Life Span Development
SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT IN
MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
What IQ tests don’t tell…
The concept that intelligence is unidimensional is
currently disputed by many theorists
 Many developmentalists support two different
kinds of intelligence:

◦ Fluid intelligence – reflects information processing
capabilities, reasoning and memory
◦ Crystallized intelligence – accumulation of information,
skills and strategies that people have learned through
experience and that they can apply in problem-solving
situations

Other theorists suggest an even greater number
of distinct types of intelligence, which can be
independent of one another
Below and Above the Norm

Mental Retardation: According to the American Association
on Mental Retardation (AAMR), Mental Retardation is a
disability characterized by significant limitations both in
intellectual functioning as well as adaptive behavior
(conceptual, social and practical skills)
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Mild retardation: IQ scores of 50 or 55 - 70
Moderate retardation: IQ scores of 35 or 40 – 50 or 55
Severe retardation: IQ scores of 20 or 25 – 35 or 40
Profound retardation: IQ scores fall below 20 or 25
The Gifted and Talented: Children who show evidence of
high performance capability in areas such as intellectual,
creative, artistic, leadership capability or specific academic
fields.
Psychosocial Development in Middle
Childhood

Industry-versus-inferiority stage
◦ Age 6-12

Children are faced with the complexities of the
modern world
◦ They not only focus on mastering the academic work
they are presented with, they are also making a place for
themselves in the social world
Success at this stage is accomplished by
proficiency at tasks and a growing sense of
competence
 Difficulties may lead to feeling inadequate and
withdrawing from academic pursuits as well as
interactions with peers.

Self-Esteem

Self-Esteem is an individual’s overall and specific positive
and negative self-evaluation.
◦ Self-concept reflects beliefs about the self (e,g, I am good at
math) whereas self-esteem is emotionally-oriented (e.g. no one
likes me)
◦ Self-esteem develops in many important ways during Middle
Childhood.

Children increasingly compare themselves to others
◦ As they do this, they assess how they measure up to society’s
standards
Children are developing their own standards
 For most children, self-esteem increases during middle
childhood
 Children with low self-esteem may become enmeshed
in a cycle of failure that is difficult to break

Building Friendship in Middle
Childhood

Friendships influence children’s development in
many ways…
◦ Friends provide information about the world and
other people
◦ Friends provide emotional support and help kids
handle stress
◦ Friends teach children how to manage and control
their emotions
◦ Friends teach about communication with others
◦ Friends foster intellectual growth
◦ Friends allow children to practice relationship skills
Stages of Friendship
According to William Damon, children’s
friendships go through three stages:
 Stage 1 (ages 4-7)
◦ Children see friends as others who they
spend most of their time with
◦ They see friends as children they share toys
and other activities with
◦ They do not take personal traits into account
Stages of Friendship

Stage 2 (ages 8-10)
◦ Children now begin to consider personal traits in
selecting friends
◦ Friends are viewed in terms of the rewards they provide
◦ The centerpiece of friendship is mutual trust

Stage 3 (ages 11-15)
◦ Friendships have become based on intimacy and loyalty
◦ Friendships involve psychological closeness, mutual
disclosure, and exclusivity
 This stage will be discussed in further detail during discussion of
adolescence
Bullying
What is bullying?
Bullying is when someone hurts or scares another
person on purpose and the person being bullied has a
hard time defending himself or herself. Usually, bullying
happens over and over.
 Bullying can be defined as:
◦ Punching, shoving and other acts that hurt people
physically
◦ Spreading bad rumors about people
◦ Keeping certain people out of a "group"
◦ Teasing people in a mean way
◦ Getting certain people to "gang up" on others
**According to the National Association of School
Psychologists, 160,000 U.S. schoolchildren stay home
from school each day because they are afraid of being
bullied**
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Cyberbullies
Bullying also can happen on-line or electronically.
cyber bullying is when children or teens bully
each other using the Internet, mobile phones or
other cyber technology.
 This can include:

◦ Sending mean text, e-mail, or instant messages;
◦ Posting nasty pictures, doctored photos or messages
about others in blogs or on Web sites;
◦ Using someone else's user name to spread rumors or
lies about someone.
Why kids bully
Approximately 10-15% of students bully at one time or
another
 Characteristics of bullies:
◦ Approximately 50% of bullies come from abusive homes
◦ They are exposed to media (TV shows, Video Games) that
contain violence
◦ They may try to lie their way out of accepting responsibility
when they are caught
◦ They show little (if any) remorse for their victims
 Some of the reasons why kids bully:
◦ They see others doing it
◦ It's what you do if you want to hang out with the right
crowd (to become popular)
◦ It makes them feel, stronger, smarter, or better than the
person they are bullying
◦ It prevents others from bullying them
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Long-term effects

It can mess up a kid's future.

It scares some people so much that they skip
school.
◦ Young people who bully are more likely than those who don't
bully to skip school and drop out of school. They are also more
likely to smoke, drink alcohol and get into fights (Nansel et al,
2003; Olweus, 1993).
◦ As many as 160,000 students may stay home on any given day
because they're afraid of being bullied (Pollack, 1998).
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It can lead to huge problems later in life.
◦ Children who bully are more likely to get into fights, vandalize
property, and drop out of school.
◦ Approximately 60% of boys who were bullies in middle school
had at least one criminal conviction by the age of 24 (Olweus,
1993).
The Family Environment

Last few decades – changing in the structure of
a “typical family”
◦ ↑ in # of families with 2 parents working
◦ ↑ in divorce rate
◦ ↑ in # of single-parent families

One of the biggest challenges of middle
childhood – increasing independence
◦ Children move from being completely controlled by
their parents to increasingly controlling their own
lives
◦ Coregulation – A period during which parent and
child jointly control the child’s behavior.
Effects of family environment
Both parents working outside of the home
– what is the impact on the children?
◦ In most cases, children do very well
◦ The parents’ schedule seems less important
than other factors…
◦ Children have best adjustment when parents
are:
 Loving
 Sensitive to their children’s needs
 Providing appropriate substitute care
Effects of family environment
Children who are home alone:
 Self-care children are children who let themselves into
their homes after school and wait alone until their
caretakers return from work (“latchkey kids”)
 Some children report negative experiences while at
home alone (such as loneliness)
 Alone time at home is viewed as less detrimental than
“hanging out” unsupervised with peers
 This is an opportunity for enhanced independence and
competence, as well as an opportunity for “down time”
 Many self-care children develop strong self-esteem as a
result of the opportunity to take care of homework,
personal projects, and contribute to the house
Effects of family environment
Divorce
 Only about 50% of children will grow up with married parents
living in the same home
 Other family dynamics – single-parent, stepparents, raised by
grandparents, living with other relatives, or foster care
 Impact of divorce?
◦ Age of children at the time of divorce is an important factor
 During the early stages of middle childhood, children tend to blame
themselves for the divorce
 By the age of 10, children feel pressure to choose sides and
therefore may have divided loyalty
◦ Children and parents take time to adjust – typically 6
months to 2 years
◦ Most children live with their mothers after divorce
 Parent-child relationships are strained due to children being
“caught in the middle”
Effects of family environment
Single-parent families
 Approximately 25% of children under the age of 18
in the U.S. live in a single-parent household
 In rare cases, this situation is a result of death
 In most cases, there either was never a spouse,
parents have divorced, or one parent has been
absent
 Impact of single-parent family depends on a number
of factors:
◦ Was 2nd parent present earlier?
◦ What is the socioeconomic status of the single parent?
◦ Who is caring for the child while single parent is working?
Effects of family environment
Multigenerational Families:
 Children, parents and grandparents living
together
 This can be a rich living experience, with
multiple levels of support, both
emotionally and financially
 However, there is often conflict between
the adults, who may struggle in sharing
the role of disciplinarian
Effects of family environment
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Blended Families:
The aftermath of divorce often results in at least one parent
remarrying
“Blended families” refers to a remarried couple who has at
least one stepchild living with them
17% of all children in the U.S. living in a blended family
Role ambiguity often occurs – roles and expectations for
family members are unclear:
◦ Children may be uncertain about their responsibilities
◦ Children may be unsure of how to act towards stepparents or
stepsiblings
◦ Children may have to decide which family to spend a holiday with
◦ Children may get conflicting advice from biological parent and
stepparent