Development of Self-Understanding Throughout the Stages

Development of Self-Understanding Throughout the Stages

Human beings tend to experience basic emotions like disgust, anger, sadness, surprise, and happiness. Individuals’ emotions become clearer and more elaborate with time. In infancy, children begin to obtain a sense of self-awareness, as observed in feelings of shame and guilt, and with the help of their caregivers, they can regulate intense emotions. As people grow, concepts such as self-esteem and self-concept develop, which help define them throughout their lifespan. Supportive parenting helps improve children’s emotional and social development.

Infancy/Toddlerhood Social/Emotional Development

Self-conscious emotions like pride, embarrassment, envy, shame, and guilt appear in the middle of an infant’s second year (18-24 months) as they become conscious of themselves as unique and separate individuals (Berk, 2020). Toddlers show embarrassment and shame by lowering their eyes, hiding their faces with their hands, and hanging their heads. An example of guilty emotion is when a toddler hits another toddler who begins to cry, and the perpetrator pats the toddler to make them stop crying. Adult instruction plays a critical role in reinforcing or discouraging certain emotions. For instance, when a parent says, “shame on you for hitting your sister,” or “you did it! You solved the puzzle.” Such statements can encourage feelings of shame or guilt and pride, respectively.

Emotional self-regulation or self-control involves the strategies used to adjust emotional states to a comfortable intensity level to attain goals (Berk, 2020). For instance, when one convinces themselves that an event that causes major anxiety will soon be over, they are self-regulating emotionally. Emotional self-regulation needs deliberate, effortful emotional management, which improves in early childhood due to the prefrontal cortex development and support from caregivers (Berk, 2020). Infants need help from their caregivers to regulate intense emotions, and this can be done by soothing, rocking, rocking, or talking smoothly to them or giving them comfort items like a pacifier, blanket, or stuffed animal (Rymanowicz, 2018). The caregiver can carry the toddler and tell them, “don’t cry. It will be alright.”

Early Childhood Social/Emotional Development

As self-awareness is enhanced, children increase their focus on attributes, values, attitudes, and abilities that make them unique. They develop self-concept. A warm and sensitive relationship between a parent and child encourages a more coherent and positive early self-concept in a child. With support from parents, children can have better and more positive views about themselves. For instance, when a parent says, “Remember that time when you were really sick, but you got well because you were not afraid to take drugs? That means you are a brave girl.” Such words can deeply impart how the child views themselves, and they can describe themselves as brave from such past events.

Self-esteem is not very clearly defined and understood among young children. Children are likely to rate their actual abilities higher than it is, as they usually underestimate task difficulty (Berk, 2020). For instance, a kid can say, “Look, I can swim,” when they are just walking in the water. However, with parents who encourage their children and offer support and information on succeeding in various tasks, children become more motivated and enthusiastic. Children whose caregivers constantly criticize their performance and worth give up quickly when faced with challenges and often show despondency and shame for failing. For instance, a parent who encourages the kid to carry a glass plate to the kitchen after meals by asking them to carry it and walk slowly and place it on the sink will help the kid become more motivated and rate themselves as more capable and responsible.

Middle Childhood Social/Emotional Development

At this stage, children’s self-concept is more refined as they include more evaluative self-descriptions such as, “I am Charlie. I am 10 years old. I am a very good swimmer and pianist. I am kind, but most people do not like me because I am not pretty.” Such descriptions result from social comparisons (Berk, 2020). Parental support is key, and children with elaborative conversations with parents on past experiences have a rich and positive narrative of the self. They can have more favorable, coherent, and complex self-concepts.

With more feedback on how well they compare with peers in schools, children’s self-esteem decreases to a realistic level. For instance, a kid can say, “I practice swimming a week thrice, but I am not yet as good as Lee.” With increased emphasis on appearance by parents, peers, and the media, the general satisfaction with one’s body lessens.

Adolescent Social/Emotional Development

In adolescence, the individual’s vision of self is more complex, consistent, and organized as they construct a more balanced and integrated representation of their limitations and strengths (Berk, 2020). Their self-descriptions are often in relation to their parents, friends, or romantic partners. For instance, a student would say, “I think of myself as an introvert, but I am very loud and rowdy around my friends. My mother makes me angry most of the time, and I feel depressed around her. I perform well in Math, and I am good at solving problems. My parents think I am strange because I barely talk to them, but I do not really care what they think of me.” Whereas peers play a key role in adolescents’ lives, parents need to remain supportive to help them form better perceptions of themselves and encourage them to perform positively in various sectors.

Adolescents’ self-esteem tends to rise as most report feeling good about their athletic capabilities, physical appearance, and peer relationships (Drozdikova-Zaripova, Biktagirova & Latypov, 2021). The majority assert that they are more personable, capable, mature, and attractive (Berk, 2020). Parents can help adolescents develop a better sense of self-esteem and avoid negative self-images and self-destructive behaviors. Positive feedback, encouragement, and authoritative parenting can help lessen negative self-image. Through advice and emphasis on the capabilities of the teenager, parental support can help improve the adolescent’s self-esteem.

Conclusion

In summary, toddlers begin their emotional growth through self-awareness and need help regulating intense emotions such as anger and sadness. Over time, children begin to define themselves more complexly as they get a wider view of the world and the people around them. Through all stages, supportive parenting has been observed as this helps nurture a child that has more positive evaluations of themselves, increasing their ability to compare favorably with peers and deal well with negative emotions and challenging circumstances.

 References

Berk, L. E. (2020). Infants, Children, and Adolescents (9^th Ed.). Pearson Education (US) https://purdueuniversityglobal.vitalsource.com/books/9780135494271

Drozdikova-Zaripova, A. R., Biktagirova, G. F., & Latypov, N. R. (2021). How to help foster teens form a positive self-concept in sports and exercise activities. Journal of Human Sport and Exercise, 16(3proc), S1136-S1150. https://doi.org/10.14198/jhse.2021.16.Proc3.30

Rymanowicz, K. (2018). Self-regulation for infants and toddlers. Michigan State University. https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/self-regulation-for-infants-and-toddlers#:~:text=Young%20children%20can’t%20regulate,how%20your%20child%20is%20feeling.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

---

UNIT 8 ASSIGNMENT. P220

Units 7 and 8 have been devoted to understanding social/emotional development in infancy/toddlerhood, childhood, and adolescence. For this Assignment, please use the Unit 8 Assignment Template to write a 2-page descriptive essay tracing the development of self-understanding throughout the stages by focusing on the development of self-awareness and self-control in infancy/toddlerhood and the development of the self-concept and self-esteem in early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence. Provide at least one detailed example of the development of these self-understanding concepts for each stage and be sure to cite the textbook information/research findings to support your ideas.

For each of the four stages, consider the role that parents play in their child’s development of self. How can parents promote self-awareness and self-control in infancy/toddlerhood and how can parents promote self-concept and self-esteem in early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence?

TEXTBOOK: Berk, L. E. (2020). Infants, Children, and Adolescents (9th Edition). Pearson Education (US). https://purdueuniversityglobal.vitalsource.com/books/9780135494271

Here IS the RUBRIC:

Infancy/Toddlerhood Social/Emotional Development
Assignment includes all of the following:
• Describes development of self-awareness in infancy/toddlerhood, with at least 1 detailed example.
• Describes development of self-control in infancy/toddlerhood, with at least 1 detailed example.
• Provides information on how parents can promote self-awareness and self-control in infancy/toddlerhood
• Textbook information cited to support ideas.

CRITERIA 2.
Early Childhood Social/Emotional Development
Assignment includes all of the following:
• Describes development of self-concept in early childhood, with at least 1 detailed example.
• Describes development of self-esteem in early childhood, with at least 1 detailed example.
• Provides information on how parents can promote self-concept and self-esteem in early childhood.
• Textbook information cited to support ideas

Criteria 3
Middle Childhood Social/Emotional Development
Assignment includes all of the following:
• Describes development of self-concept in middle childhood, with at least 1 detailed example.
• Describes development of self-esteem in middle childhood, with at least 1 detailed example.
• Provides information on how parents can promote self-concept and self-esteem in middle childhood.
• Textbook information cited to support ideas.

Criteria 4.
Adolescent Social/Emotional Development
Assignment includes all of the following:
• Describes development of self-concept in adolescence, with at least 1 detailed example.
• Describes development of self-esteem in adolescence, with at least 1 detailed example.
• Provides information on how parents can promote self-concept and self-esteem in adolescence.
• Textbook information cited to support ideas.

Criteria 5
Writing
Assignments meet all of the following:
● Clearly written in Standard English.
● Free of spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.
● References or academic sources as required, including in-text citation(s).
● Formatted correctly using either APA style or provided template.