1
Moral Dev & Peer & FamilyInfluences in
Middle ChildhoodPsychology 313Lecture 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 interactionsand forms of social controlare different
Changes in Social Roles
With family social roles & sense of self are predefined
With peers must form new identities appropriate to new
contexts
2
Relations with Parents
Parents cannot successfully demandunquestioned 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 interactionprovide working models of how peopleshould interact with each other
2. The way parents keep track ofand organize children’s interactions withpeers
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 imposedcontrols
Older people announce rules, compel conformity and decide“right/wrong”
Autonomous morality- based on understanding of rules asarbitrary agreements that can be changed if everyoneagrees
3
Piaget’s Account (Marbles)
Early childhood: Little regardfor rules, no competition
Middle childhood: Try to winaccording 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 DilemmaIn Europe, a woman was near death from cancer. One drug might
save her, a form of radium that a druggist in the same town hadrecently discovered. The druggist was charging $2K; ten timeswhat the drug costs to make. The sick woman’s husband, Heinz,went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could gettogether only about half of what it cost. He told the druggist thathis wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him paylater. But the druggist said no. The husband got desperate andbroke into the man’s store to steal the drug for his wife. Shouldthe husband have done that? Why?
Kohlberg’s Moral Stages
Egocentric point ofview
Actions areconsidered inphysical ratherthan psychologicalterms
Confusion ofauthority’sperspective withone’s own
Avoidance ofpunishment
Superior power ofauthorities
Adherence to rulesbacked bypunishment
Obedience for its ownsake
Avoidance of physicaldamage to personsand property
LEVEL IPreconventional
STAGE 1Heteronomousmorality(begins at ages5 or 6)
Social PerspectiveWhy Do RightWhat Is RightLevel/Stage
• 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
4
Kohlberg’s Moral Stages
Concreteindividualisticperspective
Aware that all havetheir own interestsand that these mayconflict
Right is relative
To serve one’s ownneeds or interestsin a world whereother people havetheir own interests
Following rules whenit is in one’simmediate interest
Acting to meet ownneeds and lettingothers do the same
Seeing fairness as anequal exchange
LEVEL IPreconventional
STAGE 2Instrumentalmorality(begins at ages7 or 8)
Perspective of anindividual inrelationship withothers (i.e., sharedfeelings, expecta-tions, agreements)
Ability to relatepoints of view viaGolden Rule
Need to be a goodperson in own andothers’ eyes
Caring for othersBelief in the Golden
RuleDesire to maintain
rules and authority
Living up to whatothers close to youexpect of you
Having good motivesand showingconcern for others
Keeping mutualrelationships byloyalty and respect
LEVEL IIConventional
STAGE 3Good-childmorality(begins at ages10 or 11)
Social PerspectiveWhy Do RightWhat Is RightLevel/Stage
Moral Reasoningand Theories of Mind
Theory of mind: The ability to think about otherpeople’s mental states
Younger children: Objective view of responsibility,an understanding that responsibility depends onobjective consequences alone
Older children and adults: Subjective view ofresponsibility that take intentions into account
With increasing age, children become morecompetent at interpreting a person’s objectivebehavior 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
5
Social Competence
The set of skills and abilities that collectively contribute tochildren’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 kindsof activities and styles of interaction
Friendship: A Special Relationship
Children without best friends arelonelier than children with bestfriends Controversial & neglected
children are not usudistressed by their relativelack of social success (usuhave at least 1 BF)
Failure to form such friendshipsin childhood creates a socialdeficit that is difficult to remedylater
6
Friendship: A Special Relationship
Friendships determined byproximity and similarities Focus in early childhood:
Pretend play
Focus in middle childhood:Belonging, social acceptance
Focus in adolescence:Exchange of intimate personalknowledge; also more generous,cooperative, and helpful witheach other
Significance of Peer Relations
Children who are successful w/peers are ontrack for adaptive & psych healthy outcomes
E.g., peer status & friendship in MidCh predict a good deal about kindsof successes/difficulties children willhave in later years
Greatest problems for rejected(aggressive) children and for bullies
Top Related