Moral Dev & Peer & Family Influences in Middle Childhood

Transcription

1 Moral Dev & Peer & Family Influences in Middle Childhood Psychology 313 Lecture 15/16 Social Development Change amt time spent w/parents & w/peers 40% with peers Twice what spent with peers during preschool years Less adult supervision, content of peer interactions and forms of social control are different Changes in Social Roles With family social roles & sense of self are predefined With peers must form new identities appropriate to new contexts 1

2 Relations with Parents Parents cannot successfully demand unquestioned obedience Socialization techniques become more indirect Change in parents expectations Parents expect child to behave self Children should be more capable & responsible Decrease in overt affection Parental Influences on Peer Relations 1. Patterns of parent-child interaction provide working models of how people should interact with each other 2. The way parents keep track of and organize children s interactions with peers Moral Development Piaget middle childhood child Negotiating plans, settling disagreements, enforcing rules Social rules provides structure that makes cooperation with others possible Peer groups can be self-governing Members are capable of moral thinking Heteronomous morality- based on externally imposed controls Older people announce rules, compel conformity and decide right/wrong Autonomous morality- based on understanding of rules as arbitrary agreements that can be changed if everyone agrees 2

3 Piaget s Account (Marbles) Early childhood: Little regard for rules, no competition Middle childhood: Try to win according to preexisting rules At first, heteronomous moral thinking Between ages of 9 and 11 autonomous moral thinking Neo-Piagetians View of Moral Dev Lawrence Kohlberg Six stages of moral development- Childhood -> adulthood Heinz Dilemma In Europe, a woman was near death from cancer. One drug might save her, a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The druggist was charging $2K; ten times what the drug costs to make. The sick woman s husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could get together only about half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said no. The husband got desperate and broke into the man s store to steal the drug for his wife. Should the husband have done that? Why? Kohlberg s Moral Stages Focus on moral reasoning about harm and justice (stories) Total of 6 stages, grouped in 3 levels (Preconventional, Conventional, Postconventional or Principled) First 3 stages correspond to middle childhood Level/Stage LEVEL I Preconventional STAGE 1 Heteronomous morality (begins at ages 5 or 6) What Is Right Adherence to rules backed by punishment Obedience for its own sake Avoidance of physical damage to persons and property Why Do Right Avoidance of punishment Superior power of authorities Social Perspective Egocentric point of view Actions are considered in physical rather than psychological terms Confusion of authority s perspective with one s own 3

4 Kohlberg s Moral Stages Level/Stage LEVEL I Preconventional STAGE 2 Instrumental morality (begins at ages 7 or 8) LEVEL II Conventional STAGE 3 Good-child morality (begins at ages 10 or 11) What Is Right Following rules when it is in one s immediate interest Acting to meet own needs and letting others do the same Seeing fairness as an equal exchange Living up to what others close to you expect of you Having good motives and showing concern for others Keeping mutual relationships by loyalty and respect Why Do Right To serve one s own needs or interests in a world where other people have their own interests Need to be a good person in own and others eyes Caring for others Belief in the Golden Rule Desire to maintain rules and authority Social Perspective Concrete individualistic perspective Aware that all have their own interests and that these may conflict Right is relative Perspective of an individual in relationship with others (i.e., shared feelings, expectations, agreements) Ability to relate points of view via Golden Rule Moral Reasoning and Theories of Mind Theory of mind: The ability to think about other people s mental states Younger children: Objective view of responsibility, an understanding that responsibility depends on objective consequences alone Older children and adults: Subjective view of responsibility that take intentions into account With increasing age, children become more competent at interpreting a person s objective behavior in light of her subjective mental state Peer Relations & Social Status Four basic social types 1. Popular children 2. Rejected children 3. Neglected children 4. Controversial children 4

5 Social Competence The set of skills and abilities that collectively contribute to children s social functioning with peers, including: Athletic ability Academic success Leadership ability; confidence Cooperativeness; helpfulness Competence in entering peer activities Physical attractiveness Non-aggressiveness Happy, positive affect during social interactions Social skills, including problem solving skills Social-cognitive skills, including role taking Competence in understanding nonverbal emotional info Cross-Gender Relations Middle childhood: Sexually segregated groups Due primarily to preferences for different kinds of activities and styles of interaction Friendship: A Special Relationship Children without best friends are lonelier than children with best friends Controversial & neglected children are not usu distressed by their relative lack of social success (usu have at least 1 BF) Failure to form such friendships in childhood creates a social deficit that is difficult to remedy later 5

6 Friendship: A Special Relationship Friendships determined by proximity and similarities Focus in early childhood: Pretend play Focus in middle childhood: Belonging, social acceptance Focus in adolescence: Exchange of intimate personal knowledge; also more generous, cooperative, and helpful with each other Significance of Peer Relations Children who are successful w/peers are on track for adaptive & psych healthy outcomes E.g., peer status & friendship in Mid Ch predict a good deal about kinds of successes/difficulties children will have in later years Greatest problems for rejected (aggressive) children and for bullies 6