Child Development Laura E. Berk 8th editionChapter 11Self and Social Understanding

This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law:Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network;Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part of any images;Any rental, lease, or lending of the program.Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Emergence of self & development of self-conceptSocial cognition: the development of thinking about the self and other peopleSelf-awarenessDuring the first few months, infants distinguish their own visual image from other stimuliGallup (1997): The painted red dye experiment on chimpanzees orangutansself-recognition: around age 2 identification of the self as a physically unique being

Testing Emerging Self-AwarenessCopyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Categorical, Remembered, and Enduring SelvesCategorical (18 -30 mns)

Classify self and others byAgeSexPhysical characteristicsGoodness/badnessDevelops with languageRemembered

Life story of autobiographical memoriesDeveloped from adult-child conversations

Enduring (preschoolers) A view of themselves as persisting over timeCopyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

The Inner Self: Young Childrens Theory of Mind (ToM)A nave theory of mind: a coherent understanding of their own and others mental lives (being aware of that there are inner thoughts)From age 4, children show a belief-desire theory of mind: Both beliefs and desires determines actionsMost of 3-yr-olds cannot explain false beliefs; whereas many 4-yr-olds canFalse-belief mastery signals the ability to view beliefs as interpretation of realityBy age 6, the belief and reality distinction becomes more secure.

False-Belief Task

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon. Where do you think Pam, the doll, will look for Band-Aids? Why would she look in there?

Second-Order False-Belief TaskCopyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Factors That Contribute to Theory of MindLanguageCognitive abilitiesAttachmentMaternal mind-mindednessMake-believe playSocial interaction

Development of Self-ConceptCopyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

3-5 Years Concrete: Observable characteristics Typical emotions and attitudes6-11 Years Personality traits Positive and negative Social comparison11 and up Combines separate traits into abstract onesUse of qualifiers (fairly good) Organized, integrated self-concept

Mindblindness and AutismAbsorbed in the selfDeficient in nonverbal, language, and pretend play Some research suggests that impairments in social awareness, flexible thinking, processing coherent wholes, and verbal ability contribute independently to autism. Several biologically based deficits may underlie the disorder.Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Self-Esteem: The evaluative side of self-conceptJudgments we make about our own worth and feelings about those judgmentsIncludes: Global appraisal Judgments of different aspects of selfStockbyte Royalty Free CDCopyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Hierarchical Structure of Self-Esteem in Middle ChildhoodCopyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon. Laura Dwight Photography; George Disario/CORBIS; Mitch Wojnarowicz/The Image Works; Radius Images/Photolibrary

Influences on Self-EsteemAge, school transitionsCultureStrong emphasis on social comparisonGender-stereotype expectations (girls are less confident about appearance, athletic abilitiesChild-rearing Practices: warm and accepting parenting that provides reasonable expectations for mature behavior promotes high self-esteemtoo controlling or indulgent parenting relates to low self-esteem or unrealistic high self-esteem

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Achievement-Related AttributionsAttribution: explanation for the cause of our and others behaviorMastery-OrientedAttribute success to abilityIncremental view of abilityCan improve by tryingFocus on learning goalsLearned HelplessnessAttribute failure to abilityEntity view of abilityCannot be changedFocus on performance goalsCopyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Mastery-Oriented and Learned-Helpless AttributionsCopyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon. Top: Michael Newman/PhotoEdit; bottom: Image Source Black/Alamy Images.

Cultural Values and AchievementCopyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Eriksons Theory:Identity vs. Identity ConfusionIdentity

Defining who you are, what you value and direction in lifeCommitments to vocation, personal relationships, sexual orientation, ethnic group, idealsResolution of identity crisis or explorationIdentity Confusion

Lack of direction and definition of selfRestricted exploration in adolescenceEarlier psychosocial conflicts not resolvedSociety restricts choicesUnprepared for stages of adulthoodCopyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Eriksons Theory of Identity2 criteria: Exploration & Commitment4 identity StatusesCopyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Level of ExplorationLevel of CommitmentHighLowHighIdentity AchievementCommitment to values, beliefs, goalsMoratoriumExploration without commitmentLow Identity ForeclosureCommitment in the absence of explorationIdentity DiffusionApathetic state of lack of explore/commit

Identity Status & Psychological wellbeingIdentity achievement & moratorium are psychologically healthy; lead to well defined identityForeclosed individuals show a dogmatic, inflexible cognitive style internalizing values of others without questions (e.g., extremist groups) & fear their rejectionsDiffused teens are the least mature in ID development use avoidant cognitive styles, current pressure dictates their relations, decision makingDiffused teens often show apathy, impulsiveness at risk for depression/suicide

Adolescent SuicideA leading cause of death for North American youthRelated factors:Gender/ethnicity/family environmentSexual orientation/mental disordersLife stress/antisocial/impulsive

National Suicide Prevention Hotline1-800-273-8255(TALK)Notice warning signsProvide adult and peer supportTeach coping strategies

Ethnic IdentityEthnic Identity: a sense of ethnic group membership and attitudes and feelings associated with that membershipBicultural identityAcculturation stress Ways to promote healthy development of ethnic identityInstill family ethnic pride while allowing exploration of the meaning of ethnicityEnsure supportive social environment that respect the diverse cultural traditionsCopyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Thinking about Other PeoplePerson Perception: The way we evaluate the attributes of othersMost 3-4 yr olds has formed basic concepts of race and ethnicityChildren pick up most info about group status from implicit messagesIn-group and out-group biases (development of prejudice) Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

In-Group Favoritism andOut-Group PrejudiceCopyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Allyn & Bacon.

Reducing PrejudiceChildren with high prejudiceFixed view of personality traitsHigh self-esteem

Reducing prejudiceContact Theory: Intergroup contactEqual statusCommon goalsAuthorities expect cooperationLong-term contactSeeing others traits as changeableCorbis Royalty Free

Figure 11.1 - Three-month-olds emerging self-awareness, as indicated by reactions to video images.Figure 11.3 - Example of a false-belief task.Figure 11.4 Example of a second-order false belief task. Where does Lisa think Jason will look for the letter? Why? around age 7, children answer correctlyFigure 11.5 - Hierarchical structure of self-esteem in the mid-elementary school years.Figure 11.6 - Consequences of mastery-oriented and learned-helpless attributional styles.Figure 11.7 Chinese and U.S. mothers task-relevant statements in response to their fourth-grade childs success or failure on puzzle tasks.Kennith Clarks doll test, Brown vs. Board of EdFigure 11.8 - White Canadian 5-year-olds expressions of in-group favoritism and out-group prejudice. (clean, smart; cruel, dirty)