This document summarizes key concepts from chapters on social cognition and socialization from a developmental psychology textbook. It discusses Zone of Proximal Development and how assistance from more knowledgeable others can help learning. It also summarizes Jean Piaget's concepts of egocentrism and theory of mind, how children develop the ability to see from other perspectives. The document then discusses factors that influence socialization like parent and child effects, parental beliefs, shared and nonshared environmental influences, and internalization of social norms. It distinguishes between moral, conventional, and personal conduct rules.

1. DEV Module, Spring 2017
- Developmental Psychology across the life span.
Sonu Dawadi
Tilja Kontio
Delia Manea
Joey Vincentsen
Diakonia Ammatikorkeakoulu
Kalasatama, 17.03.2017

2. Introduction
As a team in this DEV module, we (group 1) have chosen to look further into Social Cognition
(chapter 6) and Socialization (chapter 8) in an effort to better understand the concepts
behind human learning and early childhood development.
This decision was a unanimous decision based on several factors playing into our immediate
every day, yet the largest two reason for choosing as such is that we, as individuals in the
Social Services bachelor studies are having our first intern placement in half a month, and
that we have not have had education in early childhood development prior to this, which
naturally is a concern for us, the implicated students in group 1.
The history, theories and methods described in the given chapters have been the cause for a
fair amount of aha-moments, bricks falling into place, but best of all – food for thought, and
a healthy amount of discussion.
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Zone of proximaldevelopment (ZPD)
Zone of proximal development was conceptualized by Lev Vygotsky in a response to Jean
Piaget’s theories concerning “egocentrism” and “lone learners”
Vygotsky believed that children were products of their contemporary socio-cultural
environments and that such was the shaping factor of any human being, in the sense of
what was being taught down from one generation to another, from a skilled to less skilled
person.
For ZPD to be effective it is a prerequisite to be in possession of a common means of
communication as this is will function as building bridge to performing coherent and
uniform actions and responses.
Most common and basic means of communication are verbal and written languages as they
already possess predefined boundaries.
ZPD serves as an internalized cognitive tool for an individual to teach and expand another
individuals knowledge capacity in a given field to become an efficient problem solver
For example. Mother to child, teacher to student, skilled chess player to a novice.
It takes base in the already solidified knowledge and working to push beyond the comfort
zone in a controlled setting to the extent that the less experienced user experiences some
degree of challenge in performing the given task, yet still are able to effectively analyze,
absorb and internalize and replicate the given expected pattern to a satisfying extent over
time - which eventually will turn in to the individual being able to teach the same knowledge
on to yet another, thus making a complete circle.

3. Effectively it could be explained as a
“four stage rocket”:
Stage 1: Assistance from a more
knowledgeable other (capable peer or
adult).
Stage 2: Assistance from self (prior
knowledge and research).
Stage 3: Automatization (practice, trial-
and-error).
Stage 4: De-automatization
(recursiveness through prior stages,
provide explanation to others).
The base works of ZDP does not take into consideration:
-Vagueness regarding processes
-The failure to consider developmental aspects
-The disregard of children’s individuality
-Vagueness concerning the precise means whereby learning is produced
Egocentrism
Egocentrism is a concept first studied by the swiss psychologist Jean Piaget. Piaget regarded
egocentrism as an inherent part of children’s cognitive stages. It refers to the inability of
small children to view things from any other perspective than their own. Hence, it is a failure
to differentiate subjective from objective aspects of experience. This occurs usually among
children until 6 years of age. After that, they slowly start to understand that their perspective
is not the only one, but instead every person has their own.
Egocentrism can be divided into perceptual egocentrism and communicative egocentrism.
Perceptual egocentrism refers to a child’s assumption that others see a specific object or
scene in the same way as he or she does. The child thinks that a person observing the same
scene or object but from the opposite side of the room sees it in the same way as he or she
does. Communicative egocentrism is best illustrated by children’s talk on the phone. They
might ask the person they’re talking with things such as: “Do you like my new shoes?”
without understanding that the other person cannot see those shoes. The conversation
between two small kids is often very monologue-like. They keep talking about their own life
and experiences, without really minding if the other person is interested or not. Also playing
with another child tends to take the form of parallel play rather than joint play. They are
completely focused on their own thing. Eventually, when playing with other children they
face the need to resolve differences of opinion and goals. Piaget called this “the shock of
thought coming into contact with that of others”. Some traces of egocentrism can, however,
be found later, especially among adolescents, who might blindly think that their belief or
opinion is the only one that exists. Egocentrism should not, however, be confused with

4. narcissism or egotism. Egotists and narcissists are greatly influenced by the approval of
others and they seek external admiration constantly. This does not normally apply to
egocentric people.
There has been a strong criticism against Piaget’s theory of egocentrism. Many findings show
that children much younger than age 6 or so do possess the capacity for acting in a non-
egocentric way. It is now regarded that children become aware of other people’s perspectives
and feelings gradually, starting from infancy. Egocentrism cannot, therefore, be seen as a
solid truth as individual differences exist.
Also the negative stigma attached to egocentrism has been questioned. It has been shown that
anything that individuals can relate to themselves is more meaningful and therefore more
likely to be remembered, and this applies especially to young children. Therefore, seen from
an evolutionary point of view, egocentrism is beneficial rather than detrimental. In order for
children to grow into independent and strong adults, they need to go through this process of
first acknowledging their own perspective and experience, and then that of others.
Followed by the concept of egocentrism, emerges the concept of theory of mind (ToM). It
was also frequently used by Jean Piaget, although it has its roots far back in time, in the
philosophical debate of science of the mind, Descartes being a key figure in this debate. It is
the notion that individuals come to understand that not only they possess consciousness,
thoughts and feelings, but others do too. In other words, it is people’s intuitive understanding
of their own and others’ mental states. As mentioned already regarding egocentrism, the
theory of mind can be attained starting usually from around 6 years of age, but in some cases
before that. There are concepts such as mind reading linked to the theory of mind, because of
the fact that we can actually never know for sure what another person is thinking or feeling,
we can only try to interpret it from observable factors such as facial expressions, body
language, tone of voice etc. Children aged ~4 start to develop a representational concept of
the mind. They begin to understand that mental contents are not a copy of the reality but
instead an interpretation of reality, that the mind is capable of creating its own representations
of the reality. So, children start to understand that other people may perceive the same
experience differently and give it a different meaning. This leads to appearance-reality
distinction, in essence, the realization that things may be different from what they appear to
be.
There seems to be considerable individual differences concerning ToM development. It has
been discovered that usually the children from larger families have a greater rate of ToM
development, due to more social interaction with siblings of different ages. Also the talk
plays a great role in theory of mind development. In families where there’s more talk about
emotions, desires and other mental states, the children are more likely to consider other
people’s desires and beliefs too.
Egocentrism and the theory of mind that follows it are guidelines for understanding how and
when we develop the ability to view things from other perspectives, accept different beliefs
and opinions, and empathize. They are not absolute, as individual differences occur. But they
are useful in understanding the changes that take place in our minds.

5. Socialization
“Life long process of inheriting and disseminating norms, customs, values and ideologies,
providing an individual with the skills and habits necessary for participating within.”
Child effects and bidirectionality
This concept describes the effects from child to parents; the influences children exerts on
their caretakers by virtue of their particular characteristics.
This bidirectionality shows both parents and children contribution to socialization. According
to John Watson, the father of behaviorism, referred to newborn infants as a very lowly piece
of unformed protoplasm, ready to be shaped by any family in whose care it is first placed
(1928).
To explain the existence of child effects, two concepts - socialization and parent-child
interaction have been developed which can be grouped into three categories:
1. Individual attributes-Parents especially the mother respond to their child on the basis
of Individual attributes such as child’s gender, physical attractiveness, impulse
control, disability and temperament..
2. Discrete behaviors-Parents also response according to brief actions such as smiles,
cries, vocalization, gaze and gesture.
3. Age-related characteristics- Behavior of a child changes according to age and
parent’s reaction and interaction to the child at the different stages of life will be
different.
Parenteffects
Various ways in which parent’s behavior affects the development of children. Children’s
development depends upon behavior and attribute of their parents.
Four models which are characterized by nature of children and role of their parents play in
their development:
1. Laissez-faire model-parents play inactive or passive role and children naturally bear
all the essential traits of socialization.
2. Clay moulding model-views parents as determining factor to the socialization of their
children. Parents tend to give proper shape to the children.
3. Conflict model-views that children and parents have the conflicting ideas and parents
forcefully bring changes in children’s behavior.
4. Mutuality model-based upon the notion that both the parties have equally important
role to play. Parents play the role of facilitator or moderator for the socialization of
their children.

6. Child’s socialization or development depends mostly upon parents but other sources such as
siblings, the extended family, peers, teachers and the media also influence child’s
development.
Parentalbeliefs
This is a set of ideas that parents hold about the nature of children's socialization. These
beliefs make us understand how parents think about their children and themselves. Parental
belief is also known as parental cognition, ideas, thoughts, constructs, representation. As
much as children grow with them, they can be modified by individuals experience over a
period of time. It is believed that parents obtain their ideas from different sources such as
their parents or own experience during childhood, opinion expressed by relatives, neighbors,
friends and mostly by the media. We can assume child development by learning about
parental beliefs. This relationship between parental belief and child rearing practices involves
a complex interaction between them in which they mutually modify each other over the
course of time. Beliefs exist as a result of the individual’s active construction as determined
by multiple influences and its ongoing process. Believes do not exist in isolation from other
social cognitive domains. We should therefore understand that beliefs alone are only
moderately related to behavior. We also need to adhere to the fact that people behave
differently depending on how they have been reared. Parental belief is one of the factors that
determine or influence both parental practices and child outcomes.
Shared and Nonshared environmental influences
Research on behavioral genetics showed two kinds of environmental influences on children's
development, one is shared influences, referring to those environmental experiences that are
common to all children in a given family. Second is nonshared influences, refers to
environmental experiences that impinge differently on each child in the same family. Parental
alcoholism, divorce, social class and poverty are good examples of sharing the same
experience, makes the siblings acting more alike. Nonsharing environmental experiences is
more about favoritism towards one child in the family, neglecting the other siblings, will
have, most of the time, a negative impact on their development. Plomin and Daniels (1987)
wrote in detail about, that genetics are not solely about nature but that is also about
contribution to make to our understanding of our nurture, as well as analyses of experiential
factors and their relative influence on children. However, as behavioral genetics shows that
all psychological characteristics , autism and even schizophrenia which are heavily depended
on inherited forces, are influenced by experience too. Plenty of evidence showed that kids
raised in same family will develop differently, moreover is seems that siblings will receive
different treatment from their parents. It’s clear that both, shared and nonshared influences,
are proven to be productive and valuable in child development.
Internalization and Compliance

7. Socializations aims to ensure that children are adopting the values, rules and standard of
conduct of the community in which they are living, this being essential for functioning of
society. In our times, failure to socialize still looks like sign of maladaptation. It is now clear
that the processes whereby others set certain society standards and values will be adopted by
children as their own. In children development is required also compliance, adults are the
ones who are caregivers but also teachers, demanding from their children to do as asked and
expecting prompt obedience. 1 Internalization and compliance are highly valued qualities in
society, children will learn from early stage of their life both of them; of course, these two
qualities are difficult to be developed for autistic children, and unfortunately our society still
has more to learn when it comes to understating what does it mean to be different.
Moral, Conventionaland Personal Conduct Rules
Moral rules are ones expressing the individual’s conception of what is just and what is unjust,
of fairness and welfare, right and harm. Conventional rules pertain to the norms where a
group of individuals decide upon, in order to regulate the behavior of their members.
Conventional rules are found everywhere and their characteristics are determined by
authority figures as parents or teachers; they express the custom that they want to follow
etiquette, manners; their aim is to produce uniformity and stability of behavior within that
group or family; unlike moral rules, conventional rules are not the same, they vary from
situation to situation within a group or family.
Personal rules are set by each individual and therefore will have consequences only to the
individual. When making choices, we are influenced by actions of others, mostly peers, and it
will drastically differ from child to adult; that’s why there is always such a big gap between
parents’ values and believes and their children, especially when it comes to young-hood
stage.
Knowing more about human behavior is very important when working in social services.
Having this knowledge as a tool will be handy in our profession, each individual has a certain
behavior; being able to analyze it will increase the chances of understanding why that
individual is doing what it is doing.