Slide 1

13

Socioemotional Development
in Middle and Late Childhood

John W. Santrock

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

 Slide 2

Socioemotional Development
in Middle and Late Childhood
• What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality
Development in Middle and Late Childhood?

• What Are Some Changes in Parenting and

Families in Middle and Late Childhood?

• What Changes Characterize Peer Relationships

in Middle and Late Childhood?

• What Are Some Important Aspects of Schools?

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 3

The Self

• Development of self-understanding
– Children increasingly describe themselves
with physiological characteristics and traits
– Self-understanding includes social
references and comparisons

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 4

The Self

• Understanding others
– Perspective taking increases with age
• Judging others’ intentions, purposes, actions
• Important in social attitudes and behaviors
• Increased skepticism of others’ claims with age

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 5

The Self

• Self-esteem • Self-concept
Global evaluations Domain-specific
of the self evaluations of the
self
Self-worth
Self-image

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 6

The Self

• Self-esteem and self-concept

– Variations related to development
– High self-esteem linked to higher initiative
– Concerns: too much or undeserved praises
• inflated self-esteem
• Inability to accept criticism and competition

• Most research is correlational

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 7

The Self

• Increasing Children’s Self-Esteem

– Identify causes of low self-esteem
– Provide emotional support and social
approval
– Help children to achieve
– Encourage coping skills

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 8

The Self
• Self-regulation
– Increased capacity with age, development
• Erikson’s Industry versus Inferiority
– Encouragement increases child’s sense of
industry; criticism results in inferiority
– Develop sense of competence or
incompetence in attempt to master skills

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 9

Emotional Development
• Increased ability to • More fully take into
understand complex account events leading
emotions to emotional reactions
• Increased understanding • Improved ability to
that more than one emotion suppress or conceal
can be experienced in a negative emotional
situation reactions
• Self-initiated strategies for
redirecting feelings

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 10

Emotional Development
• Emotional intelligence
– Ability to monitor feelings and emotions of
oneself and others
– Four main areas
• Developing emotional self-awareness
• Managing emotions (self-control)
• Reading emotions (perspective taking)
• Handling emotions (resolve problems)
© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 11

Emotional Development

• Coping with Stress

– Use of alternative cognitive strategies
increase with age, maturity
• Intentional thought shifting
• Reframing or changing one’s view
• Context or environment may overwhelm coping

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 12

Emotional Development

• Helping children cope with stress

– Reassure safety and security
– Allow retelling of events; be patient listener
– Encourage discussion of disturbing feelings
– Help make sense of what has happened
– Protect child from re-exposure and trauma

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 13

Moral Development
• Piaget’s morality
– Heteronomous: unchangeable rules
– Autonomous: consider intentions and
consequences of people
• Kohlberg’s theory
– Three levels, six stages of moral reasoning
– Stage change based on perspective taking
opportunities and experienced conflict

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 14

Level Moral
Stage Development
Description
Preconventional 1 Heteronomous morality: moral thinking tied
Reasoning: to punishment
• Kohlberg’s
external rewards or theory
2 Individualism, instrumental purpose, and
punishment exchange: persons pursue own interests
– Based primarily on
moral reasoning;
Conventional 3 Mutual interpersonal expectations,
Reasoning: relationships, and interpersonal conformity:
intermediate moral standards seen as ‘good’ or ‘bad’
internalization 4 Social systems morality: based on
understanding of social order, law, etc.
Postconventional 5 Social contract: individual and human rights
Reasoning:
morality fully 6 Universal ethical principles: conscience
internalized
© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 15

Moral Development

• Kohlberg’s Beliefs
– Levels and stages occurred in sequence
– Cognitive development does not ensure
moral reasoning development
– Peer interaction stimulates moral reasoning
– Universal support found for first four stages

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 16

Moral Development
• Kohlberg’s Critics
– Not enough emphasis on moral behavior
– Culture and Moral Development
– Dismissed family processes importance
– Gender-biased: males use justice view,
females use caregiver perspective
– Social conventional reasoning; rules for
social control differ from moral rules

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 17

Moral Development

• Prosocial moral behavior

– More emphasis on behavior development
– Empathy, altruism behaviors
– Empathy and adult encouragement fosters
obligation to share
• Definitions of ‘fairness’ change with age
• Give-and-take of peer interactions affects most

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 18

Moral Development

• Moral personality
– Three components
• Moral identity (view of self)
• Moral character (behavior shown to others)
• Moral exemplars (model for others)

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 19

Gender

• Gender stereotypes
– Broad categories of beliefs, impressions
• Traditionally: males dominant, females nurturant
• Some influence by culture and religion
– Some social inequalities have diminished
– As sexual equality increases, gender
stereotypes and behaviors may diminish

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 20

Gender

• Gender difference and similarities

– Average differences: not all females or males
– Even in differences, there is large overlap
– Differences may be biological, sociocultural,
or both

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 21

Gender
• Physical development
– Men taller, shorter life expectancy, more
likely to develop physical/mental disorders
– Females have more fat, hormone growth
stops at puberty
– Female brains smaller and more folds,
larger corpus callosum
– Hypothalamus and area of parietal lobe are
larger in men
© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 22

Gender

• Cognitive Development
– Early research: females had better verbal
skills, males better math and visuospatial
skills
– Later research suggests differences slight
– Differences persist on standardized test
scores of children; suspect other factors

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 23

Gender

• Socioemotional Development
– Boys more physically aggressive; affected
by biology and environment
• Girls equally or more verbally aggressive
• Relational aggression
– Communication differs
• Others talk to boys and girls differently
• Rapport and Report Talk

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 24

Gender

Report talk Rapport talk

• Favored by males • Favored by females
• Provides information • For conversation,
• Public speaking establishing
such as jokes and connections, and
storytelling negotiating
relationships

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 25

Gender
• Socioemotional Development
– Communication
• Girls use more affiliative speech; boys use
more self-assertive speech
• Differences affected by
– Group size
– Speaking with peers or adults
– Familiarity
– Age

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 26

Gender
• Emotion
– Boys hide more negative emotions, girls
show less disappointment
– Girls experience more intense emotions in
adolescence
– Males show less self-regulation, more
likely to have behavior problems
– Girls engage in more prosocial behaviors
in childhood and adolescence
© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 27

Gender

• Gender role classification

– Androgyny: possessing both positive
feminine and masculine characteristics
– Sandra Bem: androgynous persons
• More flexible, competent, mentally healthy
• Classification affected by context
– Despite societal changes, traditional
raising of boys continues
© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 28

Gender-Role Classification

Masculine
High Low
androgynous feminine
High

Feminine
masculine undifferentiated
Low

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Is the Nature of Emotional and Personality Development in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 29

Gender

• Gender in context
– Gender stereotypes usually expressed
as personality traits
– Gender behavior affected by context
– Gender roles prescribed in many cultures
• Division of labor
• Childrearing and socialization

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Are Some Changes in Parenting and Families in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 30

Developmental Changes
in Parenting
• Parent-child interactions: decrease as
children get older
– Autonomy and parental regulation
– School-related and out-of-school matters
– Discipline
– Co-regulation: gradual process

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Are Some Changes in Parenting and Families in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 31

Stepfamilies

• Divorce and remarriage common

– Higher divorce rate in remarriages
– Remarried parents face unique tasks
• Strengthen and define new relationships
• Renegotiate divorced biological parental roles
– Three common types of stepfamilies
• Stepfather, stepmother, and blended

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Are Some Changes in Parenting and Families in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 32

Latchkey Children
• Both parents work outside home
• Largely unsupervised; experiences vary
– 2 to 4 hours on school days
– Much more during summer months
– Risks to child
• Grow up too fast, too many responsibilities
• Easier to get into trouble, negative behaviors
– Out-of-school care exists, more needed
© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
What Are Some Changes in Parenting and Families in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 33

Gay Male and Lesbian Parents

• Families with children created by

– Heterosexual parent identifies as gay male
or lesbian after birth of children
– Donor insemination
– Adoption
• Custody arrangements can vary
– Few, if any, differences between children
raised in heterosexual and gay/lesbian
families
© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
What Changes Characterize Peer Relationships in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 34

Developmental Changes

• Peers become more important

– Peer interaction increases for recreation,
group identification, and friendships
– Peer competence impacts on future
– Size of group increases and adult
supervision decreases with age
– Same-sex group preferences until age 12

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Changes Characterize Peer Relationships in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 35

Peer Statuses

Frequently nominated as a best friend;

Popular rarely disliked by peers
Receive average number of positive
Average and negative nominations from peers
Infrequently nominated as a best
Neglected friend but not disliked by peers
Infrequently nominated as a best
Rejected friend; actively disliked by peers
Frequently nominated as someone’s
Controversial best friend and as being disliked

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Changes Characterize Peer Relationships in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 36

Peer Status

• Skills of popular children

– Give out reinforcements, act naturally
– Listen carefully, keep open communication
– Are happy, control negative emotions
– Show enthusiasm, concern for others

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Changes Characterize Peer Relationships in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 37

Peer Status
• Behaviors of rejected children
– Less classroom participation
– Negative attitudes on school attendance
– More often report being lonely
– Aggressive peer-rejected boys
• Impulsive, problems being attentive, disruptive
• Emotionally reactive, slow to calm down
• Have fewer social skills to make friends

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Changes Characterize Peer Relationships in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 38

Social Cognition

• Thoughts about social matters

• Thoughts about peers is important for
understanding peer relationships
• Interpreting intentions determines
response and appropriateness
• Social knowledge creates social bonds

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Changes Characterize Peer Relationships in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 39

Bullying

• Verbal or physical behavior intended

to disturb someone less powerful
– Most likely affected are males and
younger middle school students
– Targeted children unlikely to retaliate
– Bullies more likely to have lower grades,
smoke or drink alcohol
– Victims suffer many other effects

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

 Slide 40
Bullying Behavior Among U.S. Youth

Belittled about religion or race

Belittled about looks or speech

Males
Hit, slapped, or pushed Females

Subject of rumors

Subject of sexual comments or gestures

0 5 10 15 20 25
Percent experiencing bullying
Fig. 13.6
© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
What Changes Characterize Peer Relationships in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 41

Friends

• Friendships serve six functions

– Companionship
– Stimulation Not all friendships
– Physical support and not all friends
– Ego support are equal
– Social comparison
– Affection and intimacy

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Changes Characterize Peer Relationships in Middle and Late Childhood? Slide 42

Friends
• Intimacy in friendship
• Self-disclosure
• Sharing of private thoughts
• May not appear until adolescence
• Friendless students
• Showed less prosocial behaviors
• More emotionally depressed
• Had lower grades

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Are Some Important Aspects of Schools? Slide 43

Contemporary Approaches
to Student Learning
• Controversy over best instructional
approach
– Constructivist: learner-centered
– Direct instruction: teacher-centered
• Criticized as rote memory, teaching irrelevant
material, and creates passive learners

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Are Some Important Aspects of Schools? Slide 44

Contemporary Approaches to Student

Learning and Assessment

Characterized by teacher direction and

Direct control, mastery of academic material,
instruction high expectations for students’ progress,
and maximum time spent on learning

Emphasizes the child’s active construction

of knowledge/understanding with teacher
Constructivist guidance. Child encouraged to discover,
reflect, critically think. Emphasis on
collaboration and opportunities.

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Are Some Important Aspects of Schools? Slide 45

Contemporary Approaches
to Student Learning
• Accountability
– Demanded by public and government
– State-mandated tests more powerful role
– No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act critics
• Single score from single test as indicator
• Tests don’t measure creativity, other skills
• Teaching to the test

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Are Some Important Aspects of Schools? Slide 46

Socioeconomic Status
and Ethnicity
• Education of students from low-income
– Schools:
• More students with low achievement test scores
• Low graduation rates
• Low numbers attend college
• More inexperienced teachers
• More rote memory encouraged
• Old and crumbling buildings and classrooms

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Are Some Important Aspects of Schools? Slide 47

Socioeconomic Status
and Ethnicity
• Ethnicity in schools
– Large inner city school districts attended by
• 1/3 of all African American and Latino students
• 22% of all Asian students
• 5% of all white students
– School segregation exists; effects of SES
and ethnicity intertwined
– Schools grossly underfunded, lack adequate
opportunities for effective learning

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

What Are Some Important Aspects of Schools? Slide 48

Improving Ethnically
Diverse Schools
– Turn the class into a jigsaw classroom
– Use technology to foster cooperation
– Encourage positive personal contact
– Encourage perspective taking
– Help critical thinking, emotional intelligence
– Reduce bias
– View school and community as team
– Be a competent cultural mediator
© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Slide 49

13

The End

© 2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.