Understanding the Self: Digital, Psychological, and Anthropological Perspectives

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering digital self-presentation, psychological theories of personality and lifespan development, and anthropological perspectives on culture and rites of passage.

Persona (Etymology)

The Latin origin of the word 'personality,' originally meaning a theatrical mask worn by performers in a theater.

Digital Literacy

The capabilities possessed by individuals who live, learn, and work in a digital society, allowing them to monitor information and protect themselves and their families online.

Online Disinhibition

The lack of restraint an individual feels when communicating online, often caused by minimized authority and the perception that no one is monitoring their actions.

Benign Disinhibition

A constructive form of online disinhibition characterized by sharing emotions, fears, and wishes, demonstrating kindness, combating loneliness, and finding emotional support.

Toxic Disinhibition

A harmful form of online disinhibition characterized by rude language, harsh criticism, threats, cyberbullying, spreading rumors, harassment, and exposure to violence.

Self-Promotion

A self-presentation strategy where a person attempts to show that they are better than others in order to elicit admiration.

Ingratiation

A self-presentation behavior where an individual seeks approval, craves attention, and aims to be liked and followed by others.

Exemplification

A self-presentation tactic intended to project moral superiority or excellence so as to make others feel inadequate or bad about themselves.

Intimidation (Self-Presentation)

A self-presentation tactic where an individual deliberately tries to make others view them as dangerous or fearsome.

Supplication

A self-presentation strategy where a person portrays themselves as helpless and weak in order to solicit assistance from others.

Psychology

The scientific study of behavior (overt actions) and mental processes (covert operations) that aims to describe, explain, predict, and control events.

Id

The primitive, instinctual province of the psyche operating on the pleasure principle; it demands immediate gratification of basic drives like hunger, thirst, and sex.

Ego

The rational, conscious province of the psyche that functions under the reality principle, mediating between id impulses, superego morality, and the external world.

Superego

The moral province of the psyche representing internalized societal standards; consists of the ego-ideal (standards for virtue) and conscience (internalized rules and prohibitions).

Freud's Iceberg Theory

A topographical model dividing mental life into three tiers: the conscious (thoughts and perceptions), the preconscious (accessible memories and knowledge), and the unconscious (repressed instincts, fears, and selfish motives).

Erogenous Zone

An area or body part (such as the mouth, anus, or genitals) highly sensitive to stimulation that serves as the primary source of erotic or sexual pleasure during a developmental stage.

Oral Stage

Freud's first psychosexual stage (birth to 1 year/18 months), where pleasure centers on oral activities like sucking and biting, and the id is already active.

Anal Stage

Freud's second psychosexual stage (1 to 3 years old), where pleasure is derived from bodily waste elimination and control through toilet training.

Phallic Stage

Freud's third psychosexual stage (3 to 6 years old), characterized by pleasure derived from examining, touching, fondling, or displaying the genitals.

Latency Stage

Freud's psychosexual period (7 to 12 years old), termed the 'Calm Stage,' where sexual impulses are repressed as children concentrate on schooling and peer socialization.

Genital Stage

Freud's final psychosexual stage (adolescence into adulthood), where sexual pleasure is revived around the genital area and directed toward mature romantic relationships.

Trust vs. Mistrust

Erikson's first psychosocial stage (infancy, birth to 1 year), wherein consistent love and care nurture trust in others, while neglect breeds fear and insecurity.

Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt

Erikson's second psychosocial stage (early childhood, 2 to 3 years old), where toddlers assert self-will and environmental mastery; excessive restriction results in self-doubt.

Initiative vs. Guilt

Erikson's third psychosocial stage (preschool, 3 to 5 years old), where children initiate games and intellectual exploration; punishment or ridicule leads to guilt.

Industry vs. Inferiority

Erikson's fourth psychosocial stage (school age, 5 to 13 years old), centered on achieving competence through acquiring knowledge and mastering tasks; repeated failure produces inadequacy.

Identity vs. Role Confusion

Erikson's fifth psychosocial stage (adolescence, 13 to 18/21 years old), focused on integrating values, beliefs, and vocational aspirations into a stable sense of self.

Intimacy vs. Isolation

Erikson's sixth psychosocial stage (young adulthood, 18/21 to 39 years old), where individuals strive to establish deep, committed romantic and social bonds without fear of vulnerability.

Generativity vs. Stagnation

Erikson's seventh psychosocial stage (middle adulthood, 40 to 59 years old), focused on 'leaving a mark' by nurturing the next generation and contributing productively to society.

Integrity vs. Despair

Erikson's eighth psychosocial stage (maturity, 65 years old to death), characterized by reflecting on one's life with acceptance and wisdom versus facing death with regret.

Self-Concept (Rogers)

An organized, consistent set of perceptions and beliefs that a person holds about themselves, central to humanistic psychology.

Real Self vs. Ideal Self

Carl Rogers's conceptual framework distinguishing who an individual genuinely is and can do (real self) from the person they aspire to become (ideal self).

Congruence (Rogers)

A psychological state occurring when an individual's ideal self and actual lived experiences/real self are consistent and aligned.

Incongruence (Rogers)

The disparity or gap between an individual's real self and their ideal self, leading to maladjustment or dissatisfaction.

Human Agency

Albert Bandura's concept defining the proactive ability of a person to act intentionally and play an active role in their own self-development and behavior.

Four Features of Human Agency

The core capacities outlined by Albert Bandura: intentionality (planning), forethought (anticipating outcomes), self-reactiveness (regulating choices), and self-reflectiveness (evaluating thoughts and actions).

Self-Efficacy

An individual's personal belief in their capabilities to organize and perform courses of action required to accomplish specific tasks.

True Self vs. False Self

Donald Winnicott's distinction between an authentic, spontaneous self nurtured in safe environments versus a defensive persona constructed to meet external social demands.

Functionalism

The school of psychology founded by William James that examines how the mind, consciousness, and behavioral habits help humans adapt to their environments.

'I' Self vs. 'Me' Self

William James's dual division of the self: the 'I' is the knowing, thinking subjective self, whereas the 'Me' is the empirical self known as an object (material, social, and spiritual).

Analytic Psychology

Carl Jung's psychological framework emphasizing the exploration of the unconscious mind to understand behavior, motivation, and personality.

Collective Unconscious

Carl Jung's concept of a psychic inheritance containing shared, inherited memory traces and universal symbols from ancestral history.

Archetypes

Universal, inherited cognitive models or prototypes from the collective unconscious that pattern human roles, myths, and behaviors.

Jungian Archetypes (Four Major)

The primary universal prototypes identified by Carl Jung: the persona (public mask), the shadow (repressed animalistic dark side), the anima/animus (cross-gender archetype), and the self (unified total personality).

Anima & Animus

Jungian archetypes representing unconscious sex-linked traits: the Anima is the feminine archetype within males, while the Animus is the masculine archetype within females.

Anthropology

The comprehensive scientific study of the human condition across historical, contemporary, and future contexts, focusing on cultural interconnectedness.

Culture

A complex whole including knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, laws, customs, and any other habits acquired by an individual as a member of society; the shared 'ways of life.'

Material Culture

The tangible, concrete, man-made physical objects, spaces, tools, and structures that define a society's shared way of living.

Non-Material Culture

The intangible, abstract ideas that characterize a group, including shared beliefs, moral values, customs, language, norms, and traditions.

Collectivistic Culture

A cultural system prioritizing group goals, communal harmony, social interdependence, obedience, self-sacrifice, and family cohesion over the individual.

Individualistic Culture

A cultural orientation prioritizing personal autonomy, self-reliance, independence, uniqueness, and personal achievement over collective goals.

Rites of Passage

Ceremonial rituals conceptualized by Arnold van Gennep that structure and celebrate an individual's transition from one social status or life stage to another.

Three Phases of a Rite of Passage

The structural progression identified by Arnold van Gennep consisting of separation (withdrawing from old status), liminality (transitional in-between state), and incorporation (re-entering society with a new role).

Identity Struggles

A condition identified by Anthony Wallace and Raymond Fogelson involving a clash between the personal identity one claims and the identity attributed to them by society.

Neck Elongating

A cultural body alteration practiced by the Kayan people of Northern Thailand using brass coils that depress the clavicle and ribs to produce the aesthetic ideal of an elongated neck.

Clitoridectomy

The ritual surgical removal of the clitoris practiced in various cultures as a rite of passage, often associated with cultural standards of femininity, modesty, and the containment of female sexual pleasure.

Lip Plating

A cultural body modification involving the insertion of circular plates into the lip to symbolize beauty, marital commitment, social maturity, or marriage eligibility.