Lec 8: Identity, Self Conceptions, & Self Esteem (2/4)

What are the three aspects of the self system? Briefly explain each one.

• Self conceptions: how we think about ourselves, how we present ourselves to others

• Self esteem: how you feel about yourself

• Identity: reconciling and putting all of these pieces together

How do self conceptions change from childhood to adolescence?

Self conceptions move from concrete facts to more trait focused, abstract traits, and personality

Cooley’s looking glass self theory

explains how our self-image is shaped by our perception of how others see us

• Identity starts to solidify

• This is all the social component

• The ideal self: who you want to be

• Feared self: what we don’t like about ourselves

• We wanna get away from the person we don’t want to be and become the person we do

Who are adolescents most likely to exhibit their false self to?

Romantic partners, then our parents, lastly our close friends

Clinical, social, and developmental reasons to engage in false self behavior?

• To fit in and get along

• Clinical reason: low self esteem, disliking or devaluing oneself 

• Social: to impress others 

• Developmental: role experimentation 

Harter, Marold, Whitesell, & Cobbs, 1996 

• The person who went through role experimentation actually knows themselves the best and is comfortable with who they are

• Role experimentation have most knowledge of true self

• Role experimentation have the most psychological adjustment composite

• Devalue self was the lowest in all categories, please or impress others was in the middle for each, but closer to role experimentation in knowledge of self

What contributes most to global self-esteem?

• During adolescence, physical appearance in the biggest influence on self esteem 

• Then scholastic competence, then social acceptance, then behavioral conduct, then athletic competence 

Sex and ethnic differences in adolescent self-esteem

Puberty is when when we start to see the major gap between girls and boys esteem, lasts throughout the lifetime

African-american girls have higher self esteem than white girls

• Social support is stronger in black women

Bushman & Baumeister (1998): Why we shouldn’t go about making everyone feel better, participation trophies

• If you threaten (buzzer noise, saying they suck) after essay, narcissists aggression increases

• If you praise after essay, narcissist aggression gradually decreases

• If you threaten someone with an inflated view of themselves, the more aggression they express

• Narcissism is unstable, unhealthy self-esteem

Marcia’s Identity Statuses

Searched and committed to something= identity achieved

Explorer but no commitment= moratorium

No exploration and no commitment= diffusion

No exploration but committed= foreclosed

Phinney’s Ethnic Identity Status

Assimilated: strong connection to majority group and weak connection with ethnic group

Marginal: weak connection with both groups

Separated: weak connection with majority and strong connection with ethnic group

Bicultural: strong connection with both groups (best for development)

Personality trait theories (Allport)

The big 5 or the 5 factor model (OCEAN)

Basically said personality is fixed at 18

Personality and identity go hand in hand

• Can attach marcia's theories to different levels of OCEAN

Influence of Environment on Personality Study

Personality at the beginning of college > 2.5 years later

Life experiences positive or negative

• If you had positive events, extraversion goes up

• If you had negative events, neuroticism goes up

McCrae & Costa finding

Personality fixed by age 30

How does Robins et. al. differ from McCrae & Costa

Personality can continue to change

Biggest jump, adolescence and openness changes, but stabilizes in adulthood

Social vitality peaks in adolescence and then drops off and stabilizes