2. 2
1. Introduction
2. Fact or Fiction?
3. The Nature of the Child
4. Families and Children
5. The Peer Group
6. Closing Thoughts
PART IV: MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
TOPIC 13: Psychosocial Development
3. 3
Fact or Fiction? Fiction Fact
1. School-age children typically are more self-critical
than they were when they were younger.
2. Children in a shared home environment tend
to react to family situations in a similar way.
3. Acceptance by their peer group is more important
to school-age children than having a few close friends.
4. Bullying during middle childhood seems
to be universal.
Socioemotional Development
PART IV: Middle Childhood
TOPIC 13: Psychosocial Development
4. Psychoanalytic Theory
How do children ages 6 to 11 enact
the theories of Erikson and Freud?
4
Girls stay
away!
Boys stink.
PART IV: Middle Childhood
TOPIC 13: Psychosocial Development
5. Self-Concept
What factors affect how children perceive themselves in middle childhood?
Social comparison
The tendency to assess one’s abilities,
achievements, social status, and
other attributes by measuring them
against those of other people,
especially one’s peers.
PART IV: Middle Childhood
TOPIC 13: Psychosocial Development
6. Coping and Overcoming
6
resilience: The capacity to adapt well to significant
adversity and to overcome serious stress.
What are some accumulated stresses that children experience?
Source:SurveydatagatheredbyHowardJ.Osofskyetal.,of
LouisianaStateUniversity;reportedinViadero,2007,p.7.
Stresses Experienced by New Orleans Children
as a Result of Hurricane Katrina
Had been separated from a primary caregiver
Had homes damaged in the storm
Had moved
Had transferred to a new school
Had lost a family member or friend
Had a parent who was unemployed
Had been separated from a pet
10 20 30 40 50 60 70Percent
PART IV: Middle Childhood
TOPIC 13: Psychosocial Development
7. Coping and Overcoming
7
Video:
Excerpts from Up Documentary: Paul and Simon,
Two Children Who Lived in a Group Home
PART IV: Middle Childhood
TOPIC 13: Psychosocial Development
8. Shared and Nonshared environment
8
What are some parent-driven and individual-driven
influences on siblings in a family?
Shared parent
influences
Nonshared individual
influences
moves
job changes
for parent(s)
divorce
family’s
socioeconomic status
age
genes
resilience
gender
school and afterschool
activities
neighborhood peers
PART IV: Middle Childhood
TOPIC 13: Psychosocial Development
9. Material necessities
Learning
Self-respect
Peer relationships
Harmony and stability
Family Function and Dysfunction
9
What do children age 6 to 11 need from their families?
family function: The way a family works to meet the
needs of its members.
family structure: The legal and genetic relationships
among relatives living in the same home.
Although children eat, dress, and sleep without help, families can furnish
food, clothing, and shelter
Families can support, encourage, and guide education
Because children become self-critical and socially aware, families can
provide opportunities for success
Families can welcome friendships
Families can provide protective, predictable routines
PART IV: Middle Childhood
TOPIC 13: Psychosocial Development
10. 10
Family Trouble
Low-income, high conflict
Financial stress increases conflict
and vice versa, affecting family
function and structure
The effects of poverty are cumulative
Low SES may be especially damaging
to children ages 6 to 11
High-income, high conflict
Parental pressure on the children
to excel causes stress in middle
childhood
This may lead to children’s drug use,
delinquency, and poor academic
performance in high school
The Weight of Family Conflict
PART IV: Middle Childhood
TOPIC 13: Psychosocial Development
11. 11
The Culture of Children
culture of children:
The particular habits, styles,
and values that reflect the
set of rules and rituals that
characterize children as
distinct from adult society.
What are some factors that
shape a culture of children?
Friendship and
social acceptance
Children learn how
to be a good friend.
Gender differences
persist in activities.
Boys and girls want
best friends.
Friends chosen for
common interests,
values, backgrounds.
Popular and
unpopular
children
aggressive-rejected
children are disliked
because they are
antagonistic and
confrontational.
Withdrawn-rejected
children are disliked
because they are
timid and anxious.
Social awareness
Social cognition is the ability to
understand social interactions,
including the causes and consequences
of human behavior.
Culture of Children
PART IV: Middle Childhood
TOPIC 13: Psychosocial Development
12. 12
Choosing friends
Video:
Social Development in Childhood: Developmental
Trends in Children’s Conception of Friendship
PART IV: Middle Childhood
TOPIC 13: Psychosocial Development
13. Friendship is a symmetrical,
one-to-one relationship.
Popularity is a group concern.
Social Acceptance
Does being popular relate to being
personally liked for girls in grade
school and middle school?
5 7 9
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Relationship between being
liked and being thought popular
13
Grade
PART IV: Middle Childhood
TOPIC 13: Psychosocial Development
14. Bullies and Victims
bullying: Repeated,
systematic efforts to inflict
harm through physical,
verbal, or social attack on
a weaker person.
bully-victim: Someone who
attacks others and who is
attacked as well.
What are some possible
long-term consequences?
PART IV: Middle Childhood
TOPIC 13: Psychosocial Development
16. Children’s Moral Codes
16
How did 133 9-year-olds respond to a moral dilemma?
Repair Harm or Hurt the Transgressor?
Percent Who Chose to Repair Harm
Average Scores (Maximum 3) on
Broken Window Plus Two New Stories
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
At first An hour
later
Two weeks
later
Eight weeks
later
Percent Score
At first An hour
later
Two weeks
later
Eight weeks
later
2.9
2.7
2.5
2.3
2.1
1.9
1.7
1.5
Boy-boy Girl-girl
Mixed sex No interaction
Source:Leman&Björnberg,2010.
Source:Leman%Björnberg,2010.
PART IV: Middle Childhood
TOPIC 13: Psychosocial Development
18. 18
In what ways do children build
their social competence/skills
during middle childhood?
Closing Thoughts
PART IV: Middle Childhood
TOPIC 13: Psychosocial Development
19. PART IV: Middle Childhood
TOPIC I3: Psychosocial Development