Lecture 7: Self, Education, and Motivation Glossary

Vocabulary flashcards covering textbook key terms from Chapter 11 (Sigelman & Rider, 9th ed.) and additional terms from Dr. Mandy van der Gaag's Lecture 7 slides.

personality

The organized combination of attributes, motives, values, and behaviors that is unique to each individual.

dispositional traits

Relatively enduring dimensions or qualities of personality along which people differ (for example, extraversion, aloofness).

characteristic adaptations

Compared to traits, more situation-specific and changeable aspects of personality; ways in which people adapt to their roles and environments, including motives, goals, plans, schemas, self-conceptions, stage- specific concerns, and coping mechanisms.

narrative identities

Unique and integrative “life stories” that we construct about our pasts and futures to give ourselves an identity and our lives meaning; an aspect of personality.

self-concept

People’s perceptions of their unique attributes or traits.

self-esteem

People’s overall evaluation of their worth as based on an assessment of the qualities that make up the self- concept.

identity

A self-definition or sense of who one is, where one is going, and how one fits into society.

Big Five

The five major dimensions used to characterize people’s personalities: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

self-recognition

The ability to recognize oneself in a mirror or photograph, which occurs in most infants by 18 to 24 months of age.

categorical self

A person’s classification of the self along socially significant dimensions such as age and sex.

individualistic culture

A culture in which individuals define themselves as individuals and put their own goals ahead of their group’s goals and in which children are socialized to be independent and self-reliant. Contrast with collectivist culture.

collectivist culture

A culture in which people define themselves in terms of group memberships, give group goals higher priority than personal goals, and socialize children to seek group harmony. Contrast with individualistic culture.

temperament

A genetically based pattern of tendencies to respond in predictable ways; building blocks of personality.

easy temperament

Characteristic mode of response in which the individual is even-tempered, content, and open and adaptable to new experiences. Contrast with difficult temperament and slow-to-warm-up temperament.

difficult temperament

Characteristic mode of response in which the individual is irregular in habits and adapts slowly, often with vigorous protest, to changes in routine or new experiences. Contrast with easy temperament and slow-to-warm- up temperament.

slow-to-warm-up temperament

A characteristic mode of response in which the individual is relatively inactive and moody and displays mild resistance to new routines and experiences but gradually adapts. Contrast with easy temperament and difficult temperament.

surgency/extraversion

Dimension of temperament that involves the tendency to actively and energetically approach new experiences in an emotionally positive way (rather than to be inhibited and withdrawn). See negative affectivity and effortful control.

negative affectivity

Dimension of temperament that concerns the tendency to be sad, fearful, easily frustrated, and irritable (as opposed to laid back and adaptable). See also effortful control and surgency/extraversion.

effortful control

Dimension of temperament pertaining to being able to sustain attention, control one’s behavior, and regulate one’s emotions (as opposed to unable to regulate one’s arousal and stay calm and focused). See also negative affectivity and surgency/extraversion.

goodness of fit

The extent to which the child’s temperament and the demands of the child’s social environment are compatible or mesh, according to Thomas and Chess; more generally, a good match between person and environment.

social comparison

The process of defining and evaluating the self through comparisons with other people.

ideal self

Idealized expectations of what one’s attributes and personality should be like.

identity versus role confusion

The psychosocial conflict in which adolescents must form a coherent self-definition or remain confused about their life directions; fifth of Erikson’s stages. (Age range, per the textbook's Table 11.4: 12–20 years.)

moratorium period

A period of time in high school or college when young adults are relatively free of responsibilities and can experiment with different roles to find their identities.

diffusion status

Identity status characterizing individuals who have not questioned who they are and have not committed themselves to an identity.

foreclosure status

An identity status characterizing individuals who appear to have committed themselves to a life direction but who have adopted an identity prematurely, without much thought.

moratorium status

Identity status characterizing individuals who are experiencing an identity crisis or actively exploring identity issues but who have not yet achieved an identity.

identity achievement status

An identity status characterizing individuals who have carefully thought through identity issues and made commitments or resolved their identity issues.

ethnic identity

A sense of personal identification with the individual’s ethnic group and its values and cultural traditions.

person-environment fit

The match between the individual’s personality and environment (for example, work environment); similar to goodness of fit between temperament and environment.

ageism

Prejudice and discrimination against elderly people.

self-stereotyping

Applying stereotypes of one’s group (for example, negative stereotypes of older adults) to oneself.

maturity principle

A shift toward greater emotional stability, agreeableness, and conscientiousness in personality from adolescence to middle adulthood.

trust versus mistrust

The psychosocial conflict of infancy in which infants must learn to trust others to meet their needs in order to trust themselves; first stage in Erikson’s theory. (Age range, per the textbook's Table 11.4: Birth–1 year.)

autonomy versus shame and doubt

The psychosocial conflict in which toddlers attempt to demonstrate their independence from and control over other people; second of Erikson’s stages. (Age range, per the textbook's Table 11.4: 1–3 years.)

initiative versus guilt

The psychosocial conflict in which preschool children must learn to initiate new activities and pursue bold plans or become self-critical; third of Erikson’s stages. (Age range, per the textbook's Table 11.4: 3–6 years.)

industry versus inferiority

The psychosocial conflict in which school-aged children must master important cognitive and social skills or feel incompetent; fourth of Erikson’s stages. (Age range, per the textbook's Table 11.4: 6–12 years.)

intimacy versus isolation

The psychosocial conflict in which young adults must commit themselves to a shared identity with another person or remain aloof and unconnected to others; sixth of Erikson’s stages. (Age range, per the textbook's Table 11.4: 20–40 years.)

generativity versus stagnation

The psychosocial conflict in which middle-aged adults must gain the sense that they have produced something that will outlive them and genuinely care for younger generations to avoid self-preoccupation; seventh of Erikson’s stages. (Age range, per the textbook's Table 11.4: 40–65 years.)

integrity versus despair

The psychosocial conflict in which elderly adults attempt to find a sense of meaning in their lives and to accept the inevitability of death; eighth of Erikson’s stages. (Age range, per the textbook's Table 11.4: 65 years and older.)

life review

Process in which elderly adults reflect on unresolved conflicts of the past and evaluate their lives; it may contribute to a sense of integrity and readiness for death.

midlife crisis

A period of major questioning, inner struggle, and re-evaluation hypothesized to occur in an adult’s early 40s.

self-determination theory (SDT)

Deci and Ryan's theory that people have three basic psychological needs — autonomy, competence, and relatedness — and that intrinsic motivation and well-being flourish when these needs are supported, whereas thwarting them pushes behavior toward more controlled, extrinsically motivated forms.

basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness)

In self-determination theory, the three needs proposed to be universal and essential for motivation and well-being: autonomy (feeling that one's actions are self-chosen rather than controlled), competence (feeling effective and capable), and relatedness (feeling connected to and cared for by others). The lecture applies this to education, arguing that teaching which supports these three needs fosters intrinsic motivation.

intrinsic motivation

Engaging in an activity for its own sake — because it is interesting, enjoyable, or satisfying — rather than to obtain an external reward or avoid a negative consequence; contrasted with extrinsic motivation.

extrinsic motivation

Engaging in an activity to earn an external reward, satisfy an external demand, or avoid a negative consequence, rather than out of interest in the activity itself; contrasted with intrinsic motivation.

broad exploration

In more fine-grained models of identity development (e.g., Luyckx et al., 2006) that extend Erikson's and Marcia's classic framework, the process of actively considering a wide range of possible identity options (for example, career paths) before narrowing down.

in-depth exploration

Following broad exploration, the process of examining one particular identity option or commitment more closely to evaluate whether it is a good fit before making a lasting commitment (Luyckx et al., 2006).

ruminative exploration

A maladaptive form of identity exploration involving repeated, anxious reconsideration of identity options without making progress toward resolution or commitment; associated with greater distress than the more productive broad and in-depth exploration processes (Luyckx et al., 2006).

implicit self

In the lecture's nested, developmental model of self-awareness (drawing on Rochat's work), the most basic, nonverbal sense of oneself as a distinct bodily and causal agent in the world — present from the first few months of life, before a child can verbally describe or categorize the self. It is shown as the innermost layer of self, underlying the later-developing categorical, social, and psychological selves.

social self

In the lecture's nested self-concept model, the layer of self-understanding that emerges around age 8 and reflects the self as perceived by and in relation to other people (for example, feeling liked or accepted).

psychological self

In the lecture's nested self-concept model, the outermost and latest-developing layer of self-understanding, emerging around adolescence, involving abstract, subjective, psychological self-descriptions (traits, beliefs, inner states) rather than concrete or categorical ones.