Social cognitive development in children across three developmental stages

Developmental Counseling With Children

First, the process of social cognitive development is discussed. Next, some important developmental social skills issues are addressed as they relate to three specific stages of development: early child- hood, middle childhood, and adolescence. Three separate children were observed over a period of 2 to 3 hours each, and the above mentioned areas were analyzed in each child. Other areas observed were play, interaction, socialization patterns, problem solving skills/strategies, their support systems and resources, motivation for learning and their developmental focus.

Sonny was a 4-year-old boy. (Caucasian) - Early Childhood Development Stage.

Jack was a 9-year-old boy (African-American) - Middle Childhood Development Stage.

Walter was a 14-year-old teenager (Caucasian) - Adolescence Development Stage.

The Process of Social Cognitive Development

Of all the areas of child development, social cognitive development is perhaps the most directly linked and critical to the acquisition and performance of social skills. Stated simply, social cognitive development is the process whereby changes in cognitive functioning allow the developing child to engage in a hierarchy of increasingly complex and potentially meaningful interactions with other persons. The process of social cognitive development may be considered a specific application of the social cognitive theory proposed by Bandura (1986), as typified by his influential book, Social Foundations of Thought and Action. Bandura suggested that the nature of social cognitive development may be explained in terms of five basic human capabilities: symbolizing, forethought, vicarious, self-regulatory, and self-reflective capabilities.

Symbolizing capability involves the use of various symbols, including language, as a means of altering and adapting to different environments. The use of symbols allows communication with others, even at distant times or places. Forethought capability projects anticipation of likely consequences of behavior and is demonstrated by intentional and purposeful actions that are future oriented. Vicarious capability allows that not all learning must result from direct experience, but can occur through the observation of other persons' behaviors and the consequences that follow them. Self-regulatory capability affects the development of our own internal standards and self-evaluative reactions to our behavior. Thus discrepancies between our internal standards and our actual behaviors serve to govern our future behavior. Self-reflective capability is concerned with self-consciousness, or the human ability to think about and evaluate our own thought processes. Together, these five fundamental human capabilities form the basis for our vast human potential and help explain to the inner workings that result in our behavioral output.

Observational learning is an essential part of social cognitive development. Its most elemental form is best understood as the process whereby we develop the capability to perform new behaviors through paying attention to models, retaining in memory what we observe, exercising the physical and cognitive ability to perform the new behavior, and having the motivation to do so. Another essential part of Bandura's social cognitive theory is the process of triadic reciprocality, which is best explained as a conception of human behavior development wherein the causes of behavior become influenced and shaped by the behavior itself

There are three different influences or parts of the triad exist: the person, the behavior, and the environment. Each part makes a unique contribution to development, and the strength of each part may change over time. For example, a child might be born with a biologically based, highly sensitive temperament whereby unfamiliar stimuli are perceived as aversive (the person variable). The child may then adopt a behavioral style of inhibition and avoidance to new situations and persons (the behavior variable). The environment sought out by the child selectively becomes one in which fewer opportunities for social interaction exist, and other persons within the environment may then ignore or avoid the child (the environment variable). As a result of these mutually influential processes, the child may develop a withdrawn and socially isolated pattern of behavior and become deficient in basic social skills. Moreover, in a sometimes insidious process, the three variables may continue to shape each other and serve to strengthen the behavioral/personality style, even if it is maladaptive.

Social Skills Development during Middle Childhood

The period of middle childhood begins about the time a child enters first grade and extends into early adolescence. Agewise, we consider this period to extend from about age 7 to 13 years. From a developmental theory framework, children at this age level are in the concrete operations stage of cognitive development. This stage is characterized by the ability to use simple logic, but mental operations are performed only on images of tangible objects and actual events. In other words, the ability for abstract symbolic thinking is usually not yet developed.

During the concrete operations stage, many principles are mastered that were formerly elusive to the preschool-age child. Reversibility (observing that an action may be reversible), decentration (focusing on objects or tasks holistically rather than on one part only), and conservation (understanding that a change in appearance does not always constitute a change in quantity) are perhaps the best known of the concrete operational skills newly acquired at this stage.

Social development during middle childhood is characterized by learning to function beyond the family in a broader social context. In psychosocial terms this stage is referred to as industry vs. inferiority, a stage that refers to development alternating between self competence based on mastery of these new challenges and feelings of low self-esteem based on failure. Most elementary-age children make moral decisions with more complexity than they did during early childhood. These children reach a stage referred to as conventional morality, wherein rules and social conventions become more important in the decision-making process than just the immediate consequences of actions. Entrance into the elementary school opens up an increasingly complex social world. Children begin to form peer groups that differ in social status and power. The use of humor, gossip, negative evaluation, and teasing increase.

Social Skills Development during Adolescence

As typically defined, adolescence begins at about age 13 (12 to 14) years and ends at about the time that adult responsibilities are assumed. Obviously, great individual variation exists when the latter stages of adolescence are reached. Some individuals may assume many adult responsibilities and become relatively independent by age 17, whereas others may continue to be partially or fully dependent on their parents well into chronological adulthood. Social skills development during adolescence is characterized by the increasing complexity of social expectations, demands, and abilities. As their cognitive and social capabilities mature, adolescents become capable of a higher level of cognitive and emotional perspective-taking. These advanced cognitive-emotional skills attained by many adolescents might be characterized as the formal development of empathy. Interestingly, in social skills assessment research, a separate empathy factor of skills emerged through multivariate analysis on the adolescent version of the Walker-McConnell Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment. This factor was not identified on the elementary-age version of the same scale, a finding that corroborates the notion that the advanced cognitive and affective skills needed for empathy do not tend to emerge until adolescence. The advanced language development that occurs by friendships seems to become more autonomous during this period, although increasing interdependence relating to psychological support tends to occur simultaneously. Adolescent friendships are typified by the process of self-exploration and self-definition. According to Gottman, adolescents use friendships to explore who they are, what they believe, and what they will become through complex verbal interactions in a supportive environment. Thus, the adolescent quest for personal identity seems to take place in the context of adolescent friendship patterns.

Conclusion and Findings

Reading as a specific manifestation of the "meta-skills" of planning, regulating, and self-evaluating: Evaluation of person, task, and strategy variables results in an assessment of the task difficulty relative to one's abilities and an assessment of the relative effectiveness of different strategies. Evaluation is a measure against a standard such as effort, ease, or certainty within a problem-solving context. Planning involves the allocation of time and effort in order to optimize task solutions. The good reader, like the good problem solver, selects reasonable goals and generates suitable means to accomplish them. Regulation refers to the ability to follow one's chosen plan and to monitor its effectiveness. Sometimes new goals and new plans must be formulated, while at other times it is better to persevere on the chosen path.

Adolescents' supportive relationships with parents, teachers, and peers were examined in relation to motivation at school (school - and class-related interest, academic goal orientations, and social goal pursuit). Peer support was a positive predictor of prosocial goal pursuit, teacher support was a positive predictor of both types of interest and of social responsibility goal pursuit, and parent support was a positive predictor of school -related interest and goal orientations. Perceived support from parents and peers also was related to interest in school indirectly by way of negative relations with emotional distress. Pursuit of social responsibility goals and school - and class-related interest in 6th grade partly explained positive relations between social support in 6th grade and classroom grades 1 year later. Continued research on the social origins of classroom motivation in early adolescence is needed.

For most students, early adolescence is a time of change and transition. With respect to interpersonal relationships and social adjustment, these changes reflect a growing psychological and emotional independence from adults and a corresponding dependence on peer relationships to establish and maintain positive perceptions of the self.

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