1. CHAPTER 13
EMOTIONAL &
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
IN
MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
AGE SIX TO
ELEVEN YEARS

2. Erikson’s Theory Industry v. Inferiority
 If early childhood has been positive kids enter
middle childhood ready to turn their energies from
make believe to achieving realistic
accomplishments.
 Children’s drive coupled with expectations of
adults sets the stage for the Industry v.
Inferiority struggle
 Struggle is resolved on the positive side when
experiences lead children to develop competence at
useful skills and tasks.

3. Self Understanding
 Social Comparison-Children become more aware of their
competencies and deficiencies, especially in relation to their peers
 “Self Concept” developed by social, cultural, and Cognitive
influences
 Influences blend, parental support is vital
 Children begin looking at themselves beyond the family and in
the context of social groups
 This is the age when self-esteem begins to decline

4. Self Esteem Hierarchy
 Academic Competence
 School work in various subjects
 Social Competence
 Relationship with peers
 Relationship with parents
 Physical Competence and Appearance
 Athletic abilities
 Physical Appearance
*Note, separate self-esteems do not contribute equally to
general self esteem*

5. Self Esteem
 Across age, race, sex, SES individuals w/high self esteem
tend to be well adjusted, sociable and conscientious
 Low self-esteem can lead to anxiety, depression, and
anti-social behavior
 To protect self-esteem children balance social
comparisons and personal achievements and goals
 By fourth grade the majority experience rise in self-
esteem as they discover their abilities.
 Berk speculates this is the reason declines in self-esteem
during the early school years are not usually harmful

6. Achievement Related Attributions
 Attributions: everyday explanations for the causes of our behavior
(I rode my bike because I believe in myself)
 Master Oriented Attributions: Credit success to ability, which
can be improved. Failure caused by insufficient effort. This leads to
industrious/persistent learning style.
 Learned Helplessness: Success is due to external factors like luck.
Failure is caused be lack of ability which can not be improved on.
 Influences on Achievement- Incremental vs. Fixed View of Ability
 Attribution Retraining- intervention to encourage learned-
helplessness children they can over come failure through effort
(p.489)

7. Fostering Resilience in Middle Childhood
“Resilienceis not a preexisting attribute but, rather, a
capacity that develops through childhood experiences”

8. PEER RELATIONS
 Peer Groups: Collectives that generate unique values
and standards for behavior and a social structure of
leaders and followers.
 First Form in Middle Childhood
 Organize on the basis of similarity in:
×Gender ×Ethnicity ×Academic Achievement
×Popularity ×Aggression ×Proximity (being in the same class)
 Children who deviate from group codes of dress and
behavior are often excluded. The customs of the
group bind the kids together, creating a sense of
group identity

9. FRIENDSHIPS
 One-on-one friendships provide children with
insight into larger social structures.
 Friendships become more complex and
psychologically based.
 TRUST is the defining feature in a friendship
 Children tend to select friends who are: similar in
age, race, sex, ethnicity and SES. Similar personality
traits:
sociability, aggression, depression, hyperactivity, pop
ularity, achievement and prosocial behavior.

10. PEER ACCEPTANCE
 Determinants of peer acceptance
 Popular-prosocial children are kind and considerate, they
perform well in school, solve social problems constructively &
communicate with peers in sensitive, friendly, cooperative
ways.
 Popular-antisocial children are admired for their belligerent
behavior. They may be considered “tough” kids, they cause
trouble and defy adult authority. They are seen as “cool”.
 Helping Rejected Children
 Coaching, Modeling, Reinforcing Positive Social Skills
 Intensive academic tutoring improves school achievement
 Interventions with Parents

11. FAMILY INFLUENCES
 Parent Child Relationships
 Effective parents engage in coregulation – exerting general oversight
while letting children take charge of moment-by-moment decision
making. This depends on a cooperative relationship between parent and
child.
 Siblings
 Sibling rivalry tends to increase
 Parents compare their traits and accomplishments
 Siblings attempt to be different from one another
 Siblings who maintain warm bonds resolve disagreements
constructively and provide one another with emotional support.
 Only Children
 Have higher self-esteem
 Do better in school
 Attain higher levels of education
 Form close, high-quality friendships, but are less well accepted in the
peer group

12. FAMILY INFLUENCES
 Gay and Lesbian Families
 Same level of commitment & effectiveness in child rearing as
heterosexual families
 Children do not differ in adjustment or gender-role
preferences
 Never-Married Single-Parent Families
 Generally increases economic hardship for low-SES mothers
 Children who lack a father’s warmth and involvement achieve
less well in school and engage in more antisocial behavior than
children in low-SES, first marriage families

13. FAMILY INFLUENCES: Divorce
 All children experience painful emotional reactions during
a divorce
 Children with difficult temperaments & boys in mother-
custody homes have more adjustment problems
 Best factor for positive adjustment following divorce:
Effective Parenting. Contact with non-custodial parent is
very important and father custody is associated with better
outcomes for sons.
 Divorce mediation can promote children’s adjustments

14. GENDER IDENTITY & BEHAVIOR
 Gender Typicality – the degree to which a child feels
similar to others of the same gender. Psychological
well-being depends, to a degree, on feeling that they
“fit in” with their same-sex peers.
 Gender Contentedness – the degree to which a child
feels comfortable with his or her gender assignment.
 Felt Pressure to conform to gender roles – the degree
to which a child feels parents and peer disapprove of
his or her gender-related traits.

15. GENDER TYPING
 Achievement Areas
 Masculine: Science, Math, Athletics, Mechanical Skills
 Feminine: Reading, Spelling, Art & Music
 Bleeker & Jacobs, 2004 Study
 Mothers’ had early perceptions of their children’s competence
in math
 These continued to predict daughters’ self-perceptions and
even career choices into their mid-twenties.
 Young women whose mothers regarded them as highly capable
at math were far more likely to choose a physical science career

16. Thank You