Response to MR7
Format MLA
Academic Level: Masters
Volume of 1 page (275 words)
Discipline Psychology
Assignment type : Coursework
Description
With a minimum of 85 words respond positively and warmly to:
This week’s discussion board addresses middle childhood and some of the challenges that they deal with: self-esteem, peer groups and friendships. “During the school years, children refine their self-concept by organizing their observations of behaviors and internal states into general dispositions (pg. 475).” From middle childhood on, individual differences in self-esteem become increasingly stable (pg. 476). Children with high self-esteem are consistently better liked by classmates. Some of the influences that affect self-esteem are: culture and gender-stereotypical beliefs. An example of culture affecting self-esteem is comparing Asian students to American students. Asian students are culturally more invested in their studies compared to most American students. Due to this cultural belief, Asian students typically struggle with their social lives compared to American students, which result in having lower self-esteem. Gender-stereotyped beliefs are, for instance, when girls typically score higher in language-arts self-esteem versus boys having higher math and science self-esteem.
Person praise is when an adult emphasizes the child’s trait (“you’re so smart!”). Process praise emphasizes behavior and effort (“you worked really hard!”). Research suggests that adults tend to use more person praise with children of low self-esteem and more process praise with children high in self-esteem. However children with low self-esteem respond unfavorably to person praise. They actually feel more shame following failure if they previously received person praise, less shame if they previously received process praise or no praise at all (pg. 479). Teachers’ messages offer opportunities to boost a child’s self-esteem. Cognitive development also affects attributions to self-esteem as well.
According to the book, peer groups are more associated with “cliques.” A friend is someone that you establish a close bond with. Peer groups provide children with insight into larger social structures; friendships contribute to the development of trust and sensitivity. In middle childhood, high friendships remain fairly stable.
