Running Head: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1

Discussion Questions

Name

University Affiliation
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 2

Describe the way social referencing might explain the acquisition of certain fears in children

Social referencing is a psychological process by which children take cues from emotive

displays of their parents or caregivers form their responses to their environment or particular and

adjust their behavior towards objects, situations, and people. Social referencing can explain the

acquisition of certain fears in children because emotive or affective display of adults can be

through body language, vocal sounds, or facial expressions. Social referencing is an important tool

that explains how children get a sense of new people, objects, and their environment that forms a

part of it and they acquire fear since it is a major mechanism by which they come to understand

the world around them (Broderick, 2015).

The concept of egocentrism has been introduced both to explain the limitations of cognitive

development in the elementary school aged child and to explain the usual progress of

friendship development. Define egocentrism. Summarize its role in cognitive functioning and

in social interactive functioning for the elementary school aged child

Egocentrism is the inability of a child to understand subjectivity. He/she is unable to see

things accurately because they are trapped in their perception. Elementary school aged children

tend to struggle to think logically and to distinguish between their beliefs and assumptions.

Children of this age take for granted and do not understand that this knowledge already exists.

Elementary school aged children are naturally interactive. The most important and prevalent role

of egocentrism for a child is the shift from an egocentric self to the ability to have an outward

focus on others. Children at this age move through concrete and preoperational stages by

understanding how the other person thinks and feels (Broderick, 2015).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 3

What advice would you give to parents who want to develop prosocial behavior in their

children?

Prosocial behavior is when a child voluntarily behaves in a way that appears to benefit

someone else. Altruistic tendencies differ from child to child. Helping, sharing, comforting, are

some of the characteristics of prosocial behavior. For a parent who wants to help in development

of their childs prosocial behavior, adapting an authoritative parenting style would be the perfect

suggestion. Parents should also provide their children with prosocial opportunities to encourage

them to continue with this behavior. For instance, a parent may encourage a child to volunteer to

assist their teacher with passing out books, or to go with a parent with kitchen food to help the

homeless. These actions will allow children to copy the behavior, but in future there will be an

understanding to its purpose as the child grows (Peterson, 2014).

Children tend to segregate into single gender play and friendship groups. Explain how such

sex segregation might influence the development of sex differences during childhood.

Provide clear examples of how this might work

Sex or gender segregation describes the common tendency for children to prefer to

segregate into gender play by interacting with same-sex peers. This preference is observed during

childhood. The separation single gender in play is naturally initiated by children with boys tending

to play with boys and girls preferring to play with girls. For example, by 3 to 4 years of age,

children are more sociable and interactive when playing with same-sex friends. Children tend to

watch the peers of the opposite sex while playing rather than directly interact with them.

Segregation is mostly initiated by girls because they dislike the way boys interact. They may

withdraw from boys because they find them to be disappointing friends, while boys withdraw

from girls because of a greater need to join a new gender identity (Akos, 2008).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 4

What are the characteristics of formal operations and how does this kind of thinking differ

from concrete operational thinking?

The formal operational stage occurs between the ages of twelve to fifteen years when the

child develops more adult like thought processes and structures. It is characterized by an increased

independence for thinking through problems and situations and taking decisions based on these

elements and they will begin to reason systematically and logically. In concrete operational stage

(ages seven to ten), a child will start dealing with abstract concepts while rational, operational, and

logical thinking also develops. I this stage, egocentric thoughts diminish. A child will begin to

understand other people's views and perspectives and will build on past experiences. Therefore,

the difference is between the two is that in concrete operational thinking, child can think rationally

about objects if they can see or work with objects (Broderick, 2015).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 5

References

Akos, Patrick (2000) Building empathic skills in elementary school children through group work,

The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 25:2, 214-223, DOI:

10.1080/01933920008411462

Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2015). The life span: Human development for helping

professionals (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Peterson, M. (2014). Promoting Prosocial Behavior in Children Using Cooperative Media-

Based Games and Peer Models. University of Nebraska , Department of Psychology .

Omaha: ProQuest. Retrieved from

http://media.proquest.com.library.capella.edu/media/pq/classic/doc/3420923321/fmt/ai/re

p/NPDF?hl=&cit%3Aauth=Peterson%2C+Magnum&cit%3Atitle=Promoting+Prosocial+

Behavior+in+Children+Using+Cooperative+Media-

Based+Games+and+Peer+Models&cit%3Apub=ProQuest+Dis