Socioemotional Development in Middle Childhood

1. Socioemotional Development in Middle Childhood Chapter 12

2. Social and Emotional Self • Social Evaluations • Self representations/Self Concepts—me self • Self appraisals—judgment about self in light of some standard of comparison • Peers’ standards, • Parents’ expectations, • Teachers’ expectations

3. Perceived Self Efficacy (PSE) • Realization that one can complete some task or attain the knowledge and skills to do so • Realistic appraisals of one’s PSE is more adaptive than either extreme and unwarranted optimism OR extreme pessimism

4. Perceived Self Efficacy (PSE) • PSE can be enhanced or inhibited in middle childhood by feedback from: • Teachers • Parents • Peers • Development of PSE: • Enactive Mastery Experiences (succeed at tasks) • Verbal Persuasion (informative and encouraging feedback) • Vicarious Experiences (access to competent role models) • Positive Emotional Experience and Environment (environment supports efforts and continued attempts following failure at a task)

5. Emotional Development in Middle Childhood • Cassidy, et al. (1992)—children of emotionally expressive mothers are held in high regard by their peers • Koester, et al. (1990)—involved fathers and mothers who restricted aggression and who were satisfied with their roles had children who became more empathic • Zahn-Waxler & Robinson (1995)—depressed mothers tend to have children who experience guild and helplessness

6. Aggression • Physical Aggression (use of force) • historically males have engaged in greater frequency than females • females’ rates of physical aggression are increasing • threats and intimidation with threats of physical violence can be equally harmful emotionally • assault is the threat of violence with means, opportunity, and motive • battery is the act of violence against another individual • Both are crimes

7. Aggression • Relational Aggression • Use of social and emotional strategies to undermine reputation, relationships, or status of another • Typically females have higher frequency of relational aggression, but males also use this • May lead to self injurious behavior but unclear relationship

8. Aggression • Murray-Close, Crick & Galotti (2006): • Asked 4th and 5th graders to rate relative harm and moral status of physical and relational aggression • Relational Aggression (RA): • Girls more likely than boys to report RA • Overall, children who rated relational aggression as wrong were less likely to report or being reported as having committed RA • Overall children’s reports of harmfulness of RA were more likely to be reported by peers and teachers as having committed RA. • 5th grades more likely to be reported by peers as having committed RA than 4th graders.

9. Aggression • Murray-Close, Crick & Galotti (2006): • Physical Aggression (PA): • Boys more likely to be reported by peers and teachers as being involved in PA • Overall, children’s ratings of harmfulness of PA were positively related to peers’ and teachers’ ratings of PA • Overall, children’s ratings of wrongfulness of PA were negatively related to peers’ and teachers’ ratings of PA • Social Conventions and Perception of Appropriateness of aggression seemed to predict aggressive (relational or physical) acts.

10. Divorce • Te Puna Whakaaro (2004): Impact of family structure and change on child outcomes • Income declines for custodial parent • Paternal absence (usual case) • Poor maternal mental health following divorce • Interparental conflict • Compromised parenting practices and child parent relations

11. Divorce • Te Puna Whakaaro (2004): Impact of family structure and change on child outcomes • Selection effects • Families that divorce may be different from the start • Exhibit poor parenting styles • High levels of marital conflict • Suffer from persistent economic stress • Exposure to these conditions can compromise children’s wellbeing • Economic • Social • Psychological (Furstenberg & Teitler, 1994)

12. Resiliency • Succeeding when factors predict otherwise • Resilient Children: • Having caring, supportive and consistent relationship with at least one adult • Hearing a consistent, clear and high but realistic expectations • Having meaningful and numerous opportunities to shape, influence, and control aspects of one’s environment (PCE)

13. Erikson’s Stages of Identity Development • Industry vs. Inferiority • Acquire skills and technologies of the culture • Typically from more competent others (e.g. teachers, older siblings, parents) • Focus shifts from goal initiation to goal attainment • Undue focus on perfection and harsh feedback can lead to a sense of inferiority • Self handicapping • Resistance to attempt challenging tasks

14. Attribution and Motivation Orientation • Attribution for success & failure • Internal   External factors • Forces within or outside the individual’s control • Stable   Unstable factors • Forces that are relatively permanent or relatively malleable

15. Attribution and Motivation Orientation Internal External StableSuccess—smart Success—easy task Failure—stupid Failure—hard task UnstableSuccess—Effort Success—Lucky Failure—effort Failure—unlucky • Females tend to attribute failure to Ability and success to Luck or Task • Males tend to attribute success to Ability and failure to luck or effort

16. Attribution and Motivation Orientation • task/mastery orientation • the completion of the task and learning the material or mastering the skill is key • performance/ability orientation • focus is on external evaluation; getting the grade; • helplessness orientation • no matter what actions are taken, the task is insurmountable • what kinds of schools can overcome these problems? • high participation—active learning • high personalization—teacher interacts with students as individuals • high investigation—students test ideas rather than simply accepting them

17. Peer Status Groups (Coie, Dodge, et al) • Two factors: Social Preference & Social Impact • Social Preference • positively related to cooperation, support, attractiveness • negatively related to disruption and aggression • Social Impact • Active and salient behaviors whether positive or negative • Rated high to low on each dimension

18. Peer Status Groups • Popular • positive preference & high impact • attractive, athletic, academically successful • school leader • Average/amiable • positive preference, mid-level impact • friendly, dependable, academically average or above average • member of clubs, not leader

19. Peer Status Groups • Rejected • negative preference & high impact • aggressive, threatening, low academic achievement • associates with other in rejected group • Neglected • low preference & low impact • isolated by own choice, quiet, unknown • may be candidate for internalizing problems (depression) • Controversial • Positive and Negative preference and high impact • rejected (disruptive, aggressive) & popular (social leaders) • may be class clown; the kid your parents warned you about