Developmental Psych Ch. 12

Chapter Overview

Title: Life-Span Human Development, Chapter 12: Social Cognition and Moral DevelopmentAuthor: Dr. FishtaPublished by: Cengage LearningCopyright: ©2022 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

12.1 Social Cognition

Definition:

Social cognition is a complex process that involves understanding the perceptions, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of oneself, others, and social groups. It encompasses the capability to comprehend human psychology, articulate descriptions of others, and assume alternative perspectives in social contexts.

Developing a Theory of Mind

False Belief Task:This task is a psychological assessment tool designed to gauge an individual's recognition that others may hold incorrect beliefs, thereby influencing their behaviors. It highlights the distinction between one's own knowledge and others' beliefs.

Theory of Mind:A critical developmental milestone, theory of mind entails recognizing that other individuals possess distinct mental states (including desires, beliefs, and intentions) that shape their actions. It is foundational for effective social interactions and empathy.

Statistics:Interestingly, 85% of children with average intelligence aged four years and older, as well as those with Down Syndrome, successfully navigate this task. In contrast, about 80% of children diagnosed with autism fail to pass, indicating significant challenges with theory of mind, often referred to as ‘mind blindness.’

Key Abilities for Development:

The development of theory of mind relies on several interactions and skills, including:

• Joint attention: Coordinated focus on an object or event between a child and another person.

• Understanding intentions: Ability to infer motivations behind others' actions.

• Pretend play: Engaging in imaginative role play that reflects understanding of different perspectives.

• Imitation: Copying actions which helps children learn social cues.

• Emotional understanding: Recognizing and interpreting emotional states in oneself and others. Most of these skills are significantly impaired in children with autism.

Nature and Nurture

Shared Skills with Great Apes:Research indicates that fundamental capabilities indicative of theory of mind can also be observed in some great apes, including chimpanzees and gorillas, underscoring the evolutionary significance of these skills.

Neurological Development:The development of social cognition necessitates both neurological and cognitive maturation over time. This includes the development of a specialized area of the brain known as the Social Brain, which is active during self-referential thinking and consideration of others’ mental states.

Mirror Neurons:These neurons are crucial as they activate both when an individual performs an action and when they observe that action being performed, thus playing a role in empathy and learning through observation.

Milestones in Theory of Mind Development

Age Achievements:

1. Birth to 2 Years: Joint attention, recognizing intentions, engaging in pretend play, imitation, and developing emotional understanding.

2. Age 2: Emergence of desire psychology, wherein toddlers begin to connect specific desires to actions.

3. Age 4: Advancement to belief-desire psychology, understanding that beliefs and desires drive behavior.

4. Age 5 and Beyond: Children start to grasp more complex concepts including second-order beliefs, sarcasm, and the ability to appreciate differing viewpoints.

Social Interaction

Theory of mind is constructed through various social interactions, which include:

• Language experiences: Expounding verbal expressions enhances understanding.

• Parent mental state talk: Discussions where parents articulate their own and their children’s mental states enrich cognitive development.

• Sibling and peer interactions: Play and communication with friends and siblings reinforce theory of mind.

• Cultural influences: The context of upbringing plays a pivotal role in shaping social cognition.

12.2 Perspectives on Moral Development

Basic Components of Morality

1. Emotional Component: The affective responses associated with right and wrong actions, driving moral decisions and inducing guilt or pride.

2. Cognitive Component: Involves the thought processes regarding ethical considerations, leading to behavioral decision-making.

3. Behavioral Component: The execution or practical application of moral reasoning in response to moral dilemmas such as fairness and justice.

Moral Reasoning: Cognitive-Developmental Theory

Emphasis is placed on the progression of moral reasoning through distinct universal stages, and this progression forms an integral part of social cognitive development.

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning

1. Preconventional Morality:

   • Stage 1: Punishment-and-Obedience Orientation: Actions are deemed good or bad based on their consequences; avoidance of punishment is paramount.

   • Stage 2: Instrumental Hedonism: Decisions driven by self-serving motives, recognizing the interests of both the self and others.

2. Conventional Morality:

   • Stage 3: Good Boy or Good Girl Morality: Moral actions are those that gain approval from others, focusing on conformity to social norms.

   • Stage 4: Authority and Social Order-Maintaining Morality: Emphasis on the significance of rules and laws established by legitimate authorities, indicating respect for authority.

3. Postconventional Morality:

   • Stage 5: Morality of Contract, Individual Rights, and Democratically Accepted Law: Recognizes the importance of laws but emphasizes democratic principles and human rights.

   • Stage 6: Morality of Individual Principles of Conscience: Actions are directed by personal ethical principles that transcend laws.

Moral Emotion: Psychoanalytic Theory and Beyond

Empathy:Central to moral development, empathy involves the ability to vicariously experience others’ feelings. It can drive prosocial behavior, fostering social bonds, and diminish tendencies towards antisocial actions.

Moral Emotions:

The formative relationships children have with their parents play a crucial role in their moral development, necessitating internalization of moral standards to guide future behavior effectively.

Moral Behavior: Social Learning Theory

Observational Learning:Moral behavior is acquired through observing others' conduct, where reinforcement and punishment play a pivotal role in shaping behavior.

Moral Disengagement:A psychological mechanism that allows individuals to detach from self-condemnation when they engage in immoral actions, undermining accountability.

Roots of Morality: Evolutionary Theory

This perspective examines how moral emotions and behaviors have evolved to aid human adaptation to the environment, highlighting the genetic predisposition for altruism linked to kin selection.

Empathy, Prosocial Behavior, and Morality

Development in Infancy:

1. Primitive Empathy:

   • Newborns exhibit distress responses to the cries of others, suggesting innate empathic tendencies.

2. Ages 1-2:

   • Demonstrate comfort-seeking behaviors, striving to alleviate distress in others, evidencing emerging empathy.

3. Ages 2-3:

   • Development of perspective-taking skills allows for greater understanding of another’s emotional state and experiences.

Prosocial Acts by Toddlers

1. Helping and Cooperation:

   • Research indicates that infants display altruistic behaviors, often feeling joy when they assist others, revealing early stages of moral understanding before age 2.

2. Sense of Fairness:

   • Infants appear to differentiate between fair and unfair exchanges, laying the groundwork for understanding social justice.

Antisocial Behavior

Growth and Development:The paradigm suggests that humans inherently need to learn not to be aggressive, rather than to learn aggression; this implies that aggression is not innate but a learned behavior.

1. Peaks in early childhood, around ages four or five, before gradually decreasing as social norms are internalized and emotional regulation improves.

Early Moral Training

Components of Conscience Development:Involves developing moral emotions and self-control; children start showing identifiable distress linked to moral rule violations by 18-24 months.

Role of Parenting:The secure attachment formed between parent and infant, along with mutual responsiveness, plays a supportive role in fostering moral development, ensuring that children understand moral expectations and integrate them into their interactions.

Moral Understanding in Children

Children’s moral development evolves over time. Initially, young children prioritize outcomes but gradually develop insights into the intentions behind actions and their impact.

1. By age four, children can distinguish various rules, progressively grasping the basics of theory of mind.

Types of Rules Distinction

1. Moral Rules:

   • Standards designed to protect individual welfare and rights.

2. Social-Conventional Rules:

   • Standards that emerge from social agreements dictating appropriate behavior among peers and communities.

Upholding Norms

Fairness and Self-Control:As children grow, they develop a more comprehensive understanding of fairness and justice. By age four, it is noted that approximately 30% can delay gratification efficiently, leading to positive long-term outcomes.

Moral Socialization

Parenting Strategies:Different approaches are implemented to nurture moral behaviors.

1. Proactive Parenting:

   • Techniques focused on preventing misbehavior before it occurs.

2. Disciplinary Approaches:

   • These methods range from love withdrawal to power assertion, with induction being identified as the most effective approach for cultivating moral maturity in children.

Adolescent Moral Development

Moral Identity:During adolescence, the development of moral identity is critical; it is characterized by enhanced moral reasoning and a tendency to act in accordance with moral values. This development is significantly influenced by family dynamics, parental relationships, and community service opportunities.

Changes in Moral Reasoning

Adolescents typically transition their moral reasoning from a preconventional focus during childhood to a more conventional stance in their teenage years. It is not uncommon for some to engage in postconventional reasoning as they reach adulthood.

Antisocial Behavior Among Youth

Juvenile Delinquency:Typically exhibits a rise during adolescence with two identified subgroups:

1. Early-Onset: Those exhibiting antisocial behaviors from a young age often presenting disturbed characteristics.

2. Later-Onset: Individuals whose behaviors may be outgrown during adulthood.

Changes in Adults

Moral Reasoning:Research indicates minimal age differences in moral reasoning complexity; adults often exhibit a transition from preconventional to conventional reasoning as a reflection of societal norms and responsibilities.

Cultural Perspectives on Morality

Cross-cultural analyses reveal variability in moral reasoning stages; cultures with a collectivistic emphasis are seen to prioritize duty and community obligations over individualistic principles of autonomy.

Ethical Frameworks

Three Ethics:Ethics pertaining to Autonomy, Community, and Divinity differ across cultures, significantly influencing moral reasoning frameworks and practices.

Moral Intuition and Emotion

Dual-Process Model of Morality:This model underscores the distinct roles of deliberate thought processes and intuitive/emotional responses in moral decision-making, suggesting an integrated approach when assessing moral actions.

Predicting Moral Action

Several challenges to Kohlberg's theory arise, pointing towards the complexity of children's moral reasoning, the neglect of cultural contexts, and the acknowledgment that various influences extend beyond pure reasoning in shaping moral behavior.

Religion and Spirituality

Definitions:

• Religiousness encompasses organized beliefs and associated practices.

• Spirituality pertains to the journey of seeking meaning and existential purpose.Both constructs have been shown to contribute positively to individuals' overall well-being, especially during late adulthood.

Chapter Review Highlights

Key Concepts:

• The significance of joint attention and pretend play in early cognitive development.

• Recognizing intentions as early as 6 months marks a crucial milestone in child development.

• Children demonstrate a preference for characters depicted as morally virtuous.

• The theory of mind possesses innate biological components that evolve through social experiences.

• The Piagetian perspective regarding rules evolves to integrate collective agreements by ages 10-11.

• Familiarity with Kohlberg's stages of moral development as well as Dodge's social information-processing model is imperative for understanding moral cognition.