is happening

Action in response to secondary appraisal

May communicate to others. This could lead to target consequence but could also trigger a new antecedent.

Dynamic model of emotion

All components of emotion interact with each other and the relationships between components are as important as the components themselves.

• physiological responses, cognitions, desire to take action, emotional expressions, subjective feelings can be elements of system.

• emotion changes with experience

• becomes more complex as child’s understanding of the world becomes more complex.

Emotion regulation of 0-2 year old

• self soothe, avert gaze

• rely on caregivers for regulation

• toddlers can comfort others

3-9 years

• more advanced behavioural strategies like distraction

• cognitive strategies: understand that emotion affects others, negotiate outcomes, discuss feelings.

9-11 years

• cognitive strategies: shift values and goals to protect self esteem

• manipulate behaviour for goals

• use cognitive strategies to motivate or soothe

• understand more complex emotions of others and how to help or express themselves.

What percentage of infants have easy temperament?

40%

What percentage of infants have difficult temperament?

10%

what percentage of infants have slow to warm up temperament?

15%

Microsystem

Child’s immediate environment that they interact with. eg: family, childcare, school.

Mesosystem

Relationships between microsystems. eg: parents relationships with family doctor and school.

Exosystem

Systems that affect microsystem but child doesn’t directly come into contact with. Parents work.

Macrosystem

Laws, cultural beliefs, values, technology, social class.

Chronosystem

recognition that the whole system can change over time.

Popular peer status

More likes than dislikes. Low rejection. High impact.

externalise

Controversial peer status

• lots of likes and dislikes. High impact.

• externalise

Average peer status

Liked by some, disliked by others, but medium impact.

neither externalise or internalise

Neglected peer status

Low impact - go unnoticed

• internalise

Rejected peer status

Most dislikes. High impact.

• both externalise and internalise