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The word “home” isn’t what it used to be

§  Setting the Context: A Tapestry of Families

Ø The traditional two-parent home still exists but other situations are common too....

Ø one-parent families

Ø two parents of the same sex families

Ø grandparents raising grandchildren as adopted children and foster children and

Ø blended families

»   Remarriage involves stepparents and stepsiblings

§  In the U.S., the melting pot of ethnicities has cooled. We are now different cultures, mixed and living in the same country. The landscape of our society is changing.

§  Children? They don’t seem to care what kind of healthy family they live within. They thrive under every cultural condition when the parents are loving, caring and nurturing. 

§  Some stresses are more demanding, like poverty:

Ø More than one third of all single mothers live under the poverty level.

I

Parenting Qualities

Parenting styles -

§  Authoritative parents

Ø Clear expectations and consistent rules; but exceptions can be made

Ø Parent ranks high in nurturing and discipline

§  Authoritarian parents

Ø More inflexible; a rule is a rule

§  Permissive parents

Ø Opposite of authoritarian; total freedom and unconditional love

Ø Children�fs needs rule

§  Rejecting-neglecting parents

Ø Low on structure and low on love

Parenting Qualities

Questioning and Criticizing the Styles

§  Parenting involves a wide variety of behaviors

Ø  Parenting goals are not the same between families

Ø  Parenting style changes on a minute to minute basis

§  Parenting requires cultural agendas

Ø  Baumrind studied white, middle class Americans while other cultures have different agendas

Ø  Societal boundaries change over time

»   Spanking was outlawed in Sweden in 1979. In 1996, studies showed it had little effect in reducing child abuse or child to child aggression.

Parenting is shaped by the wider world

§  Working class parents tend to rank “overly authoritative”

Ø If the world is a harsh place, getting children ready for it requires harsh treatment.

§  Even today, in dangerous, inner-city neighborhoods or war torn countries, the authoritarian approach may be better to protect children:

Ø Authoritative styles correlate to high achievement in these environments.

§  Research shows that circumstances create changes in parenting styles within families.

Lessons for understanding parents:

§  Don’t impose your priorities on others.

§  Be aware that there are a variety of childrearing goals.

§  Be aware of cultural differences in child rearing.

§  More rigid approaches may be required in some cultures and under some circumstances.

§  Look to the circumstances surrounding a family when you evaluate their methods.

Do Parents Matter?

Resilient children

§  The child that can succeed in the face of adversity is known as a resilient child. These children have certain qualities:

Ø  Superior emotional regulation

Ø  Outgoing personalities

Ø  Some special talent to rely on

Ø  Tend to have one warm loving relationship

§  Is it possible there is a resilience gene?

Ø  Research shows it may be the serotonin gene
(the long form)

Does our adult fate depend mainly on genes?

§  It is possible that warm loving parents pass on warm loving genes to their children.

§  Children that act out may have parents that acted out as children, following their genetic tendencies.

§  So, maybe the child’s genes are driving the parenting style.

Reciprocal determinism

§  Making a case for “reciprocal determinism” - loving children may create the loving authoritative parent, while the hateful child may create the authoritarian care giver.

Another Mitigating Factor

The Peer group

Our peer group provides a nurturing example

for behavior.

§  This idea assumes that the wider world has more influence over us than our home life because we will learn to act one way in the world and act another at home.

Ø  I learned to throw a temper tantrum from a school mate.

Ø  Immigrant children learn how to �gmake it�h in American society from examples outside of the home.

Good Parenting

It may be possible that extremely loving parenting in the first few years can mend a brain on the path to ADHD.  Research seems to point in that direction.

§  Studies of mothers and their attitudes toward their premature children point toward loving caring motherhood improving the child’s outlook on life by age 5.

Discipline

Spanking: To hit or not to hit?

§  Most people in the U.S. say that spanking is acceptable but it is not understood by most people in the U.S.

§  Some psychologists equate spanking to shame induction and relate it to future violent acts.

§  Some researchers believe when parents have never learned other means of control and spanking is taken away as a means of control...

Ø conditions deteriorate until much more violent reactions occur.

Ø Parents use shame as a method of control. Shame should be followed with love and warmth and proper direction, but how many of us do that?

Corporal Punishment

Spanking Guidelines:

§  Never hit an infant.

§  At 2 through 6, a swat on the bottom can be effective:

Ø  Follow it with acceptable behavior direction.

§  Spanking is a backup when other techniques fail:

Ø  Not knowing other techniques is not an excuse to spank.

§  Excessive force is never acceptable:

Ø We are attempting to rehabilitate not retaliate.

Ø Reliance on forceful spanking (corporal punishment) is correlated to delinquency, domestic violence and criminal acts.

Ø Use of corporal punishment could be considered child abuse.

Child Abuse

l  Child Maltreatment: any act that can severely damage a child’s physical and emotional well-being.

§  Child abuse can be divided into 4 categories:

Ø Physical Abuse

»    Bodily injuries that can leave bruises

Ø Neglect

»    Failure to provide adequate nutrition and care

Ø Emotional Abuse

»    Examples include terrorizing or exploiting a child

Ø Sexual Abuse

»    Range from rape to fondling or exhibitionistic acts

Abuse is four times more common in poverty settings.

Abuse can lead to:

§  serious academic and social problems

§  increased domestic violence

§  increased risk of mistreating their own children

Interesting research shows that genetics again

plays a part in how children cope with abuse:

§  An enzyme that regulates aggression appears to be more active in children who are abused but refrain from behaviors that put them at odds with the law.

Predicting Child Abuse

Parent characteristics that may predict abuse:

§  Substance abuse and mental disorders

§  Severe poverty

§  Domestic abuse already exists in the home

§  Impulsive individuals that are hyper-active to infant distress

§  Those with unrealistic expectations of development

§  Those with serious life stress

Child characteristics that may predict abuse:

§  Premature babies

§  Children with “difficult” temperaments
(example: exuberant children)

§  Children that lack attachment behaviors

Child Abuse Interventions

What should you do if you suspect abuse?

§  Teachers, social workers and health care professionals are required by law to report suspected abuse to child protective services. Any person in the country who cares about children should do the same.

Report abuse if you suspect it.  Most of us are not qualified to determine what steps to take or if steps should be taken in cases of abuse.  Let the professionals decide but make the first step to save a child and report!

If you suspect and don’t report and a child is hurt or even killed – do you want to hold the responsibility or guilt for the injury or death?  Report any suspected abuse and then take comfort you did the right thing. 

Let the authorities carry the responsibility – do the right thing and report if you suspect child abuse of any kind.    

Ø  The government will decide what to do.

»  They can remove the child for its own safety.

»  They can put the child in foster homes.

»  They can require counseling to improve parental knowledge of proper behaviors.

§  The government’s goal is a united, fully functioning and safe family.

Divorce

While child abuse effects a tiny fraction of children, divorce

effects a majority of them:

Ø Children in divorced families have academic, social, physical and mental disadvantages statistically, but many of these issues manifest prior to the divorce.

Ø Some problems of divorce may be due more to the economic shift in family status than the trauma of the divorce. The custodial parent has less income, time, or both.

Ø A divorce can cause a major shake up of the foundation of the family. The closer the family ties, the worse the effect can be.

Impact of Divorce

§  During and after the divorce, the entire family pattern will become disorganized.

§  Many families will develop a new routine within 2 years of the separation.

What helps in coping with divorce?

§  Ongoing quality parenting

§  Recovering emotionally from the separation

§  The post divorce relationship between the spouses

Should divorce be put on hold for the sake of the children?

§  No, unless the spouses cannot get along.

§  High conflict in families causes more damage than divorce.

§  One study showed an anti-social (know what anti-social means in psychological terms) father helped train the children in aggression techniques.

Challenges Parenting After Divorce

School

Unequal at the Starting Gate

§  Children enter school at different levels

§  Those levels are effected by wealth:

Ø  high income families have children who do better on intelligence tests. They have more books, their parents talk and read to them more, they get help with homework more often, they have the �gcomputer�h advantage, and TV is less of a distracter.

School

Unequal at home in knowledge

§  In the U.S. for example, many children of immigrant families do not have parents that can speak or read English and don’t have help with classroom work.

§  Many children start school speaking a language other than English. They have to learn a whole new language to catch up.

Unequal at school in quality

§  The lower the school is on the economic scale, the lower the school is on the educational map.

What is Intelligence?

Intelligence and IQ tests

§  Intelligence for American Indians is respect for the older generation

§  In African villages, it may reflect an understanding of cultural norms and caring

§  The original meaning was academic success

IQ Test History

The traditional I.Q. test was developed in France to place

children in schools.

§  How do we determine where to place those who had never attended school?

Ø By chronological age, by sex, by height, by acquired knowledge?

§  Binet determined a standard for each age (mental age) and then graded each student according to that scale.

§  It measured what a child had already mastered (achieved) in life.

§  It was not meant as an intelligence test, but rather, an achievement test.

IQ Test History

Enter some U.S. “scientists”

§  The U.S. could not handle the number of immigrants coming to the U.S.

Ø At that time, immigrants were thought to be of a�glower quality.�h

§  Xenophobic tendencies caused Binet’s test to be used to limit immigration from specific countries.

Ø Some even began to equate biological superiority of races and cultures to the scores on these tests.

§  Tests were biased toward specific cultures and used to manipulate public opinion.

IQ Current Status

§  There are still people today who want to use the scores on these tests for more than their purpose, but psychologists and educators use them simply to reflect how well a person will do in school.

§  Ongoing research tries to determine how much genetic predisposition effects IQ and if they can predict later life success from the scores.

§  Some believe there is a single factor to intelligence and others believe there are multiple factors.

Testing Children

Examining the WISC

§  The WISC is used around the world as the standard for testing children.

§  The test is divided into one part, requiring reading comprehension, and another where objects are manipulated.

§  The WISC is given individually, rather than in a group.

§  The WISC is curved, based on a child’s age.

§  It compares children to others of their own age.

Administering the WISC

Decoding the meaning of the score

§  If a child falls within the middle of his age group, his score is a 100.

§  A score of 130 is given to those in the 98th percentile.

§  A score of 70 is given to those in the 2nd percentile.

§  This distribution is called the bell curve.

Administering the WISC

The WISC is normally given once problems emerge in a

child during schooling.

§  Problems can occur for either the students with IQ scores above 130 or below 70.

§  The education system is designed for the average student, not the exceptional one.

§  Then, there are the students with good IQ scores who do poorly in school. What causes this dichotomy?

Scoring the Student

Specific types of students

§  Mental Retardation

Ø Significantly low IQ scores and deficits in learning and school related behavior

§  Specific Learning Disability

Ø IQ is normal, but the learning ability appears to be lower than the score indicates

»   Dyslexia-involves a host of reading related difficulties.

»   Reading glasses could be needed. 

»   More testing is always required.

§  Gifted

Ø If the student is bored and able to complete all assignments without difficulty

»    Also requires special needs.

Dyslexia

Dyslexia Treatment

Phonemic Awareness Task

Reliability vs. Validity

Decoding the meaning of the IQ test

§  All research studies must be aware of the difference between reliability and validity.

In everyday speech, we treat the words the same, however:

§  Reliability indicates that a test will give the same results within a small range each time it is taken. 

Ø My bathroom scale is reliable.

§  A valid test measures what it is supposed to measure. 

Ø My scale is set back 10 pounds which doesn�ft make the answer valid. 

Ø Blood pressure cuffs will give a reliable number, but not if you are trying to get blood sugar readings. 

The WISC performs reliably for children 6 years of age and older. It also is a great predictor of academic success, which also makes it a valid test, because its function is to determine success in school.

IQ Test Issues

There are variations in scores within a single person:

§  Never give the test to someone less than 6 years of age

§  Never give the test after a life crisis event

§  Never give the test during illness

§  Find ways to reduce anxiety while taking the test

Nature vs. Nurture

§  Recall that poverty produces low scores because of environmental conditions. It is incorrect to indicate that children in poverty are genetically inferior because they have lower scores. Rating between socioeconomic levels is not valid.

§  Ratings within socioeconomic levels may be valid, especially among children in the upper class.

Ø However, even in this socioeconomic level there are variations in cultures. The cultural differences may contribute to differences in scores.

IQ & Life

What Does IQ scores predict?

§  Does the IQ score indicate an overall intelligence rating? 

Ø �G�factor - term used for general intelligence that underlies cognitive activities and developed by Charles Spearman

Ø Critics argue that IQ can�ft determine success in all life activities.

Ø Critics feel that it�fs inappropriate to rank people on one continuum from very smart to not smart.

The “G” Factor

l  There are a lot of successful research projects devoted to the study of the “G” factor in intelligence.

§  IQ tests can predict successful school performance.  Can the “g” factor predict high-status professions (doctors, lawyers, etc.) which also result from successful school performance?

Individualization

Many psychologists believe we need to look at more than IQ scores to determine a person’s intellectual worth.

§    Sternberg’s successful intelligence

Ø   Optimal cognition involves balance of:

•           Analytical intelligence: performing well on academic type tests

• Information usually found in typical I.Q. test

•           Creative intelligence: creating novel and innovative ideas

•           Practical intelligence: knowing how to act in real-life situations

• Street smarts and common sense

Individualization

§ Gardner’s multiple intelligences

In different relative abundances each of us is

made up of eight multiple intelligences:

Ø Verbal and Math - tested by IQ

Ø Spatial - ability to visualize objects in space

Ø Kinesthetic - skill at body movement

Ø Interpersonal - skill at understanding others

Ø Intrapersonal - skill at understanding yourself 

Ø Musical - understanding rhythm and sound

Ø Naturalist - understanding nature

Evaluating the Theories

l  Gardner and Sternberg have not created standardized tests to replace the IQ.

§  Does the presence of other intelligences matter in learning school fundamentals of Math and English?

§  Can they do a better job of predicting how a child will do in school?

Presently the answers are “no.” However, they have changed the way teachers relate to students, and maybe that’s the important aspect of their theories.

Examining Successful Schools

l  When researchers studied schools where disadvantaged children outperformed their expected level, they found that each school had a passionate commitment to teach reading skills.

l  The schools required a team effort, personalized instruction and after-school hours.

§  Successful schools:

Ø  Set clear priorities and are willing to put the work

    into meeting those priorities

Ø  Believe every child can succeed

Ø  Offer an excess of nurturing

Ø  Are authoritative in structure

Motivation

Were you ever at a job you loved and left it hating the job? How did you lose your internal fascination for the work?

The problem: An erosion of intrinsic motives

§  Intrinsic motivation is an internal motive not dependant on external cues (money or prestige); a self-generated desire to perform.

§  Extrinsic motivation is desiring payment or rewards from someone in the environment.

Learning Intrinsically

Making for Eager Learners

l  Many researchers have shown that giving an external reward (presents, cash, grades, competition, bonuses) for a job that was intrinsically motivated reduces the intrinsic desire to perform.

l  Everything about the way we are taught and how school is designed is centered around external rewards, which kills intrinsic desires to achieve learning.

Learning Intrinsically

Making extrinsic learning part of us (internalizing extrinsic motives)

l  Connect internal desires to the extrinsic goals.

l  And keep the students interested:

§  Focus on relevance, enhance relatedness

§  Provide autonomy; don’t take it away

§  Do not be a micro manager of learning

§  Don’t punish bad behavior, reward the good behavior

§  Don’t be excessively controlling