A Topical Approach to LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT

A Topical Approach toLIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT Chapter Fifteen: Peers and the Sociocultural Word John W. Santrock

Peer Relations in Childhood and Adolescence • Exploring peer relations • Peer Group Functions • Peers: individuals about the same age or maturity level • Peer groups provide source of information and comparison about world outside the family • Peer influences and evaluations can be negative or positive

Peer Relations in Childhood and Adolescence • Adult-child and peer relations • Parent influences on peer relations • Choice of neighborhoods, churches, schools • Recommend strategies to handle disputes or become less shy • Encourage children to be tolerant or resist peer pressure • Provide emotional base from which to explore peer relations

Peer Relations in Childhood and Adolescence • Peer contexts • Interaction influenced by context; situation, location, culture • Individual differences affecting peer relations • Personality traits (shy, outgoing) • Trait of emotional negativity; easily angered • Status and power conveyed/afforded

Peer Relations in Childhood and Adolescence • Developmental changes in childhood • Early Childhood • Frequency of peer interaction increases • Middle/Late Childhood • Children spend increasing time in peer interaction • Average time spent • 10% of time spent with peers at age 2 • 20% of time spent with peers at age 4 • 40% of time spent with peers during ages 7-11

Peer Relations in Childhood and Adolescence • Social cognition • Thoughts about social matters • Five steps in processing information about social world • Decode social cues • Interpret • Search for response • Select optimal response • Enact • Affects ability to get along with peers

Peer Relations in Childhood and Adolescence • Emotional Regulation and Peer Relations • Five peer statuses • Popular – often designated a best friend, rarely disliked • Average – receive average positive/negative ratings • Neglected – rarely nominated a best friend, not disliked • Rejected – actively disliked, infrequently nominated as best friend • Controversial – frequently nominated as best friend and being disliked

Peer Relations in Childhood and Adolescence • Bullying • Physical or verbal behavior with harmful intent • Significant numbers victimized • Boys and younger middle school students • Victims of bullies reported more loneliness and difficulty in making friends • Those who did the bullying more likely to have low grades, smoke and drink alcohol • Both victims and bullies had more health problems than other children

Bullying Behaviors Among U.S. Youth Fig. 15.1

Peer Relations in Childhood and Adolescence • To reduce bullying • Use older peers as monitors • Develop school-wide rules and sanctions • Form friendship groups for victims • Be more aware of where bullying behaviors occur • Sponsor antibullying program in all settings • Parents reinforce positive behaviors, role model • Early intervention, teach bullies appropriate skills

Peer Relations in Childhood and Adolescence • Gender and Peer Relations • Gender composition • From age 3, children prefer same-sex groups • Group size • From age 6, boys prefer larger groups • Interaction in same-sex groups • Boys: organized group games, rough-and-tumble • Girls: collaborative discourse

Peer Relations in Childhood and Adolescence • Adolescent Peer Relations • Peer pressure — peers play powerful roles • Cliques and crowds— to be liked and included • Cliques: Small groups averaging 5 or 6; usually same sex and age • Crowd: larger than cliques, less personal than cliques • Important role in one’s development in all cultures • Cross-cultural comparisons and variations

Friendship • Six Functions of Friendship • Companionship • Stimulation • Physical support • Ego support • Social comparison • Affection/intimacy • Intimacy in friendship: self-disclosure and sharing of private thoughts

Friendship • Friendship during Childhood • Children use friends as cognitive and social resources • Not all friends and friendships are equal • Supportive friendships advantageous • Coercive, conflict-ridden friendships not • Friends generally similar: age, sex, ethnicity, and many other factors (“homophily”)

Friendship • Friendship during Adolescence • Peer popularity is strong motivator • Younger teens prefer smaller groups, more intimacy • Sullivan: peers help shape development • Sources of attachment, play, intimacy, social fulfillment • Reassurance of worth, sharing of information • Peers have strong influence through association • Age range/knowledge of peers can influence behaviors

Friendship • Friendship during Adolescence • Gender differences • Girls more intimate with friends than boys, more open in self-disclosure • Personal disclosure has negative and positive consequences for girls • More risk of delinquent behavior when friends are older, boys focus on power and excitement • Early maturing: more risk for delinquent behavior

Developmental Changes in Self-Disclosing Conversations Fig. 15.3

Friendship • Adult friendship • Comparison of childhood friends to adult friends: similarities preferred — occupational status, age, marital status, income, education, gender, religion, ethnicity • Gender Differences • Women: more close friends; more intimate; talk more • Men: more competitive; engage in activities (outdoors) • More cross-gender friendships; still prefer same-gender

Friendship • Friendship in late adulthood • Choose close friends over new friends • Content with small, close social network • Tend to have less intense positive emotions with new friends; equal level with old friends • Research results: • Depression linked to social contacts limited to family • Close ties with old friends extends life span • Unwed older adults with friend-focused network healthier than unweds restricted to family, little friend contact

Play and Leisure • Childhood • Play: enjoyable activity for its own sake • Piaget: cognitive development constrains the way child plays • Functions of play • Tension release, master anxiety and conflicts • Play therapy • Practice competencies and skills; learning that’s fun • Vygotsky: play is good for creative thought

Play and Leisure • Childhood • Types of play • Sensorimotor – infant behavior for exploring • Practice – repetition for physical and mental mastery • Pretense/symbolic – “golden age” of make-believe • Social – interaction with peers, sharing and cooperating • Constructive – self-regulated creation of something, focus and concentration • Games – engaged in for pleasure, have rules to follow

Play and Leisure • Adolescence • Leisure: • Pleasant times after work or school when individuals are free to pursue activities and interests of their choosing • U.S. adolescents spend more time than those in other industrialized countries • Most time in unstructured leisure activities • Most time in voluntary structured activities • Critics: too much unstructured leisure activity — TV and “hanging out”

Play and Leisure • Adulthood • Leisure • Can include reading, hobbies, sports • Many adults do not engage in activities • Mid-life changes may produce expanded opportunities for leisure • Adults at midlife need to begin preparing psychologically for retirement • Vacations extend life span, lowers risk of heart disease

Aging and the Social World • Social theories of aging • Disengagement theory • To cope effectively, older adults should gradually withdraw from society • Lessen emotional ties, have more self-preoccupation • Outdated for today’s world • Activity theory • The more active and involved older adults are, the more likely they are to be satisfied with their lives • Today’s older adults are more active than ever before

Aging and the Social World • Stereotyping of older adults • Ageism • Prejudice against other people because of age, especially prejudice against older adults • Most based on assumed frailty and ailments of age • Personal consequences of negative stereotyping can be serious

Aging and the Social World • Social Support and Social Integration • Important physical and psychological impact • Social convoy model of social relations — go through life embedded in personal network of individuals that give social support • Helps those of all ages cope • Improves mental and physical health • Linked to reduced symptoms of disease • Linked to longevity • Emotionally positive contact lowers depression

Aging and the Social World • Successful aging • Positive dimensions ignored too long • Proper diet, technology, medical advances, and active lifestyle prolong and enhance quality of life • Related to perceived control over one’s environment (self-efficacy) • Social integration is very important • Being lonely and isolated – a significant health factor • Centenarians – optimistic and very happy

Sociocultural Influences • Culture • A broad concept • Behavior patterns, beliefs, and all other products of a group of people that are passed on from generation to generation • Ideas, values, assumptions that guide one’s behavior • Global interdependence is inescapable reality • All are citizens of the world • Better understanding promotes effective interactions

Sociocultural Influences • Culture • Relevance for life span development • Individualism— giving priority to personal goals rather than to group goals; emphasizing values that serve the self • Collectivism— emphasizing values that serve the group by subordinating personal goals to preserve group integrity, interdependence of members, and harmonious relationships

Sociocultural Influences • Culture • Consider self-terms of psychology • Individualistic focus • Self-actualization, self-awareness • Self-efficacy, self-doubts • Self-reinforcement, self-criticism • Self-serving, selfishness • Individualistic cultures • Personal choice, intrinsic motivation, self-esteem, and self-maximization

Sociocultural Influences • Technology, media and culture • Major impact on many children in the world • Positive and negative effects • Criticisms: • Books about today’s youth — Dumbest Generation • Employers spending $1.3 billion to teach employees writing skills • iPods and YouTube impair thinking skills?

Sociocultural Influences • Aging and Culture • Older persons • Have valuable knowledge • Control key family/community resources • Remain useful and valued as long as possible • Have role continuity throughout yje life span • Engage in age-related role changes • Is integrated into the extended family • Get greatest respect in collectivistic cultures

Sociocultural Influences • Socioeconomic Status • Grouping of people with similar occupational, educational, and economic characteristics • Number depends on community’s size, complexity • Low SES and middle SES • Each could have many subcategories • SES variations in neighborhoods, schools • Each level views education differently

Sociocultural Influences • Psychological Ramifications of Poverty • Poverty: U.S. rates continue to increase • Tends to follow ethnic lines • Highest for children of all industrialized nations • Psychological effects of poverty • Powerless, vulnerable, no financial resources • Inadequate housing, at-risk environment, etc. • Long term effects: chronic health problems

Sociocultural Influences • Ramifications of Poverty • Who is poor? • Women —feminization of poverty • Single mothers; single fathers • Families and poverty • Economic pressure linked with parenting • Benefits to parents help children • Poverty, aging, and ethnicity • Overall more among women and ethnic minorities; more than 25% of older women • Ethnic diversity continues to increase

Sociocultural Influences • Ethnicity • Ethnicity and socioeconomic status • Difficult to separate influences of ethnicity and SES • Minorities overrepresented in lower SES may cause exaggeration of negative ethnic influences • Links between acculturation and adolescent problems • Poverty higher among minority immigrants

Sociocultural Influences • Ethnicity • Ethnicity and families • Families vary by size, structure, composition, levels of income and education, kinship networks, and how family monitors/regulates behaviors • More single families in some groups • Ethnic minority parents are less educated • Children experience double disadvantage • Do not escape prejudice and discrimination • Stressful effects of poverty felt

Sociocultural Influences • Ethnicity • Ethnicity and differences • Recognizing differences important to getting along in diverse world • Differences among ethnic groups too often conceived by majority as deficits of minorities • Damaging to minorities • Diversity within ethnic groups

The End

A Topical Approach to LIFE-SPAN DEVELOPMENT