Human Development Exam #3

Personality

Organized combination of attributes, motives, values, and behaviors unique to each individual; Dispositional traits, characteristic adaptations, narrative identities

Self-concept

Perceptions of unique attributes and traits

Self-esteem

Evaluation of worth as a person based on all the positive and negative self-perceptions that make up self-concept

Identity

Overall sense of who they are, where they are heading, & where they fit into society

Psychoanalytic Theory

Freud believed personality formed during first five years of life

Neo-Freudian Erik Erikson

Proposed that people undergo similar personality changes at similar ages; Placed more emphasis on social influences; Saw the potential for personal growth and change throughout lifespan

Trait theory

Personality is a set of dispositional trait dimensions along which people can differ (Costa & McCrae); Assumes that personality traits are consistent across situations

The Big Five

Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism

Openness

Imaginative or practical; Interested in variety or routine; Independent or conforming

Conscientiousness

Organized or disorganized; Careful or careless; Disciplined or impulsive

Extraversion

Sociable or retiring; Fun-loving or somber; Affectionate or reserved

Agreeableness

Softhearted or ruthless; Trusting or suspicious; Helpful or uncooperative

Neuroticism (emotional stability)

Calm or anxious; Secure or insecure; Self-satisfied or self-pitying

Social Learning Theory

Personality as behavior that is influenced by situational factors and changes if the environment changes; Rejects the notion of universal stages of personality development

Temperament

Early, genetically based but environmentally influenced tendencies to respond in predictable ways to events that serve as the building blocks of later personality

Easy child

Positive mood; establishes regular routines; adapts easily (40%)

Difficult child

Reacts negatively; cries frequently; irregular routines; slow to accept change (10%)

Slow-to-warm-up child

Low activity level; somewhat negative; low mood intensity (15%); **(35% did not fit any of these patterns)

Goodness of fit

Extent to which the child’s temperament is compatible with the demands and expectations of the social world to which she must adapt

Early Childhood

Concrete, Physical, Active; Unrealistically positive; Individual variation in descriptions

Middle & Late Childhood

*More complex; Increasingly describe themselves in terms of psychological characteristics and traits; Begin to include social references in their self-descriptions; Make increasing reference to social comparison

Possible selves

What adolescents hope to be and what they dread becoming

Crisis

Individual explores alternatives

Commitment

Personal investment

Identity diffusion

No crisis or commitments

Identity foreclosure

Commitment, but no crisis

Identity moratorium

In the midst of crisis, but commitments are absent or vaguely defined

Identity achievement

Undergone a crisis & made a commitment

Life review

Reminisce and reflect on unresolved conflicts of the past to come to terms with themselves, find new meaning and coherence in their lives, and prepare for death

Successful aging

An aging experience that is better overall than typical aging

Activity theory

Aging adults will find their lives satisfying if they can: Maintain their previous lifestyles and activity levels, Continue old activities, Find substitutes

Rowe & Kohn

Freedom from disease and disability; Good cognitive and physical functioning; Active engagement with life

Disengagement theory

Successful aging involves a withdrawal of aging individual from society

Interactionist model of development

Emphasizes the goodness of fit between person and environment and their influence on one another

Biological sex

Physical characteristics that define male and female

Gender

Incorporates features that society associates with or considers appropriate for men and women

Estrogens

Sex hormones that influence female physical sex characteristics and help to regulate the menstrual cycle

Androgens

Sex hormones that promote development of male genitals and secondary sex characteristics → testosterone

Gender-role norms

Society’s expectations or standards concerning what males and females should be like

Gender roles

Patterns of behavior that females and males “should” adopt in a particular society

Gender stereotypes

Overgeneralized and large inaccurate beliefs about the characteristics of all males and females; Generated by society’s gender norms; many originate from a grain of truth

Communal Traits

Orientation that emphasizes connectedness to others - includes traits of emotionality & sensitivity to others

Agentic Traits

Orientation toward individual action and achievement that emphasizes traits of dominance, independence, assertiveness, and competitiveness

Gender Identity

Internal awareness of gender

Cisgender

Individuals whose internal sense of gender matches their physiological sex

Transgender

Individuals whose internal sense of gender does not match their physiological sex

Non-binary

Gender non-conforming

Social role theory

Psychological gender differences result from the contrasting social roles of women and men

Phallic stage

Sexual attraction to the opposite-sex parent

Social cognitive theory

Gender development occurs through: Observation & imitation as well as rewards & punishments

Gender schema theory

Gender-typing emerges as children gradually develop gender schemas of what is gender-appropriate & gender-inappropriate in their culture

Gender labeling

Correctly labeling the sex

Gender stability

Realizing that sex is stable over time

Gender consistency

Understanding sex doesn’t change with change in appearance

Gender intensification hypothesis

Process where gender differences may be magnified by: Hormonal changes of puberty, Increased pressure to conform to gender roles

Moral development

Changes in thoughts, feelings, & behaviors regarding standards of right & wrong

Heteronomous Morality

4-7 yrs. - Justice & rules as unchangeable

Immanent Justice

If a rule is broken, immediate punishment; violation is automatically connected to it’s punishment, & if something unfortunate happened, the person must have transgressed

Autonomous Morality

10+ yrs.; Rules & laws created by people

Preconventional

Up to 9 yrs; Good & bad are interpreted in terms of external rewards & punishments

Conventional

Early adolescence; Certain standards are set by others

Postconventional

Early adulthood; Alternative moral courses, explore options, personal moral code

Interviews

Children are presented stories - characters face moral dilemmas - Heinz’s Dilemmas

Social cognitive theory or morality

Emphasizes a distinction between moral competence and moral performance

Moral competencies

What individuals are capable of, what they know, their skills, their awareness of moral rules and regulations, and their cognitive ability to construct behaviors

Moral performance

Actual behavior, determined by motivation and rewards and incentives

Bandura

Moral development; Combination of social & cognitive factors - Self-control

Freud

Guilt & desire to avoid feeling guilty - foundation of moral behavior

Superego

The moral branch of personality - 2 main components

Ego ideal

Rewards the child by conveying a sense of pride and personal value when the child acts in accordance to ideal standards approved by the parents

Conscience

Punishes the child for behaviors disapproved of by the parents, making the child feel guilty

Contemporary View

Conscience rooted in close relationships and goes well beyond discipline

Empathy

An affective response to another’s feelings with an emotional response that is similar to the other person’s feelings

Emotional state with a cognitive component

The ability of perspective-taking, discerning the inner psychological states of others

Ethic of Autonomy

Concern with individual rights and not harming or violating the rights of others

Ethic of Community

Emphasis on duty, loyalty, and concern for the welfare of family members and larger social group

Ethic of Divinity

Emphasis on divine law or authority, individual is to follow God’s laws and strive for spiritual purity

Moral identity

The aspect of personality that is present when individuals have moral notions & commitments central to their lives

Moral character

Strength of convictions, persisting, overcoming distractions & obstacles

Moral motivation

Prioritizing moral values over other personal values

Moral exemplars

People who have lived exemplary lives

Religiousness

Sharing the beliefs and participating in the practices of an organized religion

Spirituality

Involves a quest for ultimate meaning and for a connection with something greater than oneself

Emotion

Feeling, or affect, that occurs in a state or an interaction that is important to a person, especially to well-being

Emotion regulation

Consists of effectively managing arousal to adapt to circumstances and to reach a goal

Arousal

Involves a state of alertness or activation

Emotion-coaching

Parents monitor children’s emotions, view negative emotions as a teaching opportunity, assist them in labeling emotions, and coach them on how to effectively deal with emotions

Emotion-dismissing

Parents deny, ignore, or attempt to change negative emotions

Primary emotions

Are present in humans and other animals and in humans appear in the first 6 months; Surprise, interest, joy, anger, sadness

Self-conscious emotions

Require self-awareness, consciousness, sense of “me”

Stranger anxiety

Fear and wariness of strangers

Separation protest

Crying when the caregiver leaves

Prohedonic

Aimed at optimizing positive emotions and minimizing positive ones

Contra-hedonic

Aimed at optimizing negative emotions and minimizing positive ones

Socioemotional selectivity theory

Suggests older adults become more selective about their activities and social relationships in order to maintain social and emotional well-being

Positivity effect

Tendency for older adults to place more priority on positive information

Social referencing

“Reading” emotional cues in others to determine how to act

Attachment

A close emotional bond between two people

Freud

Infants attach to a person or object that provides oral satisfaction

Harlow

Contact comfort is a crucial element in developing attachment