Exam 14: C2: Social Influences

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Parents tend to treat firstborns differently than laterborns. Parents tend to have higher expectations for firstborns and are both more affectionate and more punitive with them. Firstborns, possibly because of these differences in parental treatment, usually have higher scores on intelligence tests and are more likely to go to college than laterborns. They also are more willing to conform to parents' and adults' requests.
Parents tend to have more realistic expectations and are more relaxed in their discipline with laterborns. Laterborn children are less concerned about pleasing parents and adults but need to get along with older siblings. Laterborns tend to be more popular with their peers and are more innovative.

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∙A culture's view of physical punishment contributes to the incidence of child abuse. Countries that do not condone physical punishment tend to have lower rates of child abuse than countries that do. Maltreatment is more common in families living in poverty. Abuse is more common when families are socially isolated from other relatives or neighbours.
∙ Parents who abuse their children were sometimes abused as children. They often have high expectations for their children but do little to help them achieve these goals. They rely upon physical punishment to control their children.
∙ Infants and preschoolers are more often abused than older ones, probably because they are less able to regulate aversive behaviours that elicit abuse. Children who are frequently ill are more often abused. By increasing the stress level in a family, sick children can inadvertently become the targets of abuse.

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∙ Reinforcement is any action that increases the likelihood of the response that it follows. When parents use reinforcement, they reward the behaviours that they want children to perform more often-behaviours like studying and being polite. Parents may use praise as reinforcement.
∙ Time-out involves having a child who is misbehaving briefly sit alone in a quiet, unstimulating environment. Time-out is punishing because it interrupts the child's ongoing activity and isolates the child from other family members, toys, and other rewarding stimulation. During time-out, both parent and child usually calm down. When time-out is over, the parent should talk to the child and explain why the misbehaviour was not acceptable and what the child should do instead. Reasoning like this is effective because it emphasizes why a child was punished and how punishment can be avoided in the future.
∙Research suggests that punishment is not a very effective way to change children's behaviour. When punishment is used, children are told only what not to do. They don't learn new behaviours to replace those that were punished. Punishment also has some undesirable side effects. Children may become angry and upset when punished and that might interfere with their learning why they were punished. Also, children who are punished physically often imitate that behaviour and become aggressive with siblings and peers. Furthermore, when physical punishment is condoned, there is an increased risk of child abuse.