Chapter 8 DevelopmentErikson suggested that during the preschool years, children face a key conflict relating topsychosocial development that involves the development of initiative.Psychosocial Development- development that encompasses changes both in the understandingindividuals have of themselves as members of society and in their comprehension of the meaningof others’ behavior.Erikson believed that society and culture present the developing person with particularchallenges, which shift as people age.- He believed that people pass through eight distinct stages, each characterized by a crisis orconflict that the person must resolve.Our experiences as we try to resolve these conflicts lead us to develop ideas about ourselves thatcan last for the rest of our lives.In the early part of the preschool period, children are ending theautonomy-vs-shame-and-doubtstage, which lasts from 18months-3years. Children either become more independent andautonomous if their parents encourage exploration and freedom or they experience shame andself-doubt if they are restricted and overprotected.The preschool years encompass what Erikson called theInitiative-vs-guilt-stage.Initiative-Vs-Guilt-Stage-period from ages 3-6 where children experience conflict betweenindependence of action and the sometimes negative results of that action. They are eager to dothings on their own, but they feel guilt if their efforts fail. They come to see themselves aspersons in their own right, and they begin to make decision on their own.Parents who react positively to this transformation toward independence can help their childrenresolve the opposing feelings that are characteristic of this period. By providing their childrenwith opportunities to act self-reliantly, while still giving them direction and guidance, parents cansupport and encourage their children’s initiative. Parents who DISCOURAGE their children’sefforts to seek independence may contribute to a sense of guilt that persists throughout their livesas well as affects their self-concept, which begins to develop during this period.Self-Concept- A person’s identity, or set of beliefs about what one is like as an individual.Preschool children typically overestimate their skills and knowledge across all domains ofexpertise. Consequently, their view of the future is quite rosy: they expect to win the next gamethey play, to beat all opponents in an upcoming race, to write great stories when they grow up.
Study GuideHuman Growth and DevelopmentSection 8-1. Emotional and Personality Development (continued)Complete the following gender role acquisition table:Contrast the gender role acquisition theories. Review the name of each theory in the first column. Inthe second column summarize the theory’s view of gender role acquisition. Include uniquecharacteristics to help you distinguish between the theories.TheorySummaryEvolutionary viewSocial role theorygender differences result from the contrasting roles of women andmen. In most cultures around the world, women have less powerand status than men, and they control fewer resources. Comparedwith men, women perform more domestic work, spend fewer hoursin paid employment, receive lower pay, and are more thinlyrepresented in the highest levels of organizations. In Eagly's view, aswomen adapted to roles with less power and less status in society,they showed more cooperative, less dominant profiles than men.Thus, the social hierarchy and division of labor are important causesof gender differences in power, assertiveness, and nurturing.Psychoanalytic theorystems from Freud's view that the preschool child develops a sexualattraction to the opposite-sex parent. This is the process known asthe Oedipus (for boys) or Electra (for girls) complex. At 5 or 6 yearsof age, the child renounces this attraction because of anxiousfeelings. Subsequently, the child identifies with the same-sex parent,unconsciously adopting the same-sex parent's characteristics.However, developmentalists have observed that genderdevelopment does not proceed as Freud proposed. Children becomegender-typed much earlier than 5 or 6 years of age, and they becomemasculine or feminine even when the same-sex parent is not presentin the family.Social cognitive theoryhildren's gender development occurs through observing andimitating what other people say and do, and through being rewardedand punished for gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriatebehavior. From birth onward, males and females are treateddifferently from one another. When infants and toddlers showgender differences, adults tend to reward them. Parents often userewards and punishments to teach their daughters to be feminine("Karen, you are being a good girl when you play gently with yourdoll") and their sons to be masculine ("Keith, a boy as big as you isnot supposed to cry"). Parents, however, are only one of manysources through which children learn gender roles. Culture, schools,peers, the media, and other family members also provide genderrole models. For example, children also learn about gender byobserving the behavior of other adults in the neighborhood and ontelevision. As children get older, peers become increasinglyimportant.