Why is social and emotional development so critical for young children? What are ways we can support this in our work with them? How could you explain the importance of social/emotional learning to families?
Both social and emotional development are so important for young children because they form the pillars of other developmental milestones. Also, it helps children to build self-confidence, empathy and the ability to develop meaningful and lasting relationships. One of the ways that caregivers can support social and emotional development among children is by offering consistent experiences by engaging in quality interactions on a daily basis. Additionally, it is important to be affectionate with children and expose them to happy experiences which can be attained through play. On the other hand, social and emotional learning is important to families because it plays a critical role towards how children are nurtured. Through the lessons, families can be able to support their children’s developing skills and provide them with responsive care.
Week 9-1
Do you believe there is a latent trait that makes a person criminality prone, or is criminality a function of environment and socialization? Explain your answer.
The question of whether there is a latent trait that makes a person criminality prone or criminality is a function of the environment and socialization is a controversial one. The answer to this particular question is subjective considering the fact that genetics have not yet found any crime gene. There are still possibilities that crime can have a specific set of genes that might make an individual prone to crime but research is yet to confirm the assumptions.
At the core of this question is an issue of nature vs. nurture. The nature side of the argument states that a person looks and behaves the way that he or she does because that is the sum total of the DNA that they have. Everything about the person is determined by their DNA. On the nurture side of the argument is that a person and his or her personality is largely affected by their social upbringing.
According to me, I do not favor any side of the debate since I believe that both factors play a role in making a person either prone to crime or not.
Week 9-2
What if your little brother is caught shoplifting. He is sent to family court. The judge believes that he has low self-control and that he will continue to commit crime. The judge wants to sentence him to juvenile detention until he is 18. What if you were allowed to make an argument for your brother? What theory would you argue to convince the judge that your little brother will not continue to commit crimes?
From the scenario provided, the society plays a critical role in influencing children. Therefore, the best theory to use in this scenario is social learning theory. According to this theory, delinquency entails learned behaviors which can also be corrected by learning the consequences and other new morally appropriate behaviors. Therefore, since it is a child who has been involved in shop lifting, and it has not been mentioned that it is a recurrent behavior, the best argument will be to use the social learning theory and inform the court that the child can be taught good behaviors using a technique such as differential reinforcement which is a subset of social learning theory in teaching the child morally upright things.
Differential reinforcement was added to social learning theory to enhance the concept of learning in case an individual commits a crime. Therefore, changing the peer group of the child can significantly impact his behavior. Social learning theory is ideal in this scenario since it provides options for training good behaviors among delinquent children.
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