Chapter 10 Early Childhood: Social and Emotional Development

Childhood and Adolescence: Voyages in Development, Second Edition, Spencer A. RathusChapter 10

Chapter 10Early Childhood:

Social and Emotional Development


Parents who are restrictive and demand mature behavior wind up with rebellious children, not mature children.

There is no point in trying to reason with a 4-year-old.

Early Childhood: Social and Emotional Development Truth or Fiction?


Firstborn children are more highly motivated to achieve than later-born children.

Children who are physically punished are more likely to be aggressive.



Children who watch 2 to 4 hours of TV a day will see 8,000 murders and another 100,000 acts of violence by the time they have finished elementary school.

Children mechanically imitate the aggressive behavior they view in the media.



The most common fear among preschoolers is fear of social disapproval.

A 2 1/2-year-old may know that she is a girl but still think that she can grow up to be a daddy.



Influences on Development

Parents, Siblings, and Peers


• Warmth – Coldness– Degree of affection and acceptance of child– Parental warmth relates to

• Development of moral conscience• Positive emotional and social well being

• Restrictiveness – Permissiveness– Degree to which parents impose rules and control

What Are the Dimensions of Child Rearing?


• Induction– Reasoning – child will understand what to do in similar situation

• Power Assertion– “Spare the rod, spoil the child”

• Withdrawal of Love– Threats or isolation of child

What Techniques Do Parents Use to Restrict Their Children’s Behavior?


• Authoritative Parents– High on Warmth, High on Restrictiveness– Self-reliance, independence, high self-esteem and social

competence• Authoritarian Parents

– Low on Warmth, High on Restrictiveness– Less socially competent, lower self-reliance and self-esteem

What Are the Parenting Styles Involved in the Transmission of Values and Standards?


• Permissive Parents– Permissive – Indulgent

• High warmth, low restrictivenss• Less competent in school but fairly high in social competence and self-

confidence– Permissive – neglecting

• Low warmth, low restrictiveness• Least competent, responsible and mature children

What Are the Parenting Styles Involved in the Transmission of Values and Standards?


Developing in a World of Diversity

Individualism, Collectivism, and Patterns of Child Rearing


Figure 10.1 The Self in Relation to Others from the Individualist and Collectivist Perspectives


• Positive Aspects– Cooperation– Teaching– Nurturance

• Negative Aspects– Conflict– Control– Competition

• Siblings imitate each other

• Conflict may enhance social competence and self-identity

• As siblings age, relationship becomes more egalitarian and conflict declines

What Kinds of Influence Do Siblings Have on Social and Personal Development in Early Childhood?


• Adjusting to Birth of Sibling– Both positive and negative reaction to stress of new sibling

• regression• increased independence and maturity

• Preparation of child to new sibling shows less sibling rivalry

What Kinds of Influence Do Siblings Have on Social and Personal Development in Early Childhood?


• First-born children– More highly motivated to achieve, more cooperative, adult-oriented– Show greater anxiety, less self-reliant– More likely to have imaginary playmate

• Later-born children– Tend to be more popular with peers– More rebellious, liberal and agreeable

• Parenting style may differ between first- and later-born children

What Does the Research Say About the Effects of Being a First-born or an Only Child?


• By age 2, children– Imitate another’s play– Engage in social games– Show a preference for playmates

• Preschool friendships– Characterized by shared, positive experiences, feelings of

attachment– Show higher levels of interaction, prosocial behavior, positive

emotions– Based on experiences; shared toys, activities, and fun

What Is The Influence of Peers on Social and Personal Development in Early Childhood?


Developing in a World of Diversity

The Case of the (In)Visible Father


Social Behaviors

In the World, Among Others


• Play based on cognitive development (Piaget, 1951, 1962)– Functional Play – repetitive motor activity– Symbolic Play – pretend play– Constructive Play – draw or make something– Formal Games – games with rules

What Do Developmentalists Know About Child’s Play?


• Six types of play (Parten, 1932)– Nonsocial (Children do not interact)

• Unoccupied Play• Solitary Play• Onlooker Play

– Social (Children influenced by others as they play)• Parallel Play• Associative Play• Cooperative Play

What Do Developmentalists Know About Child’s Play?


• By 18-months child shows more preference for gender-stereotyped toys– Girls are more likely to stray from stereotypes

• May represent social prestige of masculine in American culture

• Gender differences in play activities– Boys prefer vigorous outdoor, rough and tumble play– Girls prefer arts and crafts, domestic play

Are There Boys’ Toys and Girls’ Toys?


• Biological factors– Boys – slightly greater strength and activity level– Girls – slightly greater physical maturity and coordination

• Differences in treatment by adults• Children seek “appropriate” labels for toys and play

– Peer, parental, adult criticism

Why Do Children Show Early Gender Preferences in Choice of Toys and Activities?


• Boys’ play - more oriented toward dominance, aggression and rough play– Girls seek out other girls to protect against this behavior

• Boys are not responsive to girls’ suggestions– Unpleasant to interact with unresponsive playmate

• Boys may view girls as inferior

Why Do Children Choose to Associate With Peers of Their Own Sex?


• Empathy - sensitivity to the feelings of others– From infancy, babies cry when they hear other children cry

• May be reflexive or the start of empathy– By second year, approach others in distress and try to help

• Unresponsive empathy – more aggressive behavior in school years– Girls show more empathy than boys

• Social learning or genetic?

• Perspective-Taking

How Does Prosocial Behavior Develop?


• Reinforcement of behaviors– More positive peer response

• Responsibility– Household chores and caring for siblings

• Observation of behaviors of peers• Parental interactions• Parenting style

Influences on Prosocial Behavior


• Aggression in preschoolers– Frequently instrumental or possession-oriented– Usually causes rejection by peers

• Aggression at 6- or 7-years– Hostile and person-oriented

• Aggressive behavior appears to be stable over time

How Does Aggression Develop?


• Evolutionary theory– Struggle for survival

• Biological factors– Genetic factors– Testosterone– Temperament

• Cognitive factors– Inaccurate interpretation of others’ behavior– Lack of empathy and perspective-taking

What Causes Aggression in Children?


• Social Learning– Reinforcement and Observational Learning

• Media Influences– Classic study on influence of televised models of aggression– Television is a major source of informal observational learning

What Causes Aggression in Children?


• Observational learning• Disinhibition• Increased arousal• Priming of aggressive thoughts and memories• Habituation

How Do Depictions of Violence Contribute to Aggression?


• Violent video games• Parental behavior

– Substance abuse– Paternal physical punishments– Single motherhood

• Absence of or rejection by parent

Other Factors Related to Aggression


Personality and Emotional Development


• Categorical Self – external traits– Age groupings – Sex

• Self-Esteem– High value attached to themselves

• Secure attachment and mothers sensitive to their needs

• By age 4, begin evaluative judgments– Cognitive and physical competence– Social acceptance by peers and parents

How Does the Self Develop During Early Childhood?


• Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development– Strive to achieve independence from parents– Strive to master adult behaviors

• Children begin to internalize adult rules– Fear of violating rules may cause guilt– Support to explore helps develop initiative

Erikson’s Initiative Versus Guilt


• Number of fears peaks between 2 1/2 and 4 years • Decline in fears of

– loud noises, falling, sudden movement and strangers• Most likely to have fears about

– animals, imaginary creatures, the dark and personal safety• In middle childhood, fears become more realistic

What Sorts of Fears Do Children Have in the Early Years?


A Closer Look

Helping Children Cope With Fears


Development of Gender Roles and Sex Differences


• Behavioral expectations based on gender• In American culture

– Feminine gender roles- dependence, gentleness, helpfulness, warmth, emotionality, submissiveness, home-orientation

– Masculine gender roles – aggressiveness, self-confidence, independence, competitiveness, competence in business, math and science

What Are Stereotypes and Gender Roles?


• Stages of development of gender roles– 2 - 2 1/2 years – accurate identifying pictures of boys and girls– 3 years – display knowledge of gender stereotypes

• Traditional stereotypes about activities, occupations, personality traits • View their own gender more positive

How Do Gender Roles Develop?


• Evolution and Heredity– Sex differences are result of natural selection, adaptation– Survival set passed through genes (heredity)– Result – parental investment model

• Organization of the Brain– Hippocampus and Navigation

• Males use both hemispheres and rely on geometry • Females use right hemisphere (with right prefrontal cortex) and rely on

landmarks– Right-brained or Left-brained

• Left and right hemispheres more specialized in men

What Are The Origins of Sex Differences in Behavior?


• Sex Hormones– Prenatal influence on behavioral influences

• Social Cognitive Theory– Observational learning and socialization

• Parental influence

What Are The Origins of Sex Differences in Behavior?


• When do children typically develop a sense of gender identity?– Do the children depicted in the video give responses that you would expect

from a preschool child in regard to gender identity and constancy?– Why or why not?

Lessons in Observation: Gender




• Do the children in the video show stereotypic gender role expectations? – Cite examples to support your answer.– How do children develop gender role stereotypes?

• Are preschool children typically flexible or inflexible in their ideas, regarding gender typed behavior? Why?– Give examples from the video that are consistent with your responses.



Form concepts about gender and fit behavior to those concepts• Gender Identity

– Knowledge that one is male or female• Gender Stability

– People retain their sex for life• Gender Constancy

– Sex does not change, even if people modify behavior or dress• Conservation of gender – related to development of conservation

Once child has achieved gender stability and constancy, they seek to behave in ways consistent with their sex

Kohlberg’s Cognitive Developmental Theory Of Gender Typing


Use sex as one way of organizing their perceptions of the world• Gender schema - cluster of concepts about male and female

traits• Gender identity brings gender appropriate behavior

– Child acts in ways consistent with the gender schema

Bem’s Gender Schema Theory


• High in masculine traits only – masculine• High in feminine traits only – feminine• Neither strong masculine or feminine – undifferentiated• High in both masculine and feminine – psychologically

androgynous– Better social relations, superior adjustment, greater creativity

What is Psychological Androgyny?

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Chapter 10 Early Childhood: Social and Emotional Development