Child Behavior & Guidance Part I: Theories & Principles

1. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension ServiceCore In-Service November 3, 20099:30-11:00 a.m. Debbie Richardson, Ph.D. Parenting Assistant Extension Specialist Human Development & Family Science Oklahoma State University Child Behavior & Guidance Part I: Theories & Principles

2. Introduction • Welcome • Centra Instructions • Overview of In-service • Resource Materials

3. In-Service Objective Extension Educators will be able to identify definitions, major theories, and key principles relevant to the behavior, discipline, and guidance of toddlers through school-age/pre-teen children.

4. Terms & Definitions

5. Child Behavior • Any observable response or action of a child • Form of communication - Verbal & nonverbal • Conduct, actions, words children use to express thoughts, feelings, needs, impulses • Judged whether it meets social, cultural, developmental, & age appropriate standards • Can be positive/negative, impulsive/planned, predictable/unpredictable, consistent/ inconsistent

6. Child Behavior • Can elicit wide range of positive or negative responses from others • Does not occur in isolation • Influenced by: • child’s desires, temperament, & ability to adapt • parenting style, family situation, various stresses and transitions

7. Self-regulation • Self-control • Child’s ability to contain and manage his/her own behavior without relying on caregivers to guide him/her • Gradually internalizing an understanding of what behaviors are acceptable/non-acceptable, right/wrong, meeting social standards • Long process

8. Compliance • Child’s ability and willingness to adjust behavior to meet the expectations and limits of caregivers • Compliant when following a caregiver’s request or direction

9. Conscience & Moral Development • Internal voice or system of moral values • Judge right/wrong • Feelings of guilt or discomfort • Not innate – built gradually from relationships • Internalize standards of behavior taught by caregivers • Process of norms, rules, and values of family and society become an internal motivator even in absence of external authority • Values → beliefs

10. Discipline • Teach, lead, educate • Does not imply punishment or scolding • Teaches what behavior is appropriate in which circumstance, or how to interact in a socially acceptable manner • Process of guiding in ways that supports development of self-control • Used to set reasonable limits in a consistent manner while still allowing some choice among acceptable alternatives

11. Discipline • Teaches responsibility and right from wrong • Shows how to get along and respect rights and feelings of others • Encourages independence and self-direction • Enhances self-worth, sense of competence • Protects children from harm by teaching what is safe • Is ongoing - long-term focus

12. Punishment • Use of an unpleasant experience to try to change or eliminate behavior • Physical or emotional means to cause pain, humiliation, denial of freedom, and/or isolation • An arbitrary penalty • May stop bad behavior for the moment but does not teach expected good behavior • Often builds anger & resentment • Inhibits development of self-discipline

13. Physical/Corporal Punishment • Physical force with the intention of causing the child to experience bodily pain or discomfort so as to correct or punish the child’s behavior • Physical restraint – use of physical force to protect the child or others from physical pain or harm

14. Abuse Oklahoma statute Tit. 10, § 7102, 7106(A)(3) • Harm or threatened harm to a child's health or safety includes, but is not limited to, nonaccidental physical injury, mental injury… • If…the incident reported was the result of the reasonable exercise of parental discipline involving the use of ordinary force, including, but not limited to, spanking, switching, or paddling, the investigation or assessment will proceed no further.

15. Guidance • A constant ongoing process of learning • Emphasis is on guiding & teaching • Self-discipline, not control, is the goal • Shapes behaviors with love, respect • In context of relationship, each person influences and is influenced by the other - may require changes in behavior of both the adult & child • Influenced by many factors – our origins, teaching experiences, cultural beliefs & values, family beliefs and values, & societal expectations

16. Socialization • Process of imparting competencies, values, and expectations of society to children • Process by which children learn to behave according to social expectations and standards

17. Theories & Frameworks Related to child behavior, discipline, & self-regulation

18. Theories & Frameworks Schools of thought, paradigms, perspectives Grow out of efforts to make sense of scientific observations Research tests and supports hypotheses Different theoretical frameworks are useful for understanding different areas of behavior

19. Some Major Differences Between Theories • Emphasis on various ways to encourage compliance in children: • Some focus on training by modeling and reinforcement • Some focus on self & interactions with others • Emphasis on the emotional quality of the parent-child relationship

20. Psychoanalytic (Freud) • Natural instincts, innate drives • Parents (esp. mothers) are the most important socializing agents • Children internalize their parents’ values which form a superego or conscience -occurs in first 5 years • Early influences are very important for children’s development • Harsh parenting methods are detrimental to children’s well-being

21. Behaviorism (Watson, Skinner) Child is a blank slate at birth - filled in over time by experiences in environment Based on stimulus-response relationships; stimuli → predict behavior Classical & operant conditioning Behavioral changes occur when certain consequences are contingent on (related to) the performance of desired behavior Shape child’s development and control behavior in desired direction with rewards, praise, reinforcement, modeling, etc.

22. Attachment (Bowlby, Ainsworth) • Emotional bond that develops between an infant and a caregiver (only a few) • Mutual, reciprocal interactions (partnership) • Gradually develops in early months & years • Leads to organizational changes in infant’s behavior and brain function. • Infant develops expectations about caregiving. Sense whether caregiver is predictable, responsive, and available to meet needs. • Early experiences influence sense of control, security, self-worth.

23. Social Learning (Bandura) Behavior is largely a social process learned through observation & imitation Likely to imitate the behavior of a model seen as being rewarded Importance of cognition, thinking – ability to listen, remember, and abstract general rules from complex sets of observed behavior affects imitation and learning Strong emphasis on how children think about themselves and other people Gradually more selective in what they imitate

24. Moral Development (Kohlberg) • Stages based on cognitive development • 3 levels of moral orientation: • Preconventional – punishment & obedience • Conventional - role-conformity, expectations • Postconventional- self-accepted principles • Cognitive disequilibrium and role-taking are processes involved in progressing through the stages

25. Moral Socialization (Hoffman) • Emphasizes society’s transmission of moral norms through internalization and development of conscience • Appropriate types of discipline lead to acceptance of standards and moral norms • Success of internalization depends on development of empathy within child (considering the needs of others)

26. Attribution (Bugental, Dix) • Emphasizes importance of parents’ view • Attributions and expectations of the child on parent behavior and child development • Parental beliefs filter the child’s behavioral acts, determine meaning for the caregiver, and influence how parent reacts • When a parent believes he/she has little power or competence and cannot control child, discipline becomes ineffective

27. Coercion (Patterson) • Parents and children train each other through sequences of interactions • Behavior problems more likely when child is reinforced for responding with negative behavior to parental requests or demands • Child tries to ‘coerce’ parent into terminating undesired requests • Parents’ repeated attempts to obtain compliance are met with increasingly difficult behavior • Parent’s withdrawal of request negatively reinforces child’s aversive behaviors

28. Importance of Theories, Frameworks, & Principles • Effective guidance & discipline practices are based on child development theory • Makes program objectives, educational activities, parenting recommendations, and educators more powerful and effective • Check assumptions and theories used within various child development and parenting programs or resources • Identify concepts and actions that may indicate your own, parents’ or other caregivers’ orientation and personal frameworks • Find practices consistent with values & philosophies • Understand how different frameworks may be used to address different issues

29. Wrap-up • Questions • Discussion • In-service evaluation • Follow-up • Next Session: Tuesday, November 10

30. References • American Academy of Pediatrics. (1999). Caring for your school-age child: Ages 5 to 12. New York: Bantam Books • Gershoff, E.T. (2008). Report on physical punishment in the United States: What research tells us about its effects on children. http://www.phoenixchildrens.com/PDFs/principles_and_practices-of_effective_discipline.pdf • Landy, S. (2002). Pathways to competence: Encouraging healthy social and emotional development in young children. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing. • Various textbooks and other reference materials