Chapter 6: Socioemotional Development

Chapter 6. Socioemotional Development

Introduction

Chapter 6: Socioemotional Development
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In your book’s chapter on socioemotional development during childhood you learned that self-esteem first becomes a major issue during elementary school. Normally, we base our self-esteem on the signals from the outside world. However, when children with externalizing problems are failing they may deny reality (Chung-Hall & Chen, 2010) and blame others to preserve their unrealistically high self-worth (Miller & Daniel, 2007).

Children with internalizing tendencies have the opposite problem. Their hypersensitivity to environmental cues may cause them to read failure into benign events. They are at risk of developing learned helplessness (Abramson et al., 1978).

Activity

In this activity, you will identify both tendencies using real-world examples.

For each of the following statements, identify if they are externalizing or internalizing distortions.

1. I just failed my statistics exam because my professor is a horrible teacher.
100
Correct! This is a personality style that involves acting on one’s immediate impulses and behaving disruptively and aggressively.
This is incorrect. This is a personality style that involves intense fear, social inhibition, and often depression.
2. I got a failing grade on my homework because I’m too dumb to understand the material.
100
Correct! This is a personality style that involves intense fear, social inhibition, and often depression.
This is incorrect. This is a personality style that involves acting on one’s immediate impulses and behaving disruptively and aggressively.
3. I’m not smart enough to do well in college.
100
Correct! This is a personality style that involves intense fear, social inhibition, and often depression.
This is incorrect. This is a personality style that involves acting on one’s immediate impulses and behaving disruptively and aggressively.
4. We just lost the football game because my teammate fumbled the ball.
100
Correct! This is a personality style that involves acting on one’s immediate impulses and behaving disruptively and aggressively.
This is incorrect. This is a personality style that involves intense fear, social inhibition, and often depression.
5. I’m not very good at soccer because I run slowly.
100
Correct! This is a personality style that involves intense fear, social inhibition, and often depression.
This is incorrect. This is a personality style that involves acting on one’s immediate impulses and behaving disruptively and aggressively.
6. My husband and I often argue because he is hard to get along with.
100
Correct! This is a personality style that involves acting on one’s immediate impulses and behaving disruptively and aggressively.
This is incorrect. This is a personality style that involves intense fear, social inhibition, and often depression.
7. I have poor social skills. That is why I don’t have many friends.
100
Correct! This is a personality style that involves intense fear, social inhibition, and often depression.
This is incorrect. This is a personality style that involves acting on one’s immediate impulses and behaving disruptively and aggressively.
8. I try hard to be a good parent but I just can’t.
100
Correct! This is a personality style that involves intense fear, social inhibition, and often depression.
This is incorrect. This is a personality style that involves acting on one’s immediate impulses and behaving disruptively and aggressively.
9. I am the best employee at my job. I should be able to come to work late if I want to.
100
Correct! This is a personality style that involves acting on one’s immediate impulses and behaving disruptively and aggressively.
This is incorrect. This is a personality style that involves intense fear, social inhibition, and often depression.
10. I am overweight and there is nothing I can do about it.
100
Correct! This is a personality style that involves intense fear, social inhibition, and often depression.
This is incorrect. This is a personality style that involves acting on one’s immediate impulses and behaving disruptively and aggressively.

Something to Consider

Activity status
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Drawing on Erikson’s theory, true self-esteem is derived from “industry”—working for our goals. As discussed previously, children and adults with externalizing and internalizing tendencies face a similar danger—but for different reasons. Those with externalizing tendencies continue to fail because they do not see the need for self-improvement. Those with internalizing tendencies continue to fail because they decide that they cannot succeed and stop working. As you can see, both are set up for failure.

With all of this in mind, how do you tend to explain things when they go as planned or not? Do you tend to blame others to preserve your self-worth (externalizing) or are you overly critical of yourself, reading failure into benign events (internalizing)?

Abramson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E., & Teasdale, J. D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49–74.

Chung-Hall, J., & Chen, X. (2010). Aggressive and prosocial peer group functioning: Effects on children’s social, school, and psychological adjustment. Social Development, 19, 659–680.

Miller, D., & Daniel, B. (2007). Competent to cope, worthy of happiness? How the duality of self-esteem can inform a resilience-based classroom environment. School Psychology International, 28(5), 605–622.