Influential Factors of Social Development

The conditions that we experience during childhood have a consequential influence on the level of our social development, the values that we appreciate, and the behavior that we display. Because the circumstances of childhood help establish our identities in the future, the psychological and educational communities have accumulated beneficial knowledge regarding the different stages of childhood development, the nurturing strategies that can help facilitate successful social skills, and the different factors that can influence childhood development. Teachers can implement effective developmental strategies and maximize the social competence of children by possessing a comprehensive understanding of the primary factors that influence social development, including attachment, self-esteem, temperament and emotional reactions.

One of the most important features of childhood development is that caregivers must ensure that children develop social competence. Social competence refers to the ability of a child to demonstrate productive social behavior, such as interpersonal skills, personal identity, social values, self-regulation, emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence, and advanced planning or decision-making skills. Children must also be capable of demonstrating social competence in a wide variety of ecological settings. For instance, children must prepare to socialize with parents, authority figures, adults and with their peers. Children must also be ready to encounter different social environments, such as the home, school and playground. However, social competence is not inherited by children, but instead must be taught and cultivated by the caregivers of the child. The family members and teachers that care for a child have a significant influence on the child’s social development, for these caregivers demonstrate the appropriate ways to behave, improve the cognitive skills of the child, and determine the level of social competence displayed by the child (Kostelnik, 2009). Thus, all caregivers would benefit from understanding the factors that influence every child’s developmental progress and the methods that can most effectively improve a child’s social abilities.

Attachment is one of the most important factors that can impact childhood development. Research studies indicate that each baby has a strong bond and a powerful connection to the mother or primary caregiver. John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth helped perpetuate the attachment theory by conducting thorough research experiments to demonstrate that babies experience severe distress when separated from the primary caregiver and that infants seek close proximity to the caregiver when inflicted with anxiety. The learning theory of attachment asserts that the infant becomes attached to the caregiving figure because that figure is the exclusive source for food and the baby learns to associate the caregiver with food. However, the evolutionary theory of attachment elaborates on a more broad approach. The evolutionary theory suggests that the child attaches to the mother or caregiving figure for evolutionary reasons, as the child recognizes that the caregiver is the only source of safety, security, comfort, and nourishment. For instance, an infant responds to threatening or stressful situations by striving to get within close proximity of the caregiver because this instinct helps sustain the survival of the child. Thus, a powerful psychological attachment to the mother or primary caregiver is established and solidified as the infant perceives the mother as providing the food and security required to remain alive.

The transformations of attachment have been categorized into separate stages according to the age of the respective child. A child up to 3 months old accepts care from anybody, for the mind of the child is not yet strong enough to clearly distinguish between caregivers or form preferences, but instead, the infant is desperate for help and must generally accept care from any adult. After four months, the child will still receive care from anybody, but after this four-month mark, the baby can more effectively decipher between different caregivers, distinguish primary caregivers from secondary helpers, and establish preferences regarding a primary or favorite caregivers. After the 7 month mark, the baby demonstrates a strong preference for the primary caregivers, such as the mom or dad. At this point, the baby will identify primary caregivers, recognize their features and gravitate towards those figures for comfort, assistance and protection. However, after the 7-month mark, the baby can also develop separation anxiety or a fear of strangers. Although the degree of intensity at which babies experience stranger anxiety depends on each situation and can be different for each child, at this stage many babies are instilled with anxiety when separated from primary caregivers or when encountering strangers. After about one year, the progressed development of the baby’s mind enables the child to be significantly more independent, to effectively recognize figures and to form several attachments to multiple caregivers, such as nannies, grandparents or teachers.

Establishing attachment in the early years of development is important, for the attachment provides children with confidence that a powerful caregiver values them and will help them overcome challenges. As a result, parents, nannies and teachers must take diligent action to ensure that they are implementing strategies that enable the child to form attachments and comfortably cling to the caregivers. Many research studies demonstrate that having attachments for young children can provide comfort, strengthen their thinking skills, increase their emotional awareness, and better prepare them to obtain social competence (Bretherton). In contrast, studies demonstrate that babies that are unable to form attachments or were separated from the primary attachment figure are more likely to be emotionally unstable, intellectually underdeveloped and socially challenged later in life.

Self-esteem is another crucial factor that has a significant influence on the social development of children. Self-esteem refers to the extent to which a child perceives that he is accepted and appreciated by adults and by peers. Sufficient self-esteem encourages proper social competence because self-esteem permits the child to trust other people, maintain confidence, establish an identity, and exercise his or her personality (Kostelnik, 2009). Furthermore, the confidence associated with self-esteem assures the child that he or she can overcome the many difficult challenges that will inevitably arise while maturing into the future. Thus, teachers and parents must help instill the child with strong self-esteem while the child is young and beginning to develop an identity.

Many different methods can reinforce the self- esteem of a child. Children must be able to trust the caregiver, for then the kids will more easily learn to trust others, display exceptional social skills and develop strong confidence. Caregivers can also address the self-esteem of the children by providing an abundance of attention, answering cries, supplying any needs, cuddling consistently, and providing comfort (Kostelnik, 2009). Caregivers should also offer children choices, for being given choices provides the children with a powerful sense of control, strengthens their cognitive skills, and enhances their decision-making abilities. After 18 months, strong self-esteem should motivate the children to explore, experience diverse stimulations, and learn new beneficial information.

Caregivers should also improve the self-esteem of children by encouraging them to demonstrate self-regulation and to not behave in detrimental manners. Teaching children self-control and correct manners of behavior improves their sense of self and prepares them to successfully succeed in various ecological settings. Additionally, teachers and parents are also role models and thus should act in the way that they encourage the children to act (Kostelnik, 2009). Because children replicate adults, demonstrating the correct and most effective ways of behaving will encourage children to also imitate and fulfill those appropriate modes of behavior.

Temperament is another important factor that has a dramatic impact on the development and social competence of children. In contrast to theories that focus on the environment and on the nurturing of children, temperament theories concentrate on innate and natural personality characteristics that children are born with. According to the theory, every child is born with certain predispositions and characteristics regarding their attitude and behavior, and these innate characteristics influence the personality and development of the child. The temperament theory was largely established by Thomas and Chess in 1977, and the psychologists also determined a set of dimensions of temperament (Hooper, 2010). The first dimension involves negative emotionality, which includes a tendency to display negative attitudes, irritability, and a generally intense personality. The second dimension refers to self-regulation, or the degree to which a child demonstrates persistence, shows an ability to concentrate for extended periods of time, and exercises control over emotional outbursts. Additionally, the third primary dimension emphasizes sociability, for extroverted children approach new people and different situations comfortably, whereas inhibited children tend to avoid or withdraw from such new and unfamiliar situations.

Because temperament has a significant influence on the development of a child’s social competence, caregivers should ensure that they address the particular temperament of the child and make adjustments in a way that maximizes the ability of the child to adapt and thrive in various social situations. For instance, children who are excessively inhibited might progress at a drastically slower developmental rate than other children, for the kids are typically reluctant to seek new experiences and interact with different people. The overly inhibited characteristic, in turn, prevents the children from being able to consistently strengthen the mind with new experiences and improve their emotional intelligence or social skills. Although research studies demonstrate that temperament remains relatively stable and constant throughout a child’s life, studies also indicate that caregivers can use certain methods to alleviate the inhibitions and facilitate proper social development in children. Participation in care programs outside of the home generally allows children to improve their confidence, strengthen their social awareness, and gradually become less inhibited. On the other hand, children with dominating and extremely controlling parents tend to be more reserved and inhibited when confronted by new situations (Hooper, 2010). Thus, parents and teachers should refrain from being excessively overbearing to prevent the child from becoming inhibited by new experiences. Furthermore, children who lack any inhibition demonstrate insufficient self-regulation, risk encountering extremely dangerous situations, and are vulnerable to get into trouble due to the lack of control. Caregivers can increase self-control in children who have very low inhibitions by establishing reasonable boundaries and rules that would encourage the child to demonstrate self-regulation. Thus, while the innate temperament of a child is often acquired naturally upon birth, caregivers can still maximize the child’s social competence by implementing developmental strategies that are most appropriate for the particular temperament of the child.

The specific emotional reactions that children have towards various situations also have a significant impact on social development. The emotional responses of children to different stimuli often determine the decisions they make, the values they appreciate and the behavior they display. Because emotional reactions are consequential to the personality and development of children, caregivers must implement plans that strengthen emotional intelligence, help children understand their own emotions, and ensure that they are also aware of the emotions experienced by other people. However, the progression of growing older causes each child to inevitably encounter a diverse range of complicated experiences that can trigger various different emotions. Because emotions have the ability to obscure our judgment and facilitate detrimental decisions, caregivers must teach the children how to understand, control and process their emotions (Kostelnik, 2009). Additionally, dramatic events or shockingly traumatic experiences can also significantly influence the development of a child, such as events involving violence, accidents, severe injuries or natural disasters. The memory and pain associated with the traumatic event can cause intense levels of distress, impact the general attitude of the child, make it difficult for the child to approach certain situations or interact with strangers, and prevent the child from developing at the same consistent rate as other children. Thus, caregivers must be prepared to demonstrate sensitivity and apply encouraging developmental strategies to support the social competence of children who have experienced traumatic events.

Teachers serve the essential function of equipping students with valuable knowledge, strengthening the minds of children, and preparing the students to function effectively in society and to thrive with successful professional ventures. However, one of the primary goals for instructors who are teaching young children is that the instructors must enhance the social competence of each child so the children can successfully interact with other people and progress through the important stages of childhood development. Teachers can maximize the childhood development and social competence of their students by understanding the factors that influence social development, by implementing efficacious strategies that address each factor, and by ensuring that the strategies can be customized to most effectively facilitate the developmental needs of each particular child.

References

Bretherton, I. (n.d.). The Origins of the Attachment Theory. Stony Brook University. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/attachment/online/inge_origins.pdf

Hooper, S. (2010, July 20). Temperament and Child Development. Education.com. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://www.education.com/reference/article/temperament-child-development/

Kostelnik, M. J. (2009). Guiding children's social development & learning (6th ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning.