Psychosocial
Development In
Early Childhood
Chapter 11
Gender
• Gender Identity
• Gender Differences
– Psychological and behavioral
differences between males and females
– Most pronounced difference is
aggression
– Overall IQ scores show no gender
differences
Gender
• Gender Differences
– Females tend to do better at
verbal tasks (but not analogies),
at mathematical computation, and
at tasks requiring fine motor and
perceptual skills
– Males excel in most spatial abilities
and in abstract mathematical and
scientific reasoning
Gender
• Perspectives on Gender
Development: Nature and Nurture
– Gender roles: culturally influenced
– Gender stereotypes
Gender
– Socialization-Based Approach
• Peer groups: a major influence on gendertyping; boys more strongly influenced
• Culture influences gender
• In the U.S., television is major transmitter
of cultural attitudes toward gender
• Children’s books transmit gender attitudes
• Socializing agents mesh with biological
tendencies and cognitive understandings
Play: The Business of
Early Childhood
• Children engage in different
types of play at different ages
• Children’s play is classified by
its content and its social
dimension
– 3 levels are notable
Play: The Business of Early
Childhood
• Types of Play:
– Functional play:
repetitive
movements
– Constructive play:
using objects or
materials to make
something
Play: The Business of
Early Childhood
• Types of Play:
– Pretend play (aka: fantasy play,
dramatic play, or imaginative play)
involves imaginary people or
situations (symbolism)
– Formal games with rules: organized
games with known procedures and
penalties
Play: The Business of Early
Childhood
• How Gender Influences
Play
– The tendency toward sex
segregation in play
appears universal across
cultures
– Sex segregation increases
in middle childhood
– Boys like active, forceful,
more spontaneous play in
large groups
Play: The Business of
Early Childhood
• How Gender Influences Play
– Girls prefer quieter, cooperative, and
more structured play with one or a few
playmates
• How Culture Influences Play
– The frequency of specific forms of play
differs across cultures; influenced by
play environments reflecting cultural
values
Parenting
• Forms of Discipline
– Reinforcement and punishment:
external and internal
– Corporal punishment: physical force
– Power assertion: physical or verbal
enforcement of parental control
– Inductive techniques: designed to
induce desirable behavior by
reasoning
Parenting
• Forms of Discipline
– Withdrawal of love: may include
ignoring, isolating, or showing dislike
for a child
– Induction is usually the most effective
– Power assertion is the least effective
– Psychological aggression: verbal
attacks causing psychological harm
Parenting
• Parenting Styles
– Authoritarian: values control and
unquestioning obedience.
– Permissive: values self-expression and
self-regulation.
– Authoritative: values individuality but
also stresses social constraints.
– Neglectful or uninvolved: focuses on
parents’ own needs rather than child’s
Parenting
• Parenting Styles
– Are there ethnic group differences?
– SES?
– Is there truly a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way
to parent?
– Recent research