Social and Emotional Development

CHAPTER 5
Social
and
Emotional Development

THEORIES OF SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development
Albert Bandura’s Theory of Social Learning
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

I. Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development
 Concludes that all humans had the basic needs and
that each society and to somehow provide for those
needs. This includes emotional and social needs.
o He viewed that social environment combined with
biological maturation provides each individual
with a set of “crises” that must be resolved.

I. Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development
• Socialization – a learning and teaching process that,
when successful, results in the person moving from
its infant state of helpless but total egocentricity to
its ideal adult stage.
• Crisis – a unique developmental task or challenge to
be confronted and completed.

l. Six Stages of Erikson’s Psychosocial
Development
Trust vs. Mistrust (Hope)
Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt (Will)
Initiative vs. Guilt (Purpose)
Industry vs. Inferiority (Competence)
Identity vs. Role Confusion (Fidelity)
Intimacy vs. Isolation (Love)

Trust vs. Mistrust
(0-2 years of age)
o Erikson acknowledged the major role of the
caregiver (mother or guardian) plays in this
most critical stage which is the first life crisis.

Automacy vs. Shame and Doubt
(2-3 years of age)
o During this stage, the child learns what he/she can
control and develops a sense of free will and
corresponding sense of sorrow for inappropriate use of
self-control.
• Autonomy – means self reliance. This is independence of
thoughts, and a basic confidence to think and act for one.
• Shame and Doubt – means disgrace and uncertainty, and
obviously inhibit self-expression and developing one’s
own ideas, opinions, and sense of self.

Initiative vs. Guilt
(3-6 years of age)
o Having learned the confidence in the previous stage, the
child learns to start action, to explore, to imagine as well
as feeling remorse for their action.
• Initiative – is the capability to devise actions or projects,
and a confidence and belied that it is okay to do so, even
with the risk of failure or making mistakes.
• Guilt – means the feeling that it is wrong or
inappropriate to instigate something of one’s own
design.

The developing child who successfully resolves this
‘crisis’ learns:
• To manage, broaden his/her skills through active play
of all sorts.
• To cooperate with others.
• To lead as well as follow.

On the other hand, if the child unsuccessfully resolves
this ‘crisis’ at this stage, he/she can:
• Be fearful.
• Hang on the fringes of groups rather than join in.
• Continue to depend too much on adults.
• Be restricted both in the development of play skills
and imagination.

Industry vs. Inferiority
(6-12 yrs. of age)
o During this stage, the child learns to do things well or
correctly in comparison to standard or to others as
he/she tried to develop a sense of self-worth.
The child who has successfully resolved the ‘crises’ from
earlier stages is likely to be trusting , self reliant, and full
of initiative.
The shame and guilt filled child is more likely to
experience defeat and feelings of inferiority.

• Industry – refers to the purposeful or meaningful
activity. It’s the development of competence and
skills.
• Inferiority – is feeling useless; unable to contribute,
unable to cooperate or work in a team to create
something, with the low self-esteem that
accompanies such feelings.

At this stage, the child learns to master the more
formal skills of life such as:
• Interacting with peers according to rules.
• Progressing from free play to play that may be
elaborately governed by rules and may require
formal teamwork.
• Learning the subject matter taught at school.

Identity vs. Role Confusion
(adolescent years)
The most important thing for the adolescent is the
development of an identity which will provide a good
base for adulthood. The adolescent develops a sense
of self relationship to the other and to his/her own
internal thoughts and desires.

Identity vs. Role Confusion
• Identity – refers to the organization of individual’s
motivations, abilities, beliefs, and history into a
consistent image of self. The individual must make
deliberate choices and decisions especially about work,
values, ideologies, and commitments to people and
ideas. (Woolfolk, 2001)
• Role Confusion – is the negative perspective – an
absence of identity. This means that the person cannot
see clearly or at all who they are and how they can relate
to and operate positively within their environment.

Intimacy vs. Isolation
(young adult years)
• Intimacy – means willingness to relate to another
person on a deep level – more than a mutual need.
The individual develops the ability to give and
receive love and begin to make long-term
commitment to relationships.

Intimacy vs. Isolation
The young adult’s life begins with the development of
intimacy, the capacity to do commit oneself “to concrete
affiliations and partnerships and to develop the ethical
strength to abide by such commitments, even though
they may call for significant sacrifices and compromises”.
Erikson is careful to not limit intimacy to affiliations of a
sexual nature, but also includes friendship, combat, and
inspiration as potential sites.

II. Bandura’s Theory of Social Learning
Observational or social learning is based primarily on
the work of Albert Bandura. He and his colleagues
were able to demonstrate through a variety of
experiment that more efficient learning could occur
through the simple processes of observing someone
else’s learning activity or a model of the desired
outcome.

Bandura’s Four Step Pattern on the Theory of Social
Learning
• Attention
• Retention
• Reproduction
• Motivation

1. Attention
• For observational learning to take place, the
individual must be paying attention to the desired
model. This means finding a way to get the child’s
attention and interest.

2. Retention
• In order to imitate a behavior, it needs to be
remembered. Once the child’s attention is captured,
then the model of behavior is presented and is then
the time for the child to practice the behavior
themselves.

3. Reproduction
• At this stage, the individual produces an action that
is a copy of what was observed. It may not yet be
perfect and so may require more practice.

4. Motivation
• A newly earns action or behavior may not be
performed unless there is some motivation to
perform it.
• Reinforcement – praise, acceptance, or a reward of
some kind – is a strategy used to motivate students.

Three Forms of Reinforcement (Bandura)
1. Direct reinforcement – is when a behavior is recognized
by an observer and the observer provides immediate
praise and positive feedback.
2. Vicarious reinforcement – occurs when an individual
observes the positive feedback given to others for a
behavior.
3. Self-reinforcement – occurs when an individual is
please with themselves when they achieve a desired
outcome.

“Learning would be exceedingly laborious, and
hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects
of their own actions to inform them what to do.”
Bandura’s work draws from both behavioural and
cognitive views of learning. He further added that
mind, behaviour, and the environment all play an
important role in the learning process.

Social Influence
 a process of changing attitudes, values, and behaviours,
in response to the attitudes and behaviours of others.
o A young child’s social life changes and evolves in predictable
ways which may grow from an intimate relationship with
parents or guardians to include other family member, non-
related adults and peers.
o Different social influences can affect a child as they develop
socially and emotionally from a wide variety of role models for
them to copy or imitate.

Socialization and Culture
Socialization – the process by which a child learns
behaviours that are appropriate for people of their
gender and age, within their particular culture.
o The primary agents of socialization are home, school, and
peer groups.
o As a child socializes, he/she acquires the traditions,
beliefs, values and customs of their groups.

What is learned through socialization is determined by
cultural context.
 it is the setting (or state of the environment) in which
development occurs. It is influenced by historical,
economic, social, and cultural context.
 Example:
Barangays, Universities, the National Cultures

Culture – is defined as the behaviour patterns,
beliefs, attitudes, and traditions shared by particular
groups of people, that are passed on from
generation to generation.
o Cultural groups evolve ‘norms’ of their rules for
acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.
(Santrock, 2002).

o The ‘average child’ will behave differently in similar
among different cultural groups (Lefrancios, 2001).
By the time children begin school, they have learnt
many aspects of the culture in which they live such as
language, beliefs, attitudes, ways of behaving and
foods they like.

Factors that affect the cultural background of a child.
o Ethnicity – family’s cultural heritage, race or tribe,
religion, language
o Socioeconomic status – measure of prestige within a social group
that is usually based on income, occupation and education
o Religion
o Home language
o Gender
o Any other group identities and experiences
- Slavin, 2006

Socialization Trough Imitation of Role Models
 He believed that imitation
(copying a model) is an important
way that young children learn to
become socialized, especially
during their first three years of
life. Later, identification takes
place.
o Identification – is defined as the
process of adopting the
behaviours, values, and beliefs of
another person (their model) –
identifying what that person.
Erik Erikson

 His social learning was also based on
observation and imitation. This is
known as vicarious learning or
observational learning which is
observing another person learn.
o Through observational learning,
children learn:
1. How to perform a behaviour.
2. What will happen when the
behaviour is performed in specific
situations.
Albert Bandura

 Role Models
 When a society is composed of a wide variety of people
then the role models for children are also highly varied.
In advanced societies, many role models are symbolic
which may not be real people.
 One of the most powerful of these symbolic models may
be television. Another powerful source of social influence
are young children’s friends or peer groups (Lefrancios,
2001).

Gender Identity and Roles
 Anotheraspectof socializationandcultureis theinfluence thatithason determining thegender identity
andgender roles withina particularculture.
o Gender – is identified as ‘the social and psychological dimensions of
being male or female’.
o Gender Identity – is ‘the sense of being male or female, which
most children acquire by the time they are 3 years old’.
o Gender Role – is ‘a set of expectations that prescribe how females
or males should think, act, and feel’.
o Gender Typing – describes ‘the process by which boys and girls
learn masculine and feminine behaviour. It refers to the
acquisition of masculine and feminine behaviour for male and
female respectively.

o Gender is a social construct. It is defined by social
groups and it develops according to accepted social
norms.
o The range of behaviours considered appropriate for
males (masculine) and females (feminine), as well as
the attitude and personality characteristics
associated with them, determines the nature of the
gender roles. The learning of gender-appropriate
behaviour is gender typing.

o Boys and girls learn gender roles through imitation or
observational learning, by watching what other
people say and do.
Socializing Agents Through Which Children Learn Their Gender
• Their parents
• Other family members
• Culture
• School
• Peers
• The media

Parents are the most important influence on gender
development during early years. Mothers usually
have more responsibility while fathers are more likely
to be involved in the playful interactions.
Studies have shown that fathers contribute more in
to the distinctions between the two genders
(Santrock, 2002).
Studies have also shown that parents support their
children for stereotyped activities more than for
cross-gender activities (Seifert and Hoffnung, 1991).

Gender Role Stereotypes
ʘ Stereotype – is a conventional image or concept that conforms to
the widely accepted type.
ʘ Gender stereotypes- are broad categories that reflect our general
impression and beliefs about males and females.
ʘ Gender typing – when children become aware of their gender
identity and its meaning, they actively participate in organizing their
behaviours and their environments to conform to gender
appropriate patterns.
o Girls are more likely to learn to play with dolls and houses
during childhood.
o Boys are more likely to play with cars and guns during
childhood.

ʘ Gender schemas – are children’s knowledge about
characteristics associated with being male or female.
 The gender schema theory explains that the child begins
with no understanding of the nature of gender or no
basic gender identity (Bern, 1981).
Children’s gender schemas should be well established in
the late preschool stage, before they start school.
Research across different cultures indicates that gender
role are among the first roles that children learn and that
all cultures treat males differently from females.

Theories of Development of Moral Values
 Moral values – are concerned with the principles of right
and wrong or conforming to standards of behaviour and
character based on those principles.
The children’s moral judgements build on their cognitive
development (Piaget).
The developmental stages of moral reasoning and the
thinking process that occur when we consider right or
wrong (Lawrence Kohlberg).

III. Kohlberg’sTheory ofMoral Development
Both Piaget and Kohlberg thought that morality emerges
from a child’s experiences of rules and punishments
imposed on them by adults, and from different forms of
social experiences and interaction and that the
development of morality is constructivist.
Children form ways of thinking through their experiences
which include understandings of moral concepts like
justice, rights, equality, and human welfare (Kohlberg).

III. Kohlberg’sTheory ofMoral Development
Levels and Stages of Moral Development.
 LEVEL 1: Preconventional/Premoral
o Moral values reside in external, quasi=physical
events, or in bad acts. The child is responsive to
rules and evaluative labels, but views them in
terms of pleasant or unpleasant consequences of
actions, or in terms of the physical power of those
who impose the rules.

 Stage 1: Obedience and punishment orientation
This stage is often characterized by avoidance of
punishment and unquestioning power as values in
themselves.
• Egocentric deference to superior power or prestige,
or a trouble-avoiding set
• Objective responsibility

 Stage 2: Individualism, instrumental purpose and
exchange.
At this stage, the individual will engage in his/her own
interest, but also let others do the same.
• Right action is that which is instrumental in satisfying the
self’s needs and occasionally others’.
• Relativism of values to each actor’s needs and
perspectives.
• Naive egalitarianism, orientation to exchange and
reciprocy.

Level 2: Conventional Reasoning/Role Conformity
o At this level, there is some internalization of
morals. The individual will follow certain standards
but they are the standards of others such as
parents or laws of society.
o Moral values reside in performing the right role, in
maintaining the conventional order and
expectancies of others as a value in its own right.

o Stage 3: Mutual interpersonal expectations,
relationships, and interpersonal conformity.
(Good-boy/good-girl orientation)
This stage is driven by a desire to please or help others with
hope of winning their approval.
• Orientation to approval, to pleasing and helping others.
• Conformity to stereotypical images of majority of natural
role behaviour.
• Action is evaluated in terms of intentions.

o Stage 4: Social Systems Morality/Authority and Social-
Order-Maintaining Orientation
At this stage, the focus is on understanding the social order,
law, duty, and justice.
• Orientation to “doing duty” and showing respect for
authority and maintaining the given social order or its
own sake.
• Regard for earned expectations of others.
• Differentiates actions out of a sense of obligation to rules
from actions for generally “nice” or natural motives.

Level 3: Post-Conventional Reasoning/Self-Accepted
Moral Principles
o At this level, the moral behaviour is completely
internalized and is not based on standards of others.
Alternative views of morality are considered and
explored.

o Stage 5: Social contracts and individual rights/Legalistic
orientation
At this stage, the individual can examine social laws and
systems, and evaluate the extent that they preserve and protect
the human rights and values.
• Norms of right and wrong are defined in terms of laws or
institutionalized rules which seem to have a rational basis.
• When conflict arises between individual needs and law or
contract, though sympathetic to the former, the individual
believes the latter must prevail because of its greater
functional rationality for society, the majority will and welfare.

o Stage 6: Universal ethical principles/Morality of individual principles
of conscience.
At this stage, the individual has developed a moral standard based on
universal human rights. When there is a conflict between the law and
the individual’s conscience, the person will follow their conscience
even though there may be personal risk involved.
• Orientation not only toward existing social rules, but also toward
the conscience as a directing agent, mutual trust and respect, and
principles of moral choice involving logical universalities and
consistency.
• Action is controlled by internalized ideals that exert a pressure to
act accordingly regardless of the reactions of others in the
immediate environment.
• If one acts otherwise, self-condemnation and guilt result.

Turiel’s Domain Theory
 Turiel observed that the stage theory of Piaget and
Kohlberg did not really work as neatly in real life as it did
in theory, because children appeared to be inconsistent
in their normal decisions. Out of these observation came
the Domain Theory.
The three domains of thought are:
• Moral domain
• Social domain
• Personal domain

Social Domain
As children grow and develop, the begin to know what
the ‘right’ action is and what the ‘wrong’ action is in a
given situation. Part of this ability is due to their
knowledge and understanding of the role of social
conventions enabling the smooth working of society.
o Social knowledge – is formed through interaction with
their social groups – family, school, and peers.

 Moral Domain
 Moral rules are not defined by a social context – the two
domains (social and moral) operate separately, but side by side.
o Children’s moral judgements are formed around experiences
involving:
• Harm to persons
• Violation of rights
• Conflicts based on different claims

 Personal Domain
A young person will consider the social and moral
implications presented by a given situation based on:
– Their interpretation of interactions in social context (social
domain).
– The rules and instructions they have received from adults
(moral domain).
o Information from both the social and moral domains will be
used to guide the decision-making process.

Factors Affecting Social andEmotional Development
The social and emotional development of children involves their
understanding of themselves and of others as they learn to interact socially
within their cultural context.
 Development
The quality of the relationship of a child with their parents/guardians, family,
and peers in their immediate environment has significant influence on their
development in his/her early years.
Main factors affecting a child’s personal and social development.
1. Parents (and their parenting styles)
2. Peer groups
3. School (teachers)
4. Media influence (esp. television)

Factors AffectingSocial and Emotional Development
 Parenting – a complex activity that includes many
specific behaviours that work individually and together to
influence child learning outcomes.
 Three main important functions of a family
1. To provide food, shelter, and clothing.
2. To support developmental functions through parenting
and care giving
3. To ensure access to education, health care, a safe
environment

ParentingStyles
Parents should be neither punitive (give punishment)
or aloof (distant), but they should develop rules for
their children, and show them affection (Diana
Baumrind, 1971).

The Four ParentingStyles
o Authoritarian Parenting
Restrictive and punitive style. This type of parenting
enforces firm limits and controls on the child, allows
very little verbal exchange.
This parent may also hit the child, enforce rules
rigidly but not explain them, and show anger toward
their children.

Children of the authoritarian parents are often:
 Unhappy
 Fearful
 Anxious about comparing themselves with others.
 Fail to initiate activity
 Have weak communication skills

o Authoritative Parenting
Encourages children to be independent, but still
provides limits and controls on their actions.
Authoritative parents show pleasure and support for
their children’s constructive behaviour.

Children of authoritative parents are often:
– Cheerful
– Self-controlled and self-reliant
– Friendly with peers
– Cooperate with adults
– Cope well in stress

o Neglectful Parenting
A style in which the parent is very much uninvolved
in the child’s life.
Children, whose parents are neglectful, develop an
understanding that other aspects of their parent’s
lives are more important than they are.

Children of neglectful parents often:
Tend to be socially incompetent
Have poor self-control
Don’t handle independence well
Have low self esteem
Are immature
In adolescence, show patterns of truancy and
delinquency

o Indulgent/Nondirective/Permissive Parenting
Style of parenting in which parents are highly involved
with their children, but have few controls or demands on
them.
The parents allow their children to do what they want.
The result is that the children never learn to control their
own behaviour, and always expect to get their own way.

o Children of indulgent parents often:
Have difficulty controlling their behaviour
Are not popular with peers
Have little respect for others
Are aggressive, domineering, or non-complaint
(uncooperative)

Peer Groups
 Peer group – group of people of about the same age or maturity
level.
 One of the important functions of a child’s peer group is to provide
them with information and comparison about the world outside of
their family.
 Research has shown that good peer relations can be necessary for
normal social development.
 Children who are withdrawn and rejected by their peers and feeling
lonely are at risk of depression. Children who are aggressive with
their peers are at risk of developing a number of problems,
including delinquency (anti-social) and dropping out of school
(Santrock, 2002).

 Play – interaction with peers inearly childhood
A large amount of peer interaction during early
childhood involves play, including social play.
Play is essential for young children’s cognitive
development as well as their social and emotional
development.
Children feel more relaxed in the context of play,
and are more likely to express their true feelings.

 Need for peer groups in late childhood and adolescence
Teenagers (adolescents aged between 13 to 19 years
old), want to be with people their own age – their
peers.
They spend more time with their peers, with less
parental supervision. With their peers, teenagers can
be both connected and independent, as they break
away from their parent’s images of them and begin to
develop identities of their own.

 The influenceof peers in adolescence
While the families help adolescents to feel proud
and confident of their unique traits, backgrounds,
and abilities, peers are often more accepting of
the feelings, thoughts, and actions associated with
the adolescent’s search for self-identity.

 Peer Group Pressure
Peer group pressure is the influence of peers to conform
(be similar) to the peer group’s expectations and values.
A large amount of peer conformity consists of the need to
be involved in the peer world such as wearing similar
clothes, hairstyles, etc.
Conforming (complying) to peer group pressure brings the
rewards of being accepted and valued by their peers,
which is very important to individuals during late
childhood and adolescence.

 Positive Peer Group Pressure
At its best, peer pressure can activate an
adolescent’s energy, motivate for success, and
encourages them to conform to healthy behaviour.
Peers can and do act as positive role models, do
demonstrate appropriate social behaviours. Peers
often to, and accept and understand the frustrations,
challenges, and concerns associated with being an
adolescent.

 Negative Peer Group Pressure
The need for acceptance, approval, and belonging is
especially important during the adolescent years.
Those who feel isolated or rejected by their peers or
family are more likely to engage in risky (dangerous or
bad) behaviours in order to fit in with the group.
In such situations, peer pressure can impair good
judgement and encourage risk-taking behaviour, drawing
an adolescent away from the family and positive
influences, and into dangerous activities.

Peer groups can influence its members, only if a member
has the ff. needs or fears:
A compulsive need for acceptance
A strong need for an identity
They agree with the options of others they admire
They internalize peer labelling to become a self-
fullfiling prophecy
They don’t want to be left out
They don’t want to lose their friends
They are afraid that their peers will tease them and
say bad things about them

Mass media
 Mass media includes all the many different ways (or
mediums) that information can be received.
Examples:
 the internet
 CDs/DVDs
 Newspaper, magazines
 Television. Movies
 Cellphones, tablets, desktops
 FM radios

Positive Influences of Mass Media
 Enhancing cognitive skills
 Increasing knowledge
 Modeling social conduct
 Promoting physical well-being
 Providing opportunities to develop technology skills

Negativeeffectsofmassmedia
 Mass media teaches children social norms and even
influences how they perceive gender roles
 Making violence normal
 Risky sexual behaviour
 Controls and constructs the images that are seen
 Deal health issues
 Making everything commercial

Television
Few developments in society in the second half of the
twentieth century had a greater impact on children than
television. Many children spend more time in front of the
TV that they do with their parents.
Television is the most influential of the mass media that
affect children.

 Negative effectsof Television Violence
 What are the effects of television violence on children’s
aggressive behaviour? When children grow up, can
television violence increase the possibility that they will
violently attack someone?
 A large number of research studies have been conducted
to try and answer this questions, and many experts argue
that television violence can induce aggression.

 Critical Viewing Skills
 Children need to be taught critical viewing skills to
balance the harmful effects of television violence.
 Examples of critical viewing skills
1. How television is not like real life
2. Why is it bad to imitate TV violence
3. What are the effects of watching too much
television

Characteristicsof children that may be more easily affected by violence on
television (Canadian Pediatric Society)
• Children from monitory and immigrant groups
• Emotionally disturbed children
• Children with learning disabilities
• Children in families with distress
• Children who are abused by their parents

influencesof television
 Studies have demonstrated that television can teach children
to behave in positive, social ways.
 Mass media can have both negative and positive influences
on the socio-emotional development of children and
adolescents.
 Negative influences include the large amount of unedited and
potentially harmful; material that is readily available to
children via the internet and television.
 Positive influences include the availability of motivating
educational programs and providing role models of positive
social behaviour.

Social and Emotional Development

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