Early Childhood

Early Childhood

Chapter 7-8Psyc311Jen Wright

Theory of mind

The ability to understand the existence of mental states in the minds of others Desires Beliefs etc.

Strongly explanatory and predictive. Yet, non-tangible.

Desires – “I want…” children speak about early (2 years)

Beliefs – “I believe that…” don’t show up in speech until 4-5 years

Desires – simple constructs mind-to-world fit

concerned with the person How we want the world to be

similar to emotions (non-representational) Beliefs – more complex constructs

world-to-mind fit concerned how the world

How it really is representational

Maxi “false-belief” tasks

??

Succeeding at the false belief task… Requires understanding that Maxi has a mental state (belief) that is

different from the child’s mental state. has a mental state (belief) that is

different from reality.

Beliefs come apart from reality they can be false.

Desires don’t.

Children can use belief states to explain behavior before they will use them to predict.

Katie is looking for her kitty. Her kitty is in the garage. Katie is looking for her under the piano. Why is Katie looking under

the piano? When confronted with a

behavior they can’t otherwise explain, children will appeal to a (false) belief. She is looking under the

piano cause she thinks the kitty is there.

examples Experimenter: Why does Jason cry?

Child: Because he was scared. Experimenter: Why else does Jason cry? Child: He thought it was a rattlesnake. Experimenter: Was it really a rattlesnake? Child: No.

Experimenter: Why is Ann smiling? Child: ’Cause she likes cookies. Experimenter: Why else is Ann smiling? Child: ’Cause she’s happy. Experimenter: Why else is Ann smiling? Child: She thinks she can eat it? Experimenter: Can she really eat it? Child: It’s not real.

Appearance-reality tasks

What do all of these tasks have in common?

Executive function The ability to override current information

with New information Past information Additional information

The ability to hold 2+ thoughts in mind and compare them.

emotions and self-development

Emotions are important in the emergence of self-awareness:

Self-efficacy awareness that you can affect events in your

surrounding Self-control

learning to modulate emotional reactions Self-concept

episodic memories external vs. internal characteristics

Self-esteem: higher order emotions that involve injury or enhancement to sense of self shame, embarrassment, guilt, envy, pride

• Emerge end of 2nd year, with sense of self• Accompanies other self-recognition tasks

• Awareness of expectations/reactions of others• Important distinction between shame and

guilt.• What is the difference?

• Why do we call these emotions “moral emotions”?

Emergence of the conscience: moral awareness- sense of good vs. bad

Self-regulatory emotions Guilt/Shame Pride Disgust

Inhibition of bad behavior, promotion of good behavior

socialization- culturally relevant norms and feelings

empathy

May be more important for moral socialization than negative emotions

Global distress Emotional contagion

Egocentric empathy (2 yrs) Non-egocentric empathy (3 yrs+) Cognitive empathy (middle childhood)

Abstract perspective-taking

Play Play: a pleasurable activity that is engaged

in for its own sake Theorists have focused on different

aspects of play: Freud and Erikson: play helps child master

anxieties and conflicts, satisfies our exploratory drive Play therapy

Piaget: play advances cognitive development; children’s cognitive development constrains the way they play

Vygotsky: play is an excellent social setting for cognitive development

Importance of play

Cognitive development Appearance – reality shift (make believe) Theory of mind Imagination

Social competence Empathy Role-playing

Emotional regulation

Types of Play: Sensorimotor play

behavior by infants to derive pleasure from exercising their sensorimotor schemes

Practice play the repetition of behavior when new skills are being

learned or mastered Pretense/symbolic play

occurs when the child transforms the physical environment into a symbol

Social play play that involves interaction with peers

Constructive play combines sensorimotor/practice play with symbolic

representation Games

activities that are engaged in for pleasure and have rules

Levels of social complexity Parallel play

Parallel aware play Simple social play Complementary/reciprocal play Cooperative social pretend play Complex social pretend play

Meta-communication about play

Parenting styles Authoritarian: restrictive style in which

parents demand obedience and respect Parent places firm limits and does not allow discussion Parent rigidly enforces rules but rarely explains them Children are often unhappy, fearful, and anxious

Authoritative: encourages children to be independent while placing limits and controls on actions

Extensive verbal give-and-take Parents expect mature, independent, age-appropriate

behavior Children are often cheerful, self-controlled, and self-

reliant

Parenting Styles

Neglectful: parent is very uninvolved in child’s life

Children feel that other aspects of the parent’s life are more important than they are

Children tend to be socially incompetent, immature, and have low self-esteem

Indulgent: parents are highly involved but place few demands or controls on the child

Children never learn to control their own behavior and always expect to get their way

Two Dimensions:

• Responsiveness• Demandingness

Gender

Sex: biological classification of male or female

Gender Identity: the sense of being male or female

Gender Roles: sets of expectations that prescribe how females or males should think, act, and feel

Gender Two basic types of theories Gender differences are built-in

Psychoanalytic: unconscious urges/tensions Epigenetic: biological/genetic underpinnings

Gender differences are learned Behaviorism: behavior is conditioned by

reward/punishment Cognitive: learned schemas (same as

“restaurant” schema) Socio-cultural: socialization, internalizing

norms

Parental Influences: Mother’s Socialization Strategies:

Mothers socialize daughters to be more obedient and responsible than sons

Mothers place more restrictions on daughters’ autonomy

Father’s Socialization Strategies: Fathers show more attention to sons than

daughters, engage in more activities with sons, and put more effort into promoting sons’ intellectual development

Peer Influences: Peers extensively reward and punish gender

behavior Greater pressure for boys to conform to traditional

gender roles Children’s Groups:

Children show preference toward same-sex playmates by age 3

From age 5 onward, boys are more likely than girls to form large groups and participate in organized group games

Boys engage in rough play, competition, conflict, etc.

Girls engage in “collaborative discourse”

Emotions and motivation

Extrinsic – reference to rules, rewards, punishment

Intrinsic – reference to internal (emotional) states of self or other E.g. makes me feel bad, hurts someone’s feelings

Providing extrinsic motivation (rewards) can interfere with intrinsic motivation. Difference in rewards given after and those

promised before hand.