THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGO-RESILIENCY AND
SELF-REGULATION AND THE TRANSITION TO PRIMARY SCHOOL
BY

HOLLY MCLEAN

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIRMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
BACHELOR OF INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES

We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standards:
_________________________________________
William Roberts (Ph. D.), Thesis Supervisor, Dept. of Psychology
__________________________________________
Kim Calder Stegemann (Ph.D.), Dept. of Education
__________________________________________
David MacLennan (Ph. D.), Dept. of Sociology
__________________________________________
Mark Rowell Wallin (Ph. D.), Co-Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Studies

ABSTRACT
Thesis Supervisor: Dr. William Roberts

The emerging ability to regulate and adapt emotions, behaviours and attention according
to situational demands is paramount in children’s successful transition into primary
school. Literature devoted to child development states that developmental trends and
experiences that occur in the first five years of life will set the stage for subsequent
development. This suggests that for children to successfully meet the expectations of the
primary school environment they must first have a strong foundation of self-regulation
strategies.
This paper summarizes key principles that underlie the developmental pathways of selfregulation and ego-resiliency, focusing on the period from early infancy to the beginning
of primary school. The forming of a caregiver-infant attachment relationship in the first
year of life is discussed. This caregiver-infant attachment is key as the child shifts from
guided regulation into the early stages of self-regulation in the toddler years. Next, this
paper focuses on the child`s ability to independently self-regulate, and the development
of confidence and ego-resiliency in preschool. Finally, this paper looks at how
previously developed ego-resilient self-regulation affects a child’s ability to successfully
meet the novel expectations and responsibilities that accompany the transition into
primary school.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First, I would like to thank my committee. Thank you to my thesis supervisor Dr.
William Roberts, without whom I may never have discovered the concept of selfregulation. I appreciate the time, knowledge, guidance and patience he has provided me
throughout this process. Thanks to Dr. Kim Calder Stegemann, for providing me with
valuable resources and participating in my thesis defense. And thank you to Dr. David
MacLennan for his participation in my thesis defense.

Thanks to Dr. Mark Rowell Wallin for encouraging me to tackle this project and opening
my eyes to the world of interdisciplinary studies.

Thank you to Beau Labrecque for his editing advice, support, encouragement and love
throughout this process.

Finally thank you to my mom, Barb McLean for her knowledge, advice, encouragement
and having the patience to listen to me talk my way through ideas. I couldn’t have done
this without her!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract………………………………………………………………………………….…………………ii

Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………………...…………..iii

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………...……………1
Chapter 1 - The Early Development of Attachment and Guided Regulation………………………………5
Chapter 2 - Continued Guided Regulation and Problem Solving Competence in Toddlerhood………..…11
Chapter 3 – Shift From Guided Regulation to Self-Regulation……………………………………………14
Chapter 4 - Self-Regulation and Peer Competence in the Preschool Years……………………………….17
Chapter 5 - Ego-Resiliency, Self-Regulation and the Transition to Primary School………………………23

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………….....27

Literature Cited………………………………………………………………………...………………….29

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INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this paper is to look at the developmental pathways of selfregulation through early childhood and to examine how being self-regulated and having
the ability to shift levels of control affects a child’s transition into primary school.
Interest in the concept of self-regulation has increased in recent years and much attention
has been paid to children's ability to self-regulate in school or classroom contexts
(Shanker, 2010). This is because the ability to self-regulate is increasingly being seen as a
good predictor of a child’s academic success (Zimmerman, 1994).
Kopp (1982) defines self-regulation as the ability "to initiate and cease activity
according to situational demands, to modulate the intensity, frequency, and duration of
verbal and motor acts in social and educational settings, to postpone acting upon a
desired object or goal, and to generate socially approved behaviour in the absence of
external monitors” (p. 199). However, it is important to note that self-regulation isn't
solely about one’s ability to restrain and control impulses and desires, but also about
one’s ability to adapt actions and expressions of emotions to individual situations. Block
and Block (2006) remind us that there are “many life situations in which spontaneity
rather than self-control is psychologically desirable, in which expressiveness is positively
adaptive, enhancing the experience and savoring of life” (p. 318).
Jack and Jeanne Block have proposed a set of constructs, ego-control and egoresilience, that speak to this ability to adapt emotions and behaviours to situational
demands. Ego control refers to the expression or containment of impulses, feelings and
desires (Block & Block, 1980). This construct is a continuum with over-control at one

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end and under-control at the other. Over-control refers to the containment of impulses,
inhabitation of action and affects, delay of gratification and insulation from distractors in
the environment (Block & Block, 1980). Under-control, found at the other end of the
continuum, refers to the inability to delay gratification, insufficient regulation of impulse
coupled with immediate and direct expression of motivations and affects, and increased
vulnerability to distrators in the environment (Block & Block, 1980). Block and Block
(1980) state that having an ego-control level located in the middle of the continuum is
optimal.
Block and Block (1980) define ego-resilience as the capacity of an individual to
adapt their preferred or model level of ego-control. Thus, high levels of ego-resilience
are characterized by "resourceful adaptation to changing circumstances and
environmental contingencies” (Block & Block, 1980, p. 48). In contrast, low levels of
ego-resilience or ego-brittleness, are characterized by the inability to adapt to situational
changes. Following Block and Block’s definition, Sroufe, Egelend, Carlson & Collins
(2005) state that ego-resiliency is a premier measure of one’s capacity to self-regulate.
Therefore a well-regulated person could be called an ego-resilient individual. In contrast,
one can see how being ego-brittle could create problems through childhood, particularly
in the transition to school, where situational demands change frequently. In school
context, the child is required to be flexible, able to focus on academic tasks in the
classroom but spontaneous and expressive in social interactions with peers.
To be well-regulated is to be ego-resilient, but ego-resiliency looks different at
various stages in an individual’s development. According to Arend, Gove and Sroufe
(1979) the "assessment of quality (or effectiveness) of attachment at 18 months, problem

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solving style at 24 months and ego- resiliency at age 5 [are] all viewed as age-appropriate
assessment of the same construct" (p. 956).
For optimal development, a child needs to build on earlier learning. Arend, Gove
and Sroufe (1979), along with other developmental researchers, have found that an
"earlier developmental phase lays the groundwork for later effective adaptation" (p. 956;
Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson, & Collins, 2005; Bronson, 2000, Kopp, 1989). For example, an
infant who develops a healthy caregiver-infant attachment lays the foundation for
effective problem-solving skills in toddlerhood. Healthy attachment and problem-solving
skills will support the child’s development of self-regulation and the ability to adapt egocontrol levels when they enter school. Borkowski and Thorpe (1994) suggest that
competent and successfully achieving students, who can appropriately self-regulate, will
go on to become competent and successfully achieving adults, both in occupation and
interpersonal realms.
Self-regulation isn't something that we are born with; it is a lifelong process of
development. Calkins and Hill (2007) state that “[t]he mastery of earlier regulatory tasks
becomes an important component of later competencies and by extension, the level of
mastery of these early skills may constrain the development of later skills” (p. 232). With
the knowledge that early regulatory skills will affect later development, it is important
that we understand how an optimal self-regulation is developed and factors that
encourage its development. This paper reviews the developmental stages children go to
through as they move towards self-regulation and ego-resilience. Starting from infancy
the early development of attachment and guided regulation are discussed. Attachment and
guided regulation remain important as the infant transitions into toddlerhood, supporting

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the toddler’s confident exploration and the development of problems solving skills. Also
in the toddler years there is a gradual shift from guided regulation to voluntary selfregulation, which supports the child’s peer competence in preschool. Lastly, children’s
transition into primary school is considered. The last chapter highlights the influential
role that self-regulation and ego-resiliency have in a child’s successful transition into the
school environment.

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CHAPTER 1
The Early Development of Attachment and Guided Regulation

It has been suggested that the early development of attachment is influenced by
the attitudes and affection mothers’ display towards their unborn infants (Siddiqui &
Hägglöf, 2000). These attitudes are found to be good predictors of the early caregiverinfant interactions, interactions that are essential to the development of a healthy
caregiver –infant attachment relationship (Siddiqui & Hägglöf, 2000). According to
Calkins and Hill (2007), a positive interactive history between an infant and a caregiver
in the first year would “produce an attachment relationship that would provide a sense
security for the infant” (p. 236) and significantly influence the child’s development.
Arend, Gove & Sroufe (1979) argue that by 18 months attachment reflects ego-resilience,
but again this attachment is tied to a healthy caregiver-infant relationship. Securely
attached relationships and emerging self-regulatory abilities are intertwined, developing
together through a series of stages as infants grow. The relationship moves from a stage
of complete dependence on caregiver, to caregiver guided or dyadic arousal regulation
and finally into self-regulation, but at each stage having an emerging securely attached
relationship is essential for optimal development.
From birth infants are aroused by internal factors like hunger and discomfort and
also by external stimuli, such as interesting sights, sounds and motions. As newborns we
are hard wired with some innate self-soothing mechanisms and reflexive behaviours for
alleviating distress and altering unpleasant states. Kopp (1982) suggests that the
activation of these innate but minimal neurophysiological mechanisms work to protect

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the immature individual from intrusive stimulation. These species-typical mechanisms
include tonic neck-reflex, mouth-to hand movements, and non-nutritive sucking of hands
and fingers (Kopp, 1989).
Although an infant does have some innate self-soothing abilities and reflexive
behaviours these abilities are limited and the infant relies heavily on a caregiver to act as
an external brain and support healthy stress levels. Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson and Collins
(2009) found in their longitudinal study that "effective regulation of the infant is only
possible within a supportive caregiving system" (p. 87). The caregiver’s role of
modulating arousal is essential to the infant’s developing regulatory abilities and this
stage is often referred to as the dyadic or guided regulation phase (Bronson, 2000; Sroufe,
1996).
Goldberg (2000) refers to this first period of attachment development as the “preattachment phase” (p. 16). At this point in the attachment development process, the
caregiver is getting to know the infant’s specific characteristics; their signals, needs and
qualities. Also, the caregiver is required to provide a warm, responsive, appropriately
stimulating and predictable interactions and environment for the infant (Sroufe, 1996).
The caregiver’s role of providing warm, sensitive and consistent interactions and
environments continues to be important as the caregiver-infant dyad transitions into the
second phase of the attachment development process. Goldberg (2000) calls this phase
the “attachment in the making” phase (p. 16). This second attachment phase occurs
during the period from 6 weeks to 6 months of age, and builds on the pre-attachment
phase (Goldberg, 2000; Sroufe 1996). During this “attachment in the making” phase, the
visual ability of infants at around 3 months allows them to better discriminate between

6

caregivers and others in their environments (Bronson, 2000). This increasing ability to
differentiate new from familiar people in the environment assists infants in building more
thorough and consistent patterns of interaction with caregivers. With these patterns of
interaction the infant will begin to show preference for the main caregiver, contributing to
the development of a secure attachment relationship (Goldberg, 2000).
A consistent pattern of caregiver-infant interaction is important during the
“attachment in the making” phase, as the caregiver’s role is to help keep the infant’s
arousal levels within appropriate bounds. Kopp (1989) suggests that this guides the infant
by supporting the “associations between their own actions, certain caregiver actions and
changes in their own feeling states" (p. 346). Essentially, the infant develops a set of
expectancies about the caregiver’s behaviours that modulate the infant’s own feeling
states. With this expectancy of caregiver assistance, and the growing awareness of its
own feeling states, infants have the opportunity to begin to adapt their innate regulatory
systems to their environment and begin to develop internal control strategies that
encourage voluntary, self-directed actions (Bronson, 2000). One example of self-directed
voluntary actions is the development of infant’s ability to move and control their hands
and arms and to voluntarily activate and modulate head rotations. With these new
capabilities, Bronson (2000) suggests that infants are developing an increasingly active
role in regulating their own arousal levels.
Kopp (1989) reminds us that although the infant’s reflexes and emerging
capabilities are strengthening through repetition and practice, between the third and sixth
months, the infant’s self directed voluntary actions are still relatively unplanned and
unmonitored. The infant still has limited capacity to control and regulate arousal and

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paired with the infant’s inability to alter the cause of felt distress, the infant’s levels of
arousal can quickly become heightened. In these situations Kopp (1989) suggests that
heightened arousal levels quickly become unmanageable, leading to diminished control
over the internal and emerging mechanisms that may have been recruited for regulation,
and so, the role of the caregiver to guide the infant’s regulation remains important. Each
time the caregiver responds to the infant’s arousal, fulfilling the infant’s expectancies, the
development of a secure attachment is supported.
As an attachment relationship emerges infants learn which signals bring results and
can begin adapting their signals, so caregivers can understand what their needs and
interests are (Bronson, 2000). Bronson (2000) suggests that at this stage the infant is
learning how to try to communicate. Encouragement of this communication and
consistency in the caregiver’s response will reinforce the infant’s communication efforts
and will strengthen the developing attachment relationship (Sroufe, 1996).
It is during the second half of the first year that Goldberg (2000) states that the
infant enters into the third phase of attachment development called the "clear-cutattachment" phase. This means that the infant and caregiver are ready to move into a
more reciprocal relationship. At this stage there is active exploration of the world and
expanding self-soothing strategies by the infant, which moves the attachment relationship
to a new level.
In the “clear-cut-attachment” phase, infants have a growing awareness of their own
feeling states, and they begin to rapidly expand techniques for self-soothing, selfstimulating and regulating emotion. While caregiver’s roles remains essential, they are
now required more for assistance. At this stage the caregiver becomes a facilitator of the

8

infant’s explorations. The caregiver’s role is to remain close and responsive as the infant
reacts to novel situations and wait for the infant’s signal for assistance. This provides the
infant the chance to experiment with maintaining its own arousal levels (Bronson, 2000).
A caregiver’s ability and flexibility in responding to infants cues, creates caregiver-infant
synchrony and supports the infant’s more active role in exploration and arousal
modulation (Calkins & Hill, 2007).
This caregiver-child synchrony and reciprocal attachment provide the infant a
secure base for exploration. The infant develops from a relatively immobile to a mobile
state, beginning to crawl, stand and eventually walk (Sroufe, 1996). With increased
mobility, and the infant’s voluntary efforts to control their own motor activity and
behaviours, the infant becomes progressively more goal-directed and purposeful in
interactions with the environments (Bronson, 2000).
As the infant’s ability to explore increases, the caregiver’s role is to provide a
secure home base for the infant to center growing exploratory activities around (Sroufe,
1996). The caregiver’s role is to monitor and support the infant’s interactions with the
expanding environment, and to provide appropriate cues to guide their responses to novel
situations. A secure attachment base gives the infant more balance between exploration
and proximity with the caregiver (Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson & Collins, 2005). For
example, in the presence of a stranger, infants may use social referencing or make eye
contact with caregivers from a distance to assess how they should react to the company of
the novel person. From the safety of a secure attachment and positive experiences the
infant gains confidence in their ability. They are able to move further away from their

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caregiver and familiar objects and are able to actively seek out social stimulation and new
experiences (Bronson, 2000, Sroufe, 1996).
In summary, the increasing exploration of novel stimuli and experimentation with
problem solving and mastery of the environment are influenced by the infant’s felt
attachment and confidence in the caregiver’s support and availability. Bowlby states that
through these early experiences, infants area able to construct ‘internal working models’
that provide them with expectations about self and others that integrates into their
emerging behavioural repertoire and regulatory abilities (as cited in Calkins & Hill,
2007).

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CHAPTER 2
Continued Guided Regulation and Problem Solving Competence in Toddlerhood

Arend, Gove and Sroufe (1979) found that children who display more successful
problem solving strategies and effective use of adult resources at 24 months had
previously exhibited more "effective infant-mother attachment relationships at 18
months" (p. 950). Developing a secure attachment relationship early in life sets a
foundation for confidence and success in the toddler years as the child begins exploring
and controlling objects more deliberately, and is increasingly interested in goal-oriented
mastery activities (Bronson, 2000). Arend et al. (1979) found that a child's ability to
independently and enthusiastically engage in exploration and persistent problem solving,
and to seek caregiver support when needed are components of ego-resiliency.
Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson, & Collins (2005), state that “[f]or each of us, selfregulation is a dual task, involving both expression and containment of impulses, desires
and feelings” and these tasks can be extremely challenging for toddlers (p. 106). Rapidly
developing motor capabilities, combined with burgeoning autonomy, persistent impulses
and limited ability to inhibit them, makes self-regulation at this stage difficult. For a
toddler to remain regulated and be able to sufficiently contain and direct impulses,
appropriate help from a supportive and flexible caregiver is required. An example of
appropriate help would be redirecting a child’s impulses to grab a toy from another child,
while explaining why the child may need to wait for their turn.
In addition to the need for caregiver availability, it is also important for toddler’s
worlds to be "structured in ways that allow [them] to detect its categories and rules and to

11

have experiences of successfully influencing or controlling people, events, and objects
within that world" (Bronson, 2000, p. 133). In this stage the environment must be
coherent, consistent and predictable, which provides opportunity for children to notice
the effects their actions have (Bronson, 2000). The caregiver is responsible for both
providing an optimum environment and also for teaching and assisting problem-solving
and regulation strategies for the child to practice and build on.
Through the child’s developing capabilities, the expanding understanding of the
environment and confidence in a secure base, the children are showing awareness that not
only can they influence objects and people, they also have choice (Bronson, 2000; Kopp,
1982). With this increasing awareness the child begins to act more intentionally and goaldirected in the interactions with the world (Bronson, 2000). In addition, children are
increasingly capable of monitoring progress towards goals, correcting their mistakes, and
experimenting with new approaches and strategies (Bronson, 2000). An example of
monitoring progress towards goals, while correcting mistakes would be attempting to
solve a puzzle. The child may try a piece, realize it doesn’t fit, and try and manipulate it
till it fits or move on to a new piece. As toddlers continue to experiment with controlling
and manipulating objects through trial-and-error exploration, problem-solving and selfregulated action strategies will gradually become enhanced and strengthened.
As problem-solving and regulation strategies develop the toddler begins to show
enhanced awareness of the causes of felt distress (Kopp, 1989). With this awareness
toddlers begin to develop more planful strategies for how to change or remedy offending
situations and when faced with frustration they remain involved, while examining
alternate strategies before seeking assistance (Matas, Arend, & Sroufe, 1979). With time,

12

and practice toddlers will eventually be able to recall, manipulate and use these strategies
in a variety of different situations (Bronson, 2000). For example, a toddler is dropped of
at daycare and begins to feel distressed as the caregiver leaves for work. Instead of
crying the toddler copes with the distress by engaging in an activity as a form of
distraction, a strategy that was successfully applied in a previous situation. It is important
to note that these early stages of experimenting with trial-and-error problem solving and
various regulatory strategies are often accompanied by periods of frustration that can lead
to dysregulation. The role of the caregiver remains essential, as Sroufe (1996) states that,
“regulation may be readily reachieved by utilizing support available from the caregiver”
(p. 205).
Along with the ability to independently and enthusiastically problem solve, a
component of ego-resiliency at this stage is reflected in the toddler’s ability to effectively
seek out and use caregiver assistance when their personal resources are exhausted
(Arend, Gove & Sroufe, 1979; Matas, Arend & Sroufe, 1978; Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson,
& Collins, 2005). A history of responsive care, assistance and encouragement promotes
the child’s confidence and willingness to seek out resources (Sroufe et al., 2005).
Matas, Arend and Sroufe (1978) state that the child’s ability to be flexible and
resourceful can be predicted by the child/caregiver attachment relationship at 18 months.
Matas et al. describe a well functioning 2-year-old as a child who has made a movement
toward autonomy. This autonomy is indicated by “flexibility, resourcefulness, and ability
to use adult assistance without being overly dependent on it” (Matas et al., 1978, p. 548).

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CHAPTER 3:
Shift From Guided Regulation to Self-Regulation

Around 24 months there are significant advances in children’s self-regulatory
abilities and Bronson (2000) suggests that there is a gradual shift towards voluntary,
independent self-control. This shift is due in part to the toddler’s increasing
understanding of the external rules, as well as the demand characteristics of particular
situations (Kopp, 1982; Bronson, 2000). Bronson (2000) states that as toddlers enhance
their ability to form and carry out intentions, the ability to act in accordance with external
rules and to appropriately express emotions are expanding.
Key to the ability to accommodate rules is the awareness of self as separate from
the external world. Before the toddler period Piaget and Inhelder (1969) state that the
child’s universe is centered on his/her own body and actions. They argue that during
infancy and toddlerhood children undergo a general decentering process, whereby they
begin to regard themselves as objects among other objects and people in the environment
(Piaget & Inhelder, 1969). This awareness of self as separate also aids in the
understanding of external rules. These external rules are guidelines provided by
caregivers that create an awareness of what behaviours and emotions are appropriate in
different situations. The strengthened salience of external rules can also be partially
attributed to an increase in verbal direction by caregivers, which conveys to toddlers that
they are expected to begin controlling certain behaviors (Sroufe, 1996). For example,
when a child hits a younger sibling, and the caregiver's reprimand is delivered as a
general rule (“Don't hit!”), the toddler comes to understand that certain types of self-

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restraint are always expected. But the child’s burgeoning autonomous functioning
combined with increasing recognization of self as separate, pitted against external rules,
can generate challenges in toddlerhood, often referred to as the “terrible twos” (Sroufe,
1996).
With the identification and acknowledgement of self wants and desires, toddlers
begin to realize that sometimes these wants are contrary to those of the caregiver’s
(Sroufe, 1996). Toddlers may resist external control and/or expectations of caregivers,
especially when these are seen as a challenge to the child’s growing interest in plans,
goals and self-guidance (Bronson, 2000). Sroufe (1996) argued that a certain degree of
non-compliance or challenge is unavoidable at this time because the “self cannot emerge
without recognition of one’s own inner aims” (p. 206). Matas, Arend & Sroufe (1979)
state that ego- resiliency during this stage refers to a child who shows interest in carrying
out own plans, followed by gradual cooperation with caregivers. Along with this interest
in their own plans one can expect children at this age to be somewhat resistant, even
within a secure attachment relationship. The caregiver’s role at this stage is to recognize
that children sometimes have separate plans and to encourage these plans by validating
and attempting to incorporate them into his/her own plans. If caregivers are creative in
encouraging and integrating their children’s plans with their own, a certain degree of
resistance can be avoided. And gradually toddlers will begin to voluntarily adopt the
caregiver’s values and plans as their own.
It is important during periods of resistance that the caregiver remains available and
supportive of the child, explaining appropriate alternatives to expressing emotions and
behaviours (Kopp, 1989). Sroufe, Egeland, Carlson and Collins (2005) found that “when

15

willful challenges are met with firm limits and emotional support, trust is deepening and
regulatory systems emerging in infancy are strengthened and elaborated” (p. 107).
According to Sroufe (1996), with confidence in caregivers and firm, coherent limits
children learn that they can have both autonomy and connectedness to the caregiver
simultaneously.
The importance of consistency in child-caregiver interactions remains critical
during periods of resistance and in the setting of limits and boundaries. If limits are not
consistently applied it is difficult for children to learn how they are expected to react and
behave in certain circumstances. Toddlers “judge their own behaviours largely by the
positive or negative reactions of others” (Bronson, 2000, p. 67). This means that if the
caregiver reacts and disciplines in inconsistent ways the child will have more difficulty
knowing how to appropriately modulate emotions and behaviours in future situations.
Through exploration and awareness of external caregiver standards, Kopp (1989)
suggests that toddlers begin to use understanding of past experiences to strengthen old
and develop new self-regulation strategies. By allowing the child active and increasingly
independent exploration, while providing a secure base, the caregiver is facilitating and
strengthening the child’s autonomous functioning. By remaining close the caregiver is
staying emotionally connected to the child and strengthening attachment bonds, while
helping the child achieve a sense of self-competence and efficacy (Sroufe, 1996; Matas,
Arend & Sroufe, 1979).

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CHAPTER 4
Self-Regulation and Peer Competence in the Preschool Years

Throughout the preschool period children are increasingly expected to resist
distraction and to appropriately regulate their emotions and behaviours. Kochanska, Coy
and Murray (2001) found that “at 36 months, children begin to be capable of selfregulation, or flexibility of control processes that meet changing situational demands” (p.
1108). As part of this shift children experience a transfer from external to internal
regulation. Preschool children increase their ability to use internalized rules and strategies
to appropriately guide behaviour and emotional expression (Bronson, 2000). An example
of using internal regulation could be seen in a situation where a child has done something
that frustrates or angers another child. In this situation, without the presence of an
external monitor, a child with internal control would have the ability to use words to
express disapproval, instead of acting out in anger and aggression. With the increasing
capacities of true internal control, preschoolers begin to require less continuous external
support and guidance.
As well as needing less guidance a preschooler’s self-controlled choice in activities
is becoming more organized and efficient. In addition, preschool children are
increasingly persistent and skilled in selecting tasks and learning activities that are
appropriate to their skill (Bronson, 2000). Arend, Gove and Sroufe (1979) found that one
aspect of ego-resiliency is being self-aware of ability, which is reflected in choice of
activity. This suggests that preschool children, who can independently select activities

17

suitable to personal skill level or can adapt actions to suit individual activities, are egoresilient.
At this stage, not only are preschoolers more persistent and skilled in selecting
activities, the ability to engage in a wider range of cognitive activities also increases.
Preschool children are increasingly capable of using advanced and effective strategies to
attack and carry out tasks and solve problems (Bronson, 2000). The ability to selfregulate at this stage is more intentional, resourceful, organized, flexible and
autonomous. Mechanisms of self-regulatory strategies, such as problem solving, are
manipulated to effectively focus and monitor progress towards goals. Bronson (2000)
suggests that at this stage children are "learning how to learn and how to solve problems
in their environments" (p. 134).
The ability to understand and process language increases in the preschool years and
assists in internal thought and reflection. It also helps with problem-solving and planning
by facilitating the child's ability to mentally consider alternate courses of action.
Language also supports developing memory capacities by helping the child refer back in
time, to use past experiences to plan for current and future action (Bronson, 2000).
Language facilitates the creation, recreation, and recombination of information already
stored in the memory to form new and reconfigure old concepts, plans and solutions to
problems (Bronson, 2000).
With the increase in language abilities, self-speech or giving oneself directions in
spoken words begins in the preschool period (Bronson, 2000). Although self-speech may
be audible to others, it is not intended or directed towards anyone other than the child
himself/herself. Bronson (2000), suggest that this kind of self-communication is thought

18

to be critical to the development of internally guided self-regulation. Children use selfspeech to understand situations, focus on problems, and overcome difficulties. It is
thought to be essential for cognitive and emotional control (Bronson, 2000).
Social competence, which involves the development of emotional understanding, is
strengthened in the preschool years. Emotional understanding is said to be the ability to
“attend to relevant language and information in one’s environment, identify one’s own
and others’ experiences and expressed emotions, understand which emotions are
appropriate in different contexts and to recognize the causes and consequences of
emotions” (Eisenberg, Hofer & Vaughan, 2007, p. 296). With the increase in language
and cognitive abilities, preschool children begin to talk about mental states, such as
thinking, remembering and believing. These enhancing language and cognitive abilities
help to develop a growing awareness and understanding of others’ minds, intentions and
feelings (Bronson, 2000).
Emotional understanding and the awareness that others have separate feelings
becomes important during the preschool years. Many children are for the first time
experiencing relationships with peers and adults outside the family. Having experienced a
secure attachment in the early years paired with feelings of self-confidence and
competence, Sroufe, Egelend, Carlson and Collins (2005) found that "securely attached
children bring forward positive expectations regarding encounters with others” (p. 135).
Securely attached children also display less negative behaviours in interactions with
others, and they bring an enthusiasm to the social exchanges, which make them more
attractive play partners (Sroufe et al., 2005).
As children begin experiencing relationship outside their families, they are more

19

interested in interacting with and being accepted by peers (Bronson, 2000). During the
preschool period children are becoming more capable of cooperative interactions with
peers and are learning more effective interaction strategies. Research has linked
preschooler’s ability to portray positive and collaborative behaviour toward peers to egoresiliency and peer acceptance at this developmental stage (Huey & Weisz, 1997). Kopp
(1989) argues that "[t]he peer culture, even for young children, generally requires socially
acceptable distress management" (p. 349). Which makes the ability to regulate emotions
and to effortfully inhibit or activate behaviour in adaptive ways (be ego-resilient) integral
to peer interactions and acceptance (Eisenberg, Hofer & Vaughan, 2007).
Recent research states that failure to acquire the skills needed to manage emotional
responses and adapt behaviours appropriately may lead to difficulties in social interaction
(Calkins & Fox, 2001). Since preschool children are continually asked to react against
impulses, as well as to coordinate behaviours with others, it is essential for
caregivers/educators to provide a variety of emotion and self-regulation learning
activities and opportunities (Boyer, 2009). The importance of providing learning
opportunities makes the role of caregiver or educators as facilitator critical. Selfregulation learning opportunities combined with guidance from caregivers will “foster in
children a sense of connectedness to others and encourages discovery of their own
personal competencies” (Boyer, 2009, p. 181).
At this stage it is the role of the caregiver is to help children learn how to listen to
each other and how to use caring language and empathetic behaviours to make one
another feel better (Boyer, 2009). As preschoolers develop, they begin to see how certain
behaviours affect other people, both positively and negatively. When encouraged to take

20

responsibility for treatment of others, children begin to develop their own ideas on how to
work, play and be active participants of the larger community (Boyer, 2009). Bronson
(2000) suggests that children in this period are capable of giving, cooperating, sharing,
helping and comforting, and are beginning to understand reciprocity and the needs of
others. When these are combined with a concrete understanding of what is socially
expected, the capacity for cooperative and positive interactions with peers increases
(Bronson, 2000; Kopp, 1989).
Along with developing language, emotional understanding and peer interaction,
preschool children begin to engage in dramatic play. This gives children the opportunity
to experiment with different roles and to sharpen understanding of the surrounding world
(Bronson, 2000; Kopp, 1989). Dramatic play also provides children the opportunity to
enhance cooperative behaviours, and increases social understanding. This kind of play
will lead to situations that require children to control and regulate impulses and will
improve their conflict resolution strategies (Bronson, 2000).
In addition to experimenting with different roles, dramatic play provides an
excellent opportunity for children to develop and express creativity. In dramatic play
children can pretend to do or be anything they desire, giving children an opportunity to
use and broaden imaginations. Imaginativeness and originality are thought to reflect egoresiliency and children who display these characteristics in play and other activities with
peers are often considered to be confident and socially competent children (Arend, Gove,
& Sroufe, 1979).
Arend, Gove and Sroufe (1979) found that the “competent preschooler is
enthusiastically involved with school tasks and peers; is (affectively) expressive in

21

situationally appropriate ways; and is organized, persistent and flexible when
encountering problems and stress” (p. 958). A child’s ability to display these capabilities
are directly connected to the child’s prior experiences. A child who developed a strong
attachment with a caregiver and experienced guided-regulation of emotions, behaviour
and attention in the early years, will likely develop into a toddler who can confidently
explore and problem solve. Through exploration and problem solving, the child has
opportunities to develop and strengthen self-regulatory abilities. Experiencing success
while employing emerging problem solving and self-regulatory abilities, combined with
positive expectancies of self and others, instills a sense of competence and confidence
that the child will bring forward into subsequent relationships. This results in egoresiliency in the preschool years, which supports a successful transition into the school
system.

22

CHAPTER 5
Ego-Resiliency, Self-Regulation and the Transition to Primary School

As children enter primary school, they are expected to control most emotional
outbursts and aggression, and conform to school rules (Bronson, 2000; Zimmerman
1994). They are also expected to become active participants and regulators of their own
learning and interact cooperatively and successfully with other children (Bronson, 2000;
Zimmerman, 1994). The ability to successfully meet these expectations depends on the
child's previously developed self-regulatory skills, and the ability to flexibly adapt
preferred level of control to fit new experiences and situations.
Also critical to meeting school’s expectations is the child’s self-confidence. Selfconfidence in the early school years is important, as it has been found that academic
achievers tend to have higher self-concepts than underachievers (Borkowski & Thorpe,
1994). Higher self-esteem comes from previous successful interactions with the
environment, successful use of self-regulatory strategies, and early supportive care. Block
& Block (2006) say “that a person’s self-perceptions are both a reflection of the life that
has been led and an influence on the life that will be lived” (p. 321). Self-confidence and
regulation promote and enhance learning because a perception of greater self-competence
sustains an individual’s motivation and self-regulation to achieve new goals (Schunk &
Zimmerman, 1994). This influences subsequent achievement patterns and self-regulatory
abilities (Meece, 1994). In comparison, it has been found that deficits in ability to
regulate behaviour and lower self-perception of capabilities, discourages and impairs a

23

child’s positive transition and adjustment into the school system (Miech, Essex, &
Goldsmith, 2001).
A child with deficits in self-regulatory and adaptive abilities will probably have
little long-term motivation or confidence for pursuing the complex and novel problemsolving activities and situations presented in school (Borkowski & Thorpe, 1994).
Confirming the importance of early skill and confidence development, Miech, Essex, &
Goldsmith (2001) found that, “the start of formal schooling is a critical period in which
children’s performance at school has lasting effects that may matter more for their
academic success than at any other time” (p. 104).
As in previous developmental stages, competent children are active forces in their
own development. As children age they continue to seek out, engage in, interpret, and
react to various opportunities and challenges in ways specific to the individual (Sroufe,
Egelend, Carlson & Collins, 2005). In school, children continue to take more and more
active roles in choosing and structuring their own experiences and goals. But at this stage
the success as students involves their ability to adopt the school and teacher’s academic
values and objectives as their own (Piaget, as cited in Smith, 2009). If students accept and
internalize the goals of teachers, they can better develop into intrinsically motivated selfregulated learners of the school curriculum (Piaget, as cited in Smith, 2009). It is
suggested that a major difference between academic achievers and nonachievers is the
degree to which they as children became regulators of their own learning experiences
(Bronson, 2000). Randi & Corno (2000) state that self-regulated learners “seek to
accomplish academic goals strategically and manage to overcome obstacles using a
battery of resources” (p. 651). Self-regulated learners also demonstrate self- starter

24

tendencies, persistence in learning tasks, and possess good time-management techniques.
They are confident in their own ability, are strategic, resourceful and flexible in
overcoming problems and are more likely to use and adapt effective learning strategies.
In addition, they are meaningfully engaged in their own learning and are motivated to
attain achievement goals (Zimmerman, 1994; Wigfield, 1994). Reading is an example of
children’s ability to engage in learning and be motivated to achieve goals. As children
begin to make associations between sounds, letter and words, they feel a desire and
motivation to continue learning words and reading for themselves the books they love.
During the school years, the desire to be accepted and develop close relationships
with peers increases. Bronson (2000) states that, peer rejection in childhood is associated
with a wide variety of negative outcomes in school and also in later life. The previously
developed ability to internalize standards of acceptable behaviour and regulate emotions
and distress is essential to the child's subsequent capabilities to interact cooperatively
with peers and form meaningful, reciprocal relationships. To be successful with peers’
children need to be ego-resilient and have confidence in their ability to interact.
By definition, to be ego-resilient children need to appropriately adjust levels of
control, or ego-control, as required by individual circumstances (Sroufe, Egeland,
Carlson & Collins, 2005). A child in the classroom needs to concentrate and inhibit
impulses appropriately. On the playground the child needs to adjust ego-control levels
and display spontaneous and flexible behaviours. A child who can adapt preferred
control levels according to the situation will likely have the capacity to be both a
successful academic achiever and popular and well-liked among peers.
With the transition into school, the child is spending more time away from home,

25

but it remains important for the caregiver to be involved in the child’s regulatory
development. The child’s value in learning and achievement, which underlies successful
interactions in the classroom, in part stem from the values and attitudes portrayed by
involved caregivers (Corno, 1994). If the caregiver places an emphasis on achievement in
warm and appropriate ways, and is confident in and supportive of the child’s abilities, the
child will likely display these same values and beliefs. If the caregiver is invested in the
child’s schooling, chances are that the child will also be invested as well.
In addition to the significance of values and attitudes portrayed by caregivers with
regards to schooling, it is important that they remain facilitators of learning. Upon entry
to the school system, children are still developing and enhancing regulatory strategies to
resist distractions and concentrate during learning. External monitoring and support is
often still needed to support the child’s ability to successfully eliminate or ignore
distactors in the environments when circumstances call for concentration (Corno, 1994).
The presence of external support will help children develop strategies for future control
and regulation of their own learning.
With all the new responsibilities and expectancies placed on children upon school
entry, a strong foundation of self-regulation strategies is essential to the ability to meet
these demands. The nature and impact of the individual’s new experiences and
environment are conditioned by history; therefore future experiences will be influenced
by current interactions and outcomes (Sroufe, Egelend, Carlson & Collins, 2005).

26

CONCLUSION

Children’s ability to self-regulate and to adapt ego-control levels according to
circumstance are essential in their healthy emotional, social and cognitive development,
as well as lifetime academic successes. This ability to self-regulate and be ego-resilient
takes a lifetime to develop and looks differently at each stage of development.
From birth infants are equipped with innate regulatory capabilities, but these are no
match for the stimulation provided by the environment. During the early stages of life
infants rely on caregivers to keep arousal levels manageable. How the caregiver responds
to, cares for, and supports the infant in these first interactions will ultimately influence
the infant-caregiver attachment relationship. If the caregiver’s interactions with the infant
are predictable, warm and supportive, a secure attachment relationship can form. The
attachment relationship during infancy is found to be both a component of ego-resiliency,
and the foundation for children’s expectations about future relationships (Arend, Gove &
Sroufe, 1979; Sroufe, Egelend, Carlson and Collins, 2005).
As children become toddlers they begin to experiment with, and take more control
of, their own arousal, starting to modulate their own emotions and behaviours. These
abilities, combined with developing motor capabilities, provide children greater
opportunity to actively explore their environments. A securely attached caregiver
relationship acts as a secure base from which to explore and provides external support
when the child has exhausted own resources.
Having the ability to confidently engage in and experiment with a variety of

27

activities is essential to children’s developing self-regulation skills. Arend, Gove and
Sroufe (1979) say that evaluating a child’s problem-solving style and willingness to
engage assesses competency and ego-resiliency at this age.
The child continues to develop, employ, and enhance emerging self-regulation
strategies as they transition into the preschool stage. An ego-resilient child at this stage
demonstrates enthusiastic involvement in school task, effective employment of selfregulations strategies, and problem-solving techniques. These successes are all hinged on
a child’s prior history.
Also important during this stage is that children begin to interact more with peers.
Establishing peer relationships at this time becomes a primary focus. Peer competence,
the ability to interact in cooperative and flexible ways with other children, is another way
to assess ego-resiliency in preschoolers. And having experienced a positive attachment
relationship early in life is critical to a preschooler’s peer competence (Sroufe, Egeland,
Carlson & Collins, 2005). The attachment relationship allows the child to bring forward
positive expectations regarding encounters with others (Sroufe et al. 2005). Furthermore,
it allows for the development of more effective regulatory strategies and teaches the child
how to interact in more appropriate and enthusiastic ways (Sroufe et al., 2005).
The development of ego-resilient self-regulation happens at a rapid rate during
early childhood. With an understanding of the development of self-regulation, we can
recognize factors that foster or inhibit successful self-regulation (Shanker, 2010). When
these factors are known, a better understanding can be gained of how caregivers and
significant people in children’s lives can facilitate the development of ego-resilience and
self-regulation and enhance school-readiness (Shanker 2010).

28

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