What are the societal forces that foster the sense of autonomy in toddlerhood? What are the forces that create a sense of shame and doubt?

Explanation

Societal forces are the aspects in the child's environment that make up their social groups or interpersonal relationships. This includes the family members, peers at school, authority figures outside the home, such as teachers and community leaders. It can also include factors such as norms, values, social rules and traditions, and laws.
 
The psychosocial crisis of toddlerhood is autonomy versus shame and doubt. Autonomy refers to children's ability to be independent by practicing self-control, initiating tasks, and working out solutions to problems on their own. By gaining autonomy, children learn to feel positive about themselves and increase self-confidence. On the other hand, if children feel great negativity about their own behaviors—often accompanied by experiences of ridicule, embarrassment and feelings of inferiority—they feel shame and lose confidence in themselves. Shame is often associated with the sense of doubt, which is children's feelings of inferiority that make them expect failure instead of success whenever they attempt to do something.

Verified Answer

The following societal forces can encourage children to develop a sense of autonomy:

Parents who are supportive are able to explain why children need to act certain ways which helps children understand why they need to control their actions.
Cultural groups can foster a sense of belongingness and through the process, children learn autonomy by using cultural tools, such as language, or conforming to cultural practices. By controlling one's behavior according to the cultural norms, the child practices their autonomy and become socialized into their cultural group.
Schools promote children's development of autonomy through classroom activities and social interactions with teachers and peers.

The following are societal forces that can lead to feelings of shame and doubt:

Parents may scold their children which, when not done in a supportive manner, can illicit intense feelings of shame, and with increasing frequency, can raise self-doubt and decrease self-confidence.
Cultural groups may use shame as an enforcement mechanism to control social behaviors. By introducing shame followed by a corrective experience, children learn at an early stage the value of following rules and will avoid breaking rules so as not to bring shame to their family.
Schools can enforce rules that when violated may penalize its students. Punishment can cause one to be ashamed, and thus prevent students from making the same mistake in the future. For instance, students can be made to stand in the hall facing the wall when they are late to class or be reprimanded in front of the class.