How do preschool-age children develop a concept of

How do preschool-age children develop a concept of

Social/Personality Development in Preschool

Learning Objectives
How do preschool-age children develop a concept of themselves?
How do children develop their sense of racial and gender identity?
How do preschoolers interact with people?
What kinds of disciplinary styles do parents employ?
How do morals develop?
How does aggression develop?

Psychosocial Development- Erikson
Initiative vs. Guilt Stage

Psychosocial Development- Erikson
Initiative vs. Guilt Stage- “LET ME DO IT”

Self-Concept
Identity/set of beliefs about what he/she is like as a person
Culturally influenced
Collectivistic
Individualistic

Collectivistic or Individualistic?
Your culture of heritage?

Collectivistic or Individualistic?
Your culture of heritage?
American culture?

Racial Identity
Implicit Association Test- measures reaction time and accuracy
Black Faces + Negative words, White Faces + Positive Words
White Faces + Negative words, Black Faces + Positive Words
Children of every race display racial bias against non-white people
Don’t necessarily have lower self-esteem

Gender Identity
Girls tend to be rewarded for pleasing personalities
Boys tend to be rewarded for curiosity and intellectual achievement
Play tends to be segregated
Inflexible views of gender performance

Perspectives on Gender Roles
Biological- hormone exposure as a fetus, evolutionary needs?
Psychoanalytic- do you remember?

Perspectives on Gender Roles
Biological- hormone exposure as a fetus, evolutionary needs?
Psychoanalytic
Boys: identify with father after castration anxiety and Oedipus Conflict
Girls: identify with mothers to resolve penis envy and Electra Conflict

Perspectives on Gender
Social Learning- we mimic what we see from social environment and media
Cognitive- develop gender schema, certain behaviors assimilated or accommodated into that schema
Study table 8-1 in your book Four Approaches to Gender Development

Preschool Social Relationships
Friends
At age 3- all about the fun
By end of the stage- all about trust, mutual interest, support, see friendship as stable

Play Categories
Functional- for the sake of being active
Constructive- build stuff

Social Aspects
Parallel Play- not interactive, but same toys and same activity
Onlooker Play- Watching others play, might chime in
Associative Play- two children interact, share borrow, but do different things
Cooperative Play- playing together, take turns, compete

Pretend Play
May expand cognitive skills
Preschoolers, at age 3, can pretend things are happening and respond accordingly
Becomes less realistic as we age
Use objects as representations/symbols more at the end of the stage

Preschool Thoughts
Age 3-4: sense motives
Can tell people have been fooled but don’t get beliefs
False Belief Task
Language skills improve cognitive development
Socialization promotes cognitive development
Culture influences causal reasoning

Parenting Styles
Authoritarian Parents
Permissive Parents
Authoritative Parents
Uninvolved Parents

Parenting Styles

Demanding
Undemanding

AUTHORITATIVE
PERMISSIVE

Highly Responsive
Firm, clear limits, consistent, strict but loving, reasonable, provide explanations/rationale
Lax, inconsistent with feedback, irresponsible, few limits, not controlling

AUTHORITARIAN
UNINVOLVED

Low Responsive
Controlling, punitive, rigid, cold, “Because I said so,” expect obedience without question, no tolerance for disagreement
Indifferent towards children, reject them, detached emotionally, only provide necessities, can be neglectful

Child Temperament

Demanding
Undemanding

AUTHORITATIVE
PERMISSIVE

Highly Responsive
Independent, friendly, assertive, cooperative, strong motivation to achieve, likeable, successful, regulate easily
Dependent and moody, poor social skills, poor self control, very much like their parents

AUTHORITARIAN
UNINVOLVED

Low Responsive
Withdrawn, not sociable, anxious around peers, boys are hostile, girls tend to be dependent on parents
Feel unloved, emotionally detached, physical and cognitive impairments sometimes

Child Abuse
Types of abuse (% experienced by those who are abused)
Medical neglect (2-5%)
Psychological abuse (5-10%)
Sexual Abuse (5-10%)
Physical Abuse (10-15%)
Neglect (63%)

Risk Factors
Stressful living environment: poverty, single parent, high marital conflict
Step-fathers
History of spousal violence
3-4-year-olds, and 15-17-year-olds at highest risk

Abused children
More behavior problems, resistant to control, less adaptable
More medical problems, bed wetting
More anxious

Signs of Child Abuse
Visible, serious injuries that have no reasonable explanation
Bite or choke marks
Burns from cigarettes or immersion in hot water
Feelings of pain for no apparent reason
Fear of adults/care providers
Covering up in warm weather
Extreme aggression, passivity or withdrawal
Fear of physical contact

Effects of Abuse
Cycle of Violence
Brain changes- reduced amygdala and hippocampus
Low self esteem, lying, misbehavior, underachievement, criminal behavior, aggression, depression, anxiety

Moral Development
Learning right from wrong
Children at age 3 can tell the difference between accidents and purposeful bad behavior
Children are reinforced for prosocial behavior
Children are punished for antisocial behavior (includes feeling guilt and shame)
Learn rules through modeling and observation
Empathy may fuel moral development

Aggression and Violence
Aggression- intentional infliction of harm on another person
Instrumental Aggression- hurting someone for a goal: “I want that toy”
Relational Aggression- nonphysical aggression that is intended to hurt someone’s feelings: name-calling, “mean girls”

Why does aggression develop?
Low emotional self-regulation
Instinct? Evolutionary need?
Modeling- Bobo Doll
TV and Video Game violence too early
Misattribution of intention