Middle Childhood

Middle Childhood (6-10)

1. What does physical development look like from ages 6-10?

Grow 2-3 inches per year and gain 5-7 pounds per year. Their strength doubles and permanent teeth start to replace their baby

1. What is ossification?

Bones become harder

1. What are the effects of nutriton v. malnutrition for cognitive and emotional outcomes?

Nutrition can increase self-confidence, energy level, positive emotions, less anxiety, and perform better on verbal ability/cognitive tests

Malnutrition can have the adverse effect of all those mentioned and can also dampen curiosity, responsiveness, and motivation to learn

1. How does self concept become more complex in this age group?

They start to understand themselves in a psychological sense then simply by physical traits. Example; 6yr old “i'm a fast runner and good at drawing” → 10yr old “i'm smart and pretty friendly and helpful to my friends”

1. What are the 4 major areas of self concept?

   1. Social self concept → peers and significant others

   2. Academic self concept → math, reading, etc…

   3. Emotional self concept → specific regulation and general moods

   4. Physical self concept → sports and body image

2. What is social comparison? Downward social comparison? Upward social comparison?

The desire to evaluate one’s own behaviors, abilities, expertise, and opinions by comparing them to those of others (Festinger)

• Downward social comparison → (used to protect self esteem) comparing one’s self to others that are obviously less competent or successful

  • Upward social comparison → comparing one’s self to those that are “doing better”. Can be representation of what's possible but can be a negative in regards to curated social media

1. What is self -esteem?

One’s overall and specific positive and negative self-evaluation. More emotionally oriented and develop how they measure up to societal standards and their own internal standards of success.

1. What is meta-memory? What is meta-linguistc awareness?

Meta-memory is an understanding about the processes that underlie memory that emerges and improves during middle childhood (the use on rehearsal or mnemonics)

Meta-liguistc awareness is an understanding of one’s own use of language (know that language is governed by rules)

1. What are the three stages of friendship and what defines each one?t

   1. Stage 1; (4-7 yrs) spending time together = friends (not based on personal qualities but rather general similarities)

   2. Stage 2; (8-10) take into consideration the others personal qualities and the rewards of befriending them (the centerpiece of the friendship is trust)

   3. Stage 3; (11-15) categorized by feelings of closeness, and have developed clear ideas on which behaviors they seek in friends (main criteria are intimacy and loyalty)

2. Explain the differences between an entity and an incremental theory of intelligence.

Entity theory→ intelligence is fixed; goal is to gain positive judgements of competence and avoid negative ones (leads to mastery-orientation is confidence in that ability is high, but if it's low then they will have helpless behaviors like avoiding the challenge)

Incremental theory → intelligence is malleable; goal is to increase competence (both low and high confidence levels lead to mastery-oriented behaviors like seeking challenges and high persistence)

Early Adolescence (11-14)

1. What are the major physical markers of puberty for boys and girls?

Growth of genitals, preparation for reproduction, acne, and body hair growth

2. What are some of the issues with early pubertal development in girls?

Rejection by same age peers/movement to older peers, depression, substance use, eating disorders, behavioral disorders, early sexual behavior, more anxiety, negative social comparison, and a mismatch between appearance and actual age

3. What is happening with the limbic and prefrontal cortex in early adolescence?

Affected by the increased amount of hormones, causing higher highs, lower lows, and more overt emotionality. Memory is also the best it will ever be at this time. 

4. What kinds of mental illness onset in early adolescence or earlier?

Major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, eating disorders and impulse-control disorders 

5. What are the positives and negatives of antidepressant prescriptions in this age group?

Positives→ works better then traditional psychotherapy 

Negatives→ little evidence of long term effects nor effectiveness and they have a potential side effect of an increased risk of suicide 

6. What are the issues with sleep in this age group?

Recommended 8-12 hours of sleep but school and extra activities can interfere with their ability to get enough rest. Insufficient sleep causes poorer physical health, worse mental health, and more car crashes

7. What does it mean to develop autonomy?

The child's independence and responsibility grows. They have chores, homework, curfew, dating, and their appearance, parents are often more controlling of their daughters compared to their sons. 

8. What is homophily and how does it affect friendship choice?

“Birds of a feather stick together” more likely to make friends with those that are similar to you

9. What is peer contagion and how does it affect behavior?

The mutual influence between friends and peers. Can invoke a healthier lifestyle (ex. Studying or sports) but could also lead to drinking, sustenance use, and crime. 

10. How do guilt and shame cause different emotional and behavioral outcomes?

Shame (self focused- I am bad) → negative mental health outcomes

Guilt (behavior focused- I did a bad thing) → linked to theory of minds and altruistic behaviors. 

11. What are the 5 different kinds of peer groupings of children? (peer ratings of other classmates)

    1. Popular children→ liked by most and few don't like them 

    2. Rejected children → not liked by many and liked by few

    3. Controversial children→ liked and disliked by many

    4. Neglected children → not mentioned by any children 

    5. Average children → a few votes in each category 

12. What do social skills during childhood affect in adulthood?

Being popular in childhood is associated with stronger marriages, higher income, better health, and better relationships with friends/work 

Being unpopular in childhood is associated with depression, anxiety, substance use, health problems, and risk of suicidality

13. How do social skills in childhood affect adult outcomes?

    1. kids are denied the opportunities for complex social interactions and conflict resolution

    2. Biological effects- activate inflammatory response (epigenetics) 

14. What are the 2 types of bullying?

Relational (indirect, relational, and social types) and Physical 

(physical leads to social, not the other way around)

15. What are some ways to reduce bullying?

Early intervention, sponsors, rules, older peers as motivators,... 

Adolescence 

1. Define agency, autonomy, and identity.

   1. Agency→ their own choices 

   2. Autonomy→ their independence (requires identity)

   3. Identity→ centered around ethnicity, culture, gender presentation, religion, family norms, etc…

2. What are the two processes of developing an identity?

Exploration and commitment or a narrative process 

3. What are Marcia’s four stages of developing an identity?

4. Why do we remember more from adolescence than other times of life?

Because our emotions at this time are heightened (due to puberty increasing hormones) and thus memories are formed with deep emotional ties which allows them to be better preserved are retrieved.  

5. What are Phinney’s three stages of ethnic/racial identity development? 

Unexamined ERI, ethnic identity search, and achieved ethnic identity

6. What is the difference between bicultural and multicultural identity? 

Holding two separate cultural identities vs the blending of multiple cultural identities

7. What is mentalizing?

Processing both social emotions in the self and the emotional actions of others 

8. How does risk-taking help identity development?

Yes, but there are limits 

9. What are the 5 stages of the process model of emotion regulation?

Situation selection, situation modification, attentional deployment, cognitive change or response modulation 

10. What is cognitive reappraisal? Why is it helpful?

Changing how you think about a given situation that helps to regulate emotions 

Emerging adulthood (18-29)

1. What is emerging adulthood?

The phase in between adolescence and adulthood categorized by  identity exploration and independence 

2. What does identity exploration look like in emerging adulthood?

Previous identities from adolescence stay stable while others change or gain complexity. Making choices in the realm on love and work

3. Why is emerging adulthood a time of instability?

The exploration aspect of this time can cause instability since there are so many options to choose 

4. What is the difference between self-focus and self-centeredness in emerging adulthood?

Self-focus→ period of personal growth to determine what is most important to you in your lids and with less external responsibilities that will come later in life

5. Why do emerging adults feel “in between”?

Parts of life are still treated as a teen (ie. by family) while other parts are now in adulthood (ie, work, rent, future orientation)

Adult development (30-59)

1. What are the various variables that affect the adaptation process in adult development?

Physical health, intelligence, personality, family supports, and income

2. What are the four elements of the attachment internal working model?

Memories of day to day interactions, accumulation schemas or event scripts, guiding actions based upon previous interactions, and expectations and effective experience associated with interactions  

3. What are the two major dimensions of adult attachment?

Avoidance and anxiety 

4. What are the three major categories of adult attachment?

Secure, avoidant, anxious/ambivalent

5. What does “love as a nutritionally balanced diet” mean?

The combination of love languages shown by one’s partner and given in return

6. What happens to emotionally mismatched partners over time, according to Stratova & Chopik?

They are more likely to become unhappy in the future and experience distress because they feel their feelings differently

7. What is the sandwich generation? What are the major issues with being in the middle?

The generation that is tasked with taking care of their older and younger family members. The major issues and the emotionally, physical, and financial stress and labor

Aging

1. What is the difference between human life span and life expectancy?

Lifespan is the maximum amount of years you can live while life expectancy is the average expected years you can live to

2. Why do women live longer than men, on average?

Men are is more dangerous industries (military and jobs), women are more likely to go to the doctor and to have health insurance, and men are more lonely as they age compared to women

3. What are the 4 subgroups of old age and how are they different?

   1. Young-old (65-74)

   2. Old-old (75-84)

   3. Oldest-old (85-99)

   4. Centenarians (100+)

4. What is cellular clock theory?

Cells can’t divide indefinitely and the telomeres on the chromosomes will start to shorten has the break causing real issues

5. What is the scaffolding theory of aging? What is compensation for aging? 

The aging brain can make up for declines through the substitution of life experience and connected knowledge

6. What is the Alzheimer’s timeline?

Early brain changes, subtle decline in thinking, memory changes/confusion, inability to bathe dress or eat without help, and the loss of ability to communicate and recognize loved ones 

7. What are some of the ways individuals can combat the onset of Alzheimer’s? 

Healthier lifestyle choices like a better diet, not smoking, cognitively stimulating activities, light alcohol intake, and weekly exercise

8. What are the three domains of successful aging?

Physical→ relative avoidance of disease, disability, and risk factors

Cognitive→ maintenance of high cognitive functioning

Social→ active engagement in social and productive activities  

9. What are factors of integrity and factors of despair in aging?

Integrity→ reasonably optimistic, affirming life’s worth/own value, not overwhelmed by regrets and connected to family/community

Despair→ depressed about their life choices/failures, sadness/regret, and insufficient sense of belonging

10. How does Socioemotional selectivity theory affect friendships in old age?

Fewer connections, but deeper connections because energy is focused on maintaining relationships instead of forming new ones. 

11. What are cultural differences in perceptions of physical cognitive and socioemotional aspects of aging?

Most of the world views aging as a negative except for a few select countries like india, china, and russia 

12. What are stereotypes of aging? 

Worthlessness, incompetence, decline, and dependence

13. What is the self-fulfilling prophecy of aging and stereotypes?

Older individuals from cultures with positive aging stereotypes are self likely to express cognitive declines compared to old people is countries with negative stereotypes

Death and Dying 

1. What are 1-2 characteristics of each stage of dying?

Weeks before→ minimal appetite, increased need for sleep, and weakness

Days before→ decreased levels of consciousness, pauses in breathing, murmuring for those who are not there 

Days to hour before → comatose like state, shallow beats with longer pauses, noisy breathing “death rattle”, and cold limbs with weak pulse points  

2. What are curative, palliative, and hospice care?

Curative treats the disease/illness, palliative provides pain relief while in treatment, and hospice provides comfort in terms of terminally ill patients before death 

3. What is prolonged and disenfranchised grief?

Prolonged grief→ DSM diagnosis of grief that interrupts daily life

Disenfranchised grief→ grief that is not recognized socially (ie. same sex relationships, AIDS, or ex-spouse) 

4. What are the major differences between loss of a child, a parent as an adult, and a parent as a child?

Loss of a child → most distressing and longest lasting with the highest risk for mental health issues

Loss of parent as a child→ traumatizing experience (need professional help) with higher rates of substance abuse, depression, and criminal behavior

Loss of a parent as an adult→ helps to have other strong relationships 

5. What is the dual process model of coping with grief, and what are some examples of loss oriented and restoration oriented experiences?

Loss-oriented → grief work, intrusion of grief, denial/avoidance of restoration changes, and breaking bonds

Restoration-oriented→ attending to life changes, doing new things, distraction from grief, denial/avoidance of grief, new roles/relationships